Description
This Creamy Tomato Pesto Pasta with Chicken is a flavorful and comforting dish combining tender rigatoni pasta with a rich tomato-pesto cream sauce, seared seasoned chicken, roasted red peppers, and fresh spinach, topped with creamy burrata for an indulgent finish.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta and Proteins
- 1 lb rigatoni
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 chicken breast diced
Seasonings and Aromatics
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Veggies and Sauces
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 6 oz pesto
- 1/3 cup light cream
- 1 cup roasted red peppers chopped
- 2 cups fresh spinach
Cheese
- 2 balls burrata 4 ounces each
Instructions
- Boil Pasta: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve some pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Sear Chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced chicken breast and sear for 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to brown.
- Season Chicken: Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to the chicken. Toss to coat and sear for another 2 minutes to fully infuse the flavors.
- Sauté Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Add minced garlic and chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant and softened.
- Create Sauce Base: Pour in the tomato sauce, pesto, and light cream. Stir well to combine and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
- Add Vegetables: Add the chopped roasted red peppers and fresh spinach to the sauce. Stir until the spinach wilts and everything is heated through.
- Toss Pasta with Sauce: Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss thoroughly to coat the rigatoni evenly in the creamy sauce. Add reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Plate and Serve: Divide the pasta onto plates and top each serving with half a ball of burrata cheese. Serve immediately for best taste.
Notes
- Reserve some pasta cooking water to adjust sauce consistency if it becomes too thick.
- For extra heat, increase the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Use sun-dried tomato oil instead of olive oil for more tomato flavor when searing chicken.
- Substitute chicken breast with chicken thigh for a juicier texture.
- Burrata can be replaced with fresh mozzarella if burrata is unavailable.
- Fresh spinach can be substituted with baby kale or arugula for a different leafy green twist.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 520 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 720 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
