Recipe - Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne
Makes 2 Servings
- 4 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Pasta
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 8 oz. chicken breast, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup fat free half & half
- 2 tablespoons Basil & Garlic Scape Pesto
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper and garlic powder to season chicken
- fresh parsley for Garnish
Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain pasta after cooking. Slice and season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside while you are making the pesto. If you missed that recipe, check it out here.
Place the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and saute the thinly sliced chicken pieces on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes until there is no pink showing on the outside of the chicken. Reduce heat to medium, add the half & half, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir and cook chicken for another 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Sauce will begin to thicken slightly over time. Toss the chicken and cream sauce with your cooked penne. Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately as the pasta will soak up the sauce otherwise.
This is a super easy and quick recipe, especially if you make up a batch of pesto ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
I believe that if you use a good quality full fat cheese in the pesto, you can get away with the fat free half & half to make your cream sauce. The cheese in the pesto will melt and thicken the half & half as it cooks.
A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.