Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

I kept making pasta with jarred sauce and getting bored, so I grabbed the pesto from the fridge and a can of cream of chicken soup and just went for it. This creamy pesto chicken pasta turned into something I actually wanted to eat again, which is saying something for a Tuesday night.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Takes 25 minutes start to finish. No standing around.
• Uses cream of chicken soup as the base, which sounds weird but makes it thick without reducing anything for half an hour.
• The pesto doesn’t get cooked down to nothing—it stays bright and garlicky.
• You brown the chicken first in the same pan, so there’s actual flavor happening and not just boiled meat.
• Barilla Pasta Ready means you’re not draining a pot of boiling water when you’re already tired.
• The butter on the pasta before you mix everything keeps it from clumping into one solid mass, which I didn’t think about the first time and regretted.

The Story Behind This Recipe

I had pesto chicken pasta on my mind but didn’t want to make it the usual way with heavy cream and a whole production. Last Tuesday after work I was staring at a can of cream of chicken soup and thought it might actually work as a shortcut. I’ve used it in casseroles before and it’s already thick and seasoned, so why not. Turned out the soup gives you that creamy chicken pasta texture without whisking in cream and waiting for it to thicken. The pesto still tastes like pesto, the chicken gets browned enough to matter and the whole thing comes together in one skillet. It’s not fancy but it’s what I wanted that night.

What You Need

You need half a tablespoon of olive oil to get the chicken going without sticking. Just enough to coat the pan. I use the chicken breasts from the pack and cut them into bite-sized pieces myself because the pre-cut stuff is always wet and doesn’t brown right.

One can of cream of chicken soup is what makes this work. The condensed kind, not the ready-to-eat version. There’s milk too but the recipe doesn’t specify how much, so I eyeball it. Maybe a quarter cup to thin out the soup enough that it’s not paste.

Garlic salt and pepper go in next and again, no amounts listed, so I use what feels right. Probably a teaspoon of garlic salt and a few cracks of pepper. The pesto sauce is store-bought because I’m not making it from scratch on a weeknight. A few spoonfuls, enough to see the green come through the beige of the soup.

The Barilla Pasta Ready is the microwave kind that comes in the pouch. Saves you from boiling water and you’re done in a minute. Butter goes on it right after, just a pat or two so it doesn’t turn into a brick when you toss it with the sauce. Parmesan cheese at the end, the kind you grate yourself if you’ve got it.

How to Make Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Add that half tablespoon of olive oil to your skillet and turn the heat to medium. Wait until the oil starts to shimmer across the surface before you drop the chicken in. You want it hot enough that the chicken sizzles when it hits the pan, not just sits there steaming in its own juice.

Let the chicken cook without moving it around too much. I made that mistake the first time and it never got any color on it. You’re looking for the edges to start turning light brown, not deep golden or anything fancy. Stir it every couple minutes so it browns on more than one side.

When the chicken looks mostly cooked through and has some color on it, pour in the cream of chicken soup straight from the can. Add your milk to thin it out — I do a slow pour until it looks like it’ll actually move around the pan and not just sit there like wallpaper paste. Then dump in the garlic salt pepper and a few big spoonfuls of pesto.

Use a whisk if you have one nearby or just a fork if you don’t. You’re trying to get the soup and milk and pesto to actually blend into one thing instead of streaky beige with green spots floating in it. Once it’s mixed, turn the heat up a little until you see bubbles forming around the edges of the pan. That’s your gentle boil. As soon as that happens, turn the heat back down.

The sauce needs to simmer for a few minutes so the pesto flavor gets into everything and the whole thing thickens up slightly. You’ll smell the garlic and basil getting stronger as it cooks. It should coat the back of your spoon when you stir it instead of running right off.

While that’s simmering, microwave your Barilla Pasta Ready however the pouch says to. Mine takes 60 seconds. Soon as it’s done, drop in some butter and stir it around until it melts. This is the step that keeps the pasta from turning into one giant clump later.

Dump the pasta right into the skillet with the sauce and chicken. Toss it all together with tongs or a spoon until every piece of pasta has sauce on it. The heat from the sauce warms everything back up if the pasta cooled down at all.

Plate it or just eat it straight from the pan. Grate Parmesan over the top while it’s still hot so it gets a little melty.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

I didn’t butter the pasta before mixing it in and the whole thing clumped into this solid mass that I had to pull apart with a fork. It wasn’t ruined but it looked bad and the sauce didn’t coat anything evenly. The butter step feels unnecessary when you’re reading it but it actually matters. Also I moved the chicken around too much while it was browning and it just turned gray instead of getting any color on it, which meant the whole dish tasted flat. Let it sit in the pan.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

By Emma

Prep:

5 min

Cook:

20 min

Total:

25 min

Servings:

4 servings

Ingredients

• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• chicken, cut into pieces (quantity not specified)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• milk (quantity not specified)
• garlic salt (quantity not specified)
• pepper (quantity not specified)
• pesto sauce (quantity not specified)
• Barilla Pasta Ready (quantity and type not specified)
• butter (quantity not specified)
• Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Method

1. 1 Add ½ tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet and place over medium heat. When the oil shimmers and warms, add the chicken pieces. Let them cook until they develop a light golden brown color on the edges, stirring occasionally so they brown evenly but don’t burn. You’ll hear a faint sizzle tuning down to a gentle pop when ready.
2. 2 Once the chicken has taken on some color, pour in the cream of chicken soup, then add milk, garlic salt, pepper, and pesto sauce directly into the skillet. Use a whisk or fork to blend everything smoothly. Bring the sauce up to a gentle boil – watch for bubbles rising steadily around the edge – then reduce the heat right away. This keeps the mixture from sticking or scorching.
3. 3 Let the sauce simmer for several minutes, just enough for the flavors to marry and the sauce to thicken slightly. You’ll notice the aroma deepen as it melds and the consistency become creamier, coating the chicken well.
4. 4 While the sauce simmers, prepare your Barilla Pasta Ready according to the package instructions. Once cooked through, stir in some butter until it melts completely, enriching the pasta and keeping it from sticking.
5. 5 Combine the buttered pasta with the simmered pesto chicken sauce. Toss thoroughly so every strand or piece is coated evenly in the creamy pesto mixture, warmed through from the sauce heat.
6. 6 Serve directly from the skillet or plate and finish by sprinkling with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. The cheese melts slightly on contact, adding a sharp, salty contrast to the creamy pasta.

Nutritional information

Calories

641

Protein

19g

Carbs

92g

Fat

21g

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Tips for the Best Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Don’t rinse your pasta after you microwave it. The little bit of starch clinging to the noodles actually helps the sauce stick better when you toss everything together in the pan.

The soup should look like it can move freely in the pan before you add the pesto. If it’s too thick right out of the can, you’ll end up with gloopy patches that won’t blend. Add milk slowly until it looks like something you could stir without effort.

Taste your sauce before you add the pasta because the pesto chicken pasta can turn out too salty if you’re not careful. The soup already has salt, the pesto has salt and then there’s the Parmesan at the end. I add my garlic salt in smaller amounts now and adjust.

When you’re browning the chicken, the pieces on the outside of the pan will cook faster than the ones in the middle. Push the center pieces out toward the edges halfway through so everything gets some actual heat and doesn’t just steam.

The sauce tightens up as it sits, so if you’re not eating right away, leave it a little looser than you think it should be. By the time you plate it five minutes later it’ll be the right consistency.

Serving Ideas

I put this over some of that bagged arugula once and the peppery bite cut through the cream in a way I didn’t expect. Just toss the greens with the hot pasta for like ten seconds so they wilt slightly but don’t turn to mush.

Garlic bread on the side works but I actually like those frozen Texas toast pieces better because they’re thick enough to scoop up the extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl.

Roasted cherry tomatoes on top add some acid that balances out how rich this gets. I just halve them and throw them in a hot pan with salt for maybe three minutes.

Variations

You can swap the chicken for shrimp but cook them separately and add them at the end or they’ll turn rubbery in the sauce. Takes maybe two minutes in the same pan you browned the chicken in.

Sun-dried tomatoes instead of regular pesto changes the whole thing. Use the jarred kind in oil, drain them and chop them up before stirring them into the soup. It gets sweeter and more intense.

I tried this with rotisserie chicken once when I didn’t want to deal with raw meat and it worked fine. Just shred it and toss it in when you add the pasta so it heats through. You lose the browned flavor but you also lose ten minutes of standing at the stove.

Cream of mushroom soup instead of chicken makes it earthier and works better if you’re using the sun-dried tomato version. The mushroom taste doesn’t fight with the pesto like I thought it would.

FAQ

Can I use fresh pasta instead of Barilla Pasta Ready?

Yeah but you’ll need to cook it in boiling water first and then drain it. Fresh pasta has more moisture so don’t add as much milk to your sauce or it’ll get watery when you mix everything together.

How do I keep the pesto from turning brown?

Add it after the soup and milk are already mixed and heated. The less time it spends cooking, the greener it stays. If it does turn a little brown it still tastes fine, just doesn’t look as good.

Can I make this ahead?

You can but the pasta soaks up the sauce as it sits in the fridge. When you reheat it, add a splash of milk or chicken broth to loosen everything back up. Microwave it in 30-second bursts and stir between each one.

What if I don’t have cream of chicken soup?

Cream of mushroom works or you can use a can of condensed cheddar cheese soup and skip some of the Parmesan at the end. The cheese soup makes it thicker and more rich though.

How do I know when the chicken is done?

Cut into the thickest piece and make sure there’s no pink in the middle. It should read 165°F if you’ve got a thermometer but I usually just check by eye since the pieces are small.

Can I freeze leftovers?

The soup base doesn’t freeze great because it can separate when you thaw it. If you do freeze it, reheat it slow on the stove and whisk it hard to bring it back together.

Why is my sauce grainy?

The Parmesan probably got added while the sauce was too hot and seized up. Let the pan cool for a minute before you grate cheese on top, or just add it at the table instead.

What kind of pesto works best for this?

The refrigerated stuff in the plastic tubs has more flavor than the jarred kind on the shelf. Costco’s Kirkland brand is what I use and it’s got enough garlic and basil that you actually taste it in the creamy chicken pasta.

Do I have to use a skillet or can I use a pot?

A wider skillet works better because the chicken browns more evenly when it’s not crowded. If you use a pot, cook the chicken in batches so there’s space between the pieces.

How much pesto should I actually use?

I use about three heaping tablespoons for one can of soup. Start with two and taste it, then add more if you want it greener and more garlicky.

Can I use boneless thighs instead of breasts?

Yeah and they’ll stay more moist. They take an extra couple minutes to cook through since they’re fattier. Cut them the same size as you would the breast pieces.

What do I do if the sauce is too thick?

Add milk a tablespoon at a time while it’s still on the heat and stir until it thins out. It’s easier to add liquid than to thicken it back up if you go too far.

Why doesn’t my chicken brown?

The pan’s not hot enough or there’s too much chicken in there at once. You need space between the pieces and you need to hear that sizzle when they hit the oil.

Can I use dried basil instead of pesto?

It won’t taste the same at all. Pesto has basil plus garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil. Dried basil is just one ingredient and it’s not strong enough to carry the flavor on its own.

How long does this last in the fridge?

Three days, maybe four if you’re lucky. The pasta keeps absorbing sauce so by day three it’s more like pasta salad than quick chicken pasta.

Do I need to cover it while it simmers?

No, you want some of the liquid to evaporate so the sauce thickens slightly. If you cover it, condensation drips back in and keeps it too thin.

Can I add vegetables?

Spinach wilts right into the sauce if you throw it in during the last minute of simmering. Frozen peas work too but don’t add too many or the sauce gets watery from the ice.

What if I can’t find Barilla Pasta Ready?

Any microwaveable pasta works or just boil regular dried pasta. You need about two cups cooked. The point is to save time, not to use a specific brand.