This Chicken Pesto Pasta is an easy 30-minute dinner recipe with a homemade walnut pesto, grilled chicken, pasta, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese!
This recipe was originally published in August 2016. I updated the recipe notes and added new images in May 2026.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
I’m so torn this time of year. Do I want comfort food or do I want to use the grill? Either way, I need dinners that can be made fairly quickly, as weeknights are hectic!
Today’s Chicken Pesto Pasta is super easy and versatile. It starts with a homemade pesto.
Not just any pesto though, today’s recipe uses WALNUTS.
Oh my gosh, I always thought pesto had to be made with pine nuts. I was wrong. The walnuts add a delicious nutty flavor to the basil and garlic!
Once you have your pesto made, you’ll add it to some cooked pasta.
Pesto Pasta is a match made in heaven! Toss in some grilled chicken, tomatoes, parmesan cheese and extra walnuts and you’ve got a delicious dish.
- Serve hot OR cold!
- Ready in just 30 minutes
- Make ahead friendly
Ingredient Notes
- Basil – You’ll need 2 full cups of basil for making the pesto. That’s a lot so be sure to buy enough!
- Walnuts – These add a nutty, delicious twist to the homemade pesto AND I’m adding them into the pasta dish, too. You could use pine nuts if you prefer. Toast the nuts for best flavor.
- Pasta – I used angel hair, which is light and doesn’t overwhelm the dish. However, you could also use a thin or regular spaghetti or another noodle of your choice.
- Tomatoes – Roma are available year round and work great here. You could also use cherry tomatoes or, if they are in season, use an heirloom tomato.
- Chicken – The grilled chicken helps round out this dish and make it into a more hearty main meal. You could also use baked chicken or substitute a rotisserie chicken. My Instant Pot shredded chicken would work well too.
How to Make Chicken Pesto Pasta
Make the pesto.
- Combine the basil, walnuts, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and process for several minutes, until blended.
- Add in the parmesan and olive oil and blend again until smooth.
- Grill the chicken. Flatten the chicken breasts to about 1/4-inch thick and grill over medium-high heat for several minutes on each side, until fully cooked.
- Assemble. Toss the hot, cooked pasta with the pesto. Top with the chicken, tomatoes, walnuts and parmesan. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Time it wisely. You want the pasta to be hot when you’re ready to mix it with the pesto. And if you’re serving it warm, make sure the chicken is still hot from the grill or skillet.
- You can make this in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve. It’s also delicious cold! (This makes it great for picnics!)
- Slice or dice. Slice the chicken and tomatoes for a pretty presentation or dice them up into smaller pieces to toss fully into the pasta. Both ways work, choose your favorite!
- No grill? No problem. You can cook the chicken in a pan on the stovetop.
- Serving suggestion: Serve with a copycat Olive Garden salad and some homemade garlic bread.
Easy Dinner Recipes
Love easy dinners? Readers love my chicken caprese, turkey noodle soup, Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff, and Pork Ragu.
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Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
For the pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil
- ½ cup walnuts
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup olive oil
For the pasta:
- ½ pound angel hair pasta cooked
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 roma tomatoes diced or sliced
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine basil, walnuts, garlic, salt and pepper. Process for several minutes until blended. Add in parmesan and olive oil and blend until desired consistency.
- Flatten chicken breasts to about 1/4-inch thick and grill for several minutes on each side, until fully cooked (or cook them in a skillet on the stove top).
- To serve, toss hot, cooked pasta with pesto, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, chopped walnuts and cooked chicken! ENJOY!
Notes
- Swap out the angel hair pasta for bowtie noodles, if desired.
- DELICIOUS cold or hot!
- See blog post for more tips and tricks!
Too many security choices!!!
GREAT RECIPES!!
Perfect for us. we are a working couple and sometimes too much tired at end of the day. Thanks Aimee!!
This sounds unbelieveable! I love making pesto with different kind of nuts — it adds such a nice flavor. Toasted walnuts would be awesome!
I’m so glad that out here in CA, we get a little while longer before summer fades and it turns into fall… I’m SO indecisive that I can’t decide between grilling and cozy comfort food either! But with how amazing that walnut-based pesto looks, it makes the decision so much easier. 😉
Nothing better than homemade pesto!! can’t wait to try it with walnuts!
I love making homemade pesto and using walnuts instead of pine nuts is such a great idea. I will definitely add this to my weeknight rotation!
I am pretty sure that pesto should be my middle name, I love it SO much! I love Fisher nuts, and using walnuts is genius!
OMG i love pesto 🙂 Like, I hear ya on the middle name thing 🙂
Simply love all the delicious recipes
Pesto pasta is a favorite around here! I need to try this soon!
What a great looking plate of pasta this is! I love that you used walnuts for the pesto, I can’t wait to give it a try!
I love Pesto! I can’t wait to try this, I especially love the nuts added! yum!