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quick 5 ingredient dinners

Pesto Pasta With Chicken

Pasta, pesto, chicken, parmesan, and pasta water prove simple can be spectacular. This quick 5 ingredient dinner is what you make when you want something special but don't have energy for anything complicated.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 530
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g pasta of choice
  • 500 g chicken breast diced
  • Half cup jarred pesto
  • 1 cup parmesan grated
  • Half cup pasta water reserved
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method
 

  1. Step 1: Cook pasta in heavily salted water reserve half cup water before draining
  2. Step 2: Season chicken with salt and pepper
  3. Step 3: Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat
  4. Step 4: Cook chicken 6 to 7 minutes until golden and cooked through
  5. Step 5: Add drained pasta and pasta water to pan with chicken
  6. Step 6: Add pesto toss everything together
  7. Step 7: Add parmesan toss until sauce coats everything
  8. Step 8: Serve immediately with extra parmesan

Notes

— Good quality pesto makes
a real difference
— Pasta water helps pesto
coat everything evenly
— Add cherry tomatoes for
extra color and freshness
— Rotisserie chicken works
great here too