Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Chicken
This Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta is quick, easy and exploding with flavor! It’s a quick and easy pulsing of ingredients to create the sensational sun-dried tomato pesto sauce and then you saute it with veggies (optional) and stir in some chicken broth and heavy cream to create CREAMY sun-dried tomato pesto pasta that is lick-the plate delicious. I’ve include ways to customize the sun-dried tomato pesto pasta with different proteins and veggies so it can be different every time - because trust me, you are going to want to make this sun-dried tomato pesto ALL the time!
Servings 4 -6
Ingredients
- 12 oz. extra broad egg noodles (I like No Yolk)
- 1 pound chicken breasts pounded thin (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chicken Breading (optional)*
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 1/2 tsp EACH salt, garlic pwdr, onion pwdr, dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Sundried Tomato Pesto
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 shallot, peeled
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 tsp EACH red pepper flakes, dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
Creamy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 squash, sliced and quartered
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream mixed with 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup milk
- 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Pasta: Cook the pasta al dente in generously salted water
- Chicken (optional) : Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup) and place a cooking rack on top; lightly spray cooking rack with cooking spray.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine Chicken Breading ingredients in a bowl/shallow dish then dredge chicken breasts in mixture. Tap off any excess flour then add chicken to skillet and cook until golden brown on one side, 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook chicken until the other side is golden, 2-3 minutes, then transfer chicken to prepared cooking rack and finish baking in the oven, 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through (cooking time will depend on size and thickness of chicken). Broil chicken until crispy, flip chicken, top with Parmesan cheese and broil until cheese is golden.
- Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto Sauce: Meanwhile, add Sundried Tomato Pesto ingredients to a food processor and process until well blended. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato oil over medium heat. Add Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and saute for 4 minutes. Add bell pepper and squash and saute an additional minute.
- Stir in chicken broth until well incorporated then stir in heavy cream/cornstarch slurry, milk, fire roasted tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce to simmer until thickened and vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Stir in cooked pasta. Add additional milk to reach desired consistency (optional). Taste and add additional salt, pepper, red pepper to taste.
- Top with chicken and serve.
Notes
*Optional but recommended! Alternatively you can combine olive oil and the breading spices, rub over chicken and saute chicken then add Parmesan to the entire skillet.