Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake

This pesto chicken pasta bake is a simple one-pot dish that's wonderfully creamy and filled with delicious Mediterranean flavours everyone loves. It contains a moderate amount of fat and no heavy cream. Ready in under 40 minutes.

Try also healthy creamy salmon pasta bake!

This pesto chicken pasta bake is a one-pot dish, simple and speedy despite being made from scratch. It contains a handful of ingredients, most of which you probably have in your fridge or pantry right now.

Making this healthy chicken pesto pasta bake involves precooking the chicken and pasta, making a quick pesto sauce and easy white sauce, then putting it all together. The pesto ingredients together with the juices from the chicken and the creamy sauce create a truly delicious dish.

Pesto chicken pasta bake ingredients and substitutions

• Pasta: It is important to cook it al dente (approx. 4 minutes) as it will finish cooking inside the casserole. Both fusilli and penne pasta shapes work in this recipe.
• Chicken: I used skinless, boneless diced chicken breast. I do not recommend using dark meat instead.
• Basil: Use fresh basil leaves avoiding the tough stems.
• Garlic.
• Olive oil: This gets added into the pesto mixture (along with some water so the sauce is not too oily).
• Parmesan cheese: Or another Italian-style hard cheese.
• Pine nuts: I didn't want to 'hide' these in the pesto and decided that scattering them over the casserole worked better.
• Butter.
• Flour: Thickens the sauce.
• Stock: Either chicken or vegetable stock is fine to use.
• Milk: Adds creaminess to the sauce.
• Quark: Use sour cream or full-fat yogurt instead.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C/gas mark 5.

2. Boil pasta: Boil the pasta in salted water for 4 minutes (it needs to be a little undercooked), strain and place in a 28/20 cm (11/8'') casserole dish. While the pasta is boiling make the pesto sauce.

3. Make pesto: To the food processor add the basil, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of water and garlic. Blend until the basil is finely chopped. Season lightly to taste and set aside. 

4. Cook chicken: Cut the chicken into chunks (not too small). In a large non-stick pan heat 2 teaspoons of oil (or use oil spray), add the chicken, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook over a medium/high heat for 3-4 minutes turning occasionally (the chicken should not be cooked completely at this point). Transfer the chicken to a bowl (along with the juices) and set aside while you make the sauce.

5. Make sauce: In a saucepan melt the butter then add the four and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Gradually add the milk and stock whisking until the sauce thickens and starts bubbling. Remove from the heat, whisk in the quark and ⅔ of the parmesan and add pepper to taste.

6. Assemble: To the casserole dish add the chicken (along with the juices), pesto and white sauce and stir until thoroughly combined with the pasta.  

7. Bake: Scatter the pine nuts and the remaining parmesan over the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes.

8. Serve: Remove from the oven and serve.

Serving suggestions

This pesto pasta chicken bake is delicious with steamed or roasted vegetables, such as broccoli or green beans, as well as crispy salad. Also perfect with garlic bread or simply on its own.

Can I use pesto from a jar

I do not recommend it. Pesto from a jar is really not the same as freshly made and never tastes as good. Which is why for best results I recommend using fresh basil to make the pesto for this chicken pasta bake, but the choice is yours, of course. 

If you do decide to use pesto from a jar add about 3 tablespoons or to taste. As this kind of pesto is usually quite salty and contains cheese use less salt and parmesan in the sauce.

• TIP: You can sometimes get ready made fresh pesto in good delis which tastes (almost) like homemade.

Can I freeze pesto chicken and pasta bake

Yes, but not in its entirety. You can combine the precooked chicken with the sauce and freeze that (but only if the chicken has not been frozen previously). Freezing the entire casserole would produce soggy pasta so I do not recommend it.

To defrost this dish place it in the fridge overnight, then boil the pasta the next day, as per Instructions, combine with the creamy chicken then bake (Steps 5 and 6).

Can I make this dish ahead

You can prepare different components of this creamy pesto chicken pasta casserole a day ahead and assemble the dish when you are ready to bake it. 

• The pasta: Boil then cool it completely, add a drop of oil to prevent it becoming sticky, cover and refrigerate.
• The chicken: Precook then cover and refrigerate (along with the juices).
• The pesto: You can also make the pesto ahead but add a few drops of lemon juice to it, keep refrigerated in an airtight container (so it doesn't lose its bright green colour) and stir into the dish the next day. 
• The sauce: This can also be made ahead, refrigerated (once completely cooled) and reheated just before assembling and baking the dish. 

Top tips

• It is important to only partly cook the pasta as well as the chicken before assembling the casserole, otherwise you'll end up with soggy pasta and tough chicken.
• Season all the elements of this dish, i.e. the chicken as well as the pesto, and boil the pasta in salted water. You may not need to add any salt into the sauce as it contains stock but be generous with pepper.
• Do not leave the chicken in the pan you cooked it in as it will continue cooking.  Make sure you add the chicken juice along with the meat into the casserole.
• Best served immediately. Leftover chicken pasta bake with pesto can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Add a splash of water to loosen the consistency of the sauce when reheating it.

More chicken pasta recipes to try next

• Sour Cream Chicken Pasta (Low Fat)
• Chicken Tomato Pasta Bake
• Ground Chicken Pasta Casserole

See also these other easy meal ideas including more chicken recipes!

Recipe

Keep in touch!

Have you made pesto chicken pasta bake?  How did it turn out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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