Pesto Chicken Penne with Tomatoes and Shaved Parmesan
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We never tire of pesto pasta—there's something about perfectly al dente noodles tossed in a blend of fresh basil, olive oil, and Parmesan that we just can't turn down. In this repeat recipe, hearty whole-wheat penne is coated in a creamy white wine–pesto sauce, a perfect match for juicy chicken, grape tomatoes, and spinach.
- Serving size
- 2servings
- Prep & cook time
- –minutes
- Cooking Skill
- easy
By Chef Elana
- Calories 910
- Protein 59g
- Total Carb 77g
- Total Fat 41g
Given the cook-at-home nature of Plated and natural variation in ingredients, nutritional information is approximated. See details.
Ingredients & Equipment
What we send
- 3 ounces
- baby spinach
- 1/4 pint
- grape tomatoes
- 1
- yellow onion
- 2
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 6 ounces
- whole-wheat penne pasta
- 3 packets
- unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup
- white wine
- 1 container
- heavy cream
- 1/4 cup
- pesto
- 1 ounce
- shaved Parmesan cheese
What You’ll Need
- 10" large pot
- 12" large pan
Allergens
Cooking Steps
Prepare ingredients
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Rinse all produce. Pat spinach dry with paper towel. Halve tomatoes. Peel onion, halve, and thinly slice.
Cook chicken
Pat chicken dry with paper towel and season all over with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken and sear until cooked through and no longer pink, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to cutting board and set aside to rest. Reserve pan, off heat, for Step 4.
Cook penne
While chicken cooks, season boiling water generously with salt. Stir in penne and cook until al dente, 6-7 minutes. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain and set aside.
Sauté onion
Place pan from chicken over medium heat with butter. When butter is foamy, add onion; sauté, stirring, until soft and translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add white wine and cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until liquid is reduced by half, 1-2 minutes more. Meanwhile, cut rested chicken into ¼-inch slices.
Season penne
To pan with onion, still over medium heat, add cooked penne and 2 tablespoons heavy cream; stir to combine. Add ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water (reserve remainder) and stir to coat noodles with sauce, 1-2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat. Save remaining cream for another use (it's a great match for the pesto here, but also adds a little decadence to tomato-based pasta sauces).
Plate pesto chicken penne
Add pesto, spinach, tomatoes, and sliced chicken to pan with penne, still off heat. Stir vigorously to fully coat with pesto, then add remaining pasta cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce is silky. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired, then divide between serving bowls. Garnish with Parmesan and dig in!