Pesto Rosso Pasta with Chicken
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This recipe for sun-dried tomato pesto pasta with chicken is deceptively flavorful for something so simple to make! Pasta twirled with a light sauce of pesto rosso pairs perfectly with tender bites of shredded chicken and dusted Parmesan. I like to mix in a big tray of roasted vegetables to make it a complete meal in one dish.
If you love pesto and want to branch out from the traditional basil variety, a pesto rosso made of ruby red sun-dried tomatoes is a phenomenal way to do it. In this recipe, red pesto mixes with starchy pasta water to form a light yet bold sauce that settles into the nooks and crannies of each little piece in the most satisfying way.
Chicken and balsamic roasted veggies round things out for a one-act dinner you can’t help but enjoy. Of course it’s easy to separate out for the kids, as well!
Why You’ll Love This Red Pesto Pasta
- Just a bit of the pesto packs a big, unique punch
- Extremely easy to make, even with the chicken and veggies included
- A great use for shredded rotisserie chicken
- Somehow feels both cozy and just right for warm weather all at once
Craving similar vibes but with a light cream sauce? My creamy sun-dried tomato pasta recipe is a 20-minute wonder tailor-made for that.
Ingredient Notes
Make It Your Own
I do heartily recommend making this full dish as written—pasta, chicken, and veggies—but if you want to mix and match the components, it’s easy to do.
Vegetables for life. This pasta goes beautifully with a big tray of roasted summer vegetables, which is incredibly vibrant and conveniently easy to make. Toss your favorite mix—bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion are shown here—onto a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and roast for about half an hour at 425°F.
If you don’t want the veggies included, just skip this part.
Sun-dried tomato pesto pasta. Whip up the pesto and get your water bubbling. Cook pasta just to al dente; reserve a big scoop of water just before draining. Return pasta to the warm pot and add a scoop of pesto together with a roughly equal amount of the reserved water. This starchy water will loosen the pesto gently, so it turns into a silky coating.
Combine and serve. Stir in shredded or diced cooked chicken—this is the perfect time to recruit a rotisserie bird—along with the tray of roasted vegetables. Dinner’s done!
A few leaves of fresh basil are the perfect finishing touch, and a dusting of Parmesan is always welcome in my book, too.
Did my kids eat just the plain pasta and chicken, separated? Yes. Did they touch a cooked vegetable? No. Was I mature enough that evening to accept this? Mercifully, yes.
Storage Tips
This pasta is best right away, but leftovers will keep in the fridge in any airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove using medium-low heat.
More Quick Pasta Dinners
- Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Pasta Marinara
- One Pot Lemon Broccoli Pasta
- Easy Ground Beef and Noodles
- Creamy Cavatappi with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Pesto Rosso Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 small zucchini sliced and quartered
- 1 small yellow squash sliced and quartered
- 1 bell pepper any color, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 small red onion peeled and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8-10 ounces pasta any small-to-medium shape
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto see note
- 2-3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- fresh basil or parsley optional garnish
- grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Start the veggies. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Chop the zucchini, squash, bell pepper, and onion. Combine on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-35 minutes, until tender and browned on the bottom. Remove from the oven and set aside.1 small zucchini, 1 small yellow squash, 1 bell pepper, 1/2 small red onion, 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and black pepper
- Make the pasta. While the veggies are roasting, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Stir in the pasta. Cook just to al dente, according to package directions. Scoop out about 1 cup of water before draining off the rest. Set aside the water and return drained pasta to the warm pot.8-10 ounces pasta
- While the pasta is bubbling, make the pesto, if necessary. (See notes.)
- Add pesto. Stir 1/2 cup of the pesto into the warm pasta and drizzle in about 1/3 cup of the reserved cooking water. Toss to combine and add more pesto or water as desired.1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
- Combine. Stir in chicken and the whole pan of roasted vegetables. (Or set all/some aside to serve separately to choosy kids.)2-3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- Serve right away with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and Parmesan. Enjoy!fresh basil or parsley, grated Parmesan
Notes
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto: Find and print my full recipe for it here. The basic summary is to blitz the following together in a food processor: 1 and ¼ cups sun-dried tomatoes, 1 and ½ cups fresh basil, 3 cloves garlic, ⅓ cup pine nuts or walnuts, ⅓ cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, ⅛ tsp. pepper, and at least ¼ cup olive oil. This will make more than you need for this pasta recipe; use the rest as a dip, sandwich spread, in soups, sauces, etc.
- Veggies: Are fundamentally optional; just skip the whole roasting step if you don’t want to include them in this meal.
- Storage: This pasta is best right away, but leftovers will keep in the fridge in any airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove using medium-low heat. I don’t recommend freezing.
