Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta. Delicious, dairy-free and only takes 35 minutes to make. Perfect for dinner or as leftovers for lunch!
This basil pesto chicken pasta recipe literally one of my favourite pasta's in the world!
It's so yummy thanks to the sharp basil flavour and the tender chicken pieces along with the zucchini. And when the basil pesto sauce gets into the crevices of the rotini pasta, it's total heaven in your mouth!
I promise you that this will be the best basil pesto chicken pasta that you've had that doesn't contain cheese or dairy!
Other Pesto Recipes you may like!
For this recipe
This recipe for basil pesto chicken pasta will require: rotini pasta, zucchini, chicken, fresh basil, olive oil, raw cashews, garic, salt, and nutritional yeast to give it that cheesy flavour!
Also, save some of that pasta water for the sauce! This is the ultimate trick for making that pasta sauce stick to your noodles! Trust me. I learned this from watching a zillion pasta cooking videos lol.
As for the zucchini, for a faster cooking time as these little guys do take some time to cook, slice them thinly! Same with your chicken!
Do I have to use Rotini Pasta?
Honestly you can use any pasta you like but there is something special about rotini pasta. The shape of this pasta pairs well with pesto because it has all those nooks and crannies where the pesto sauce can hide. And when you take a bite, it's like a burst of flavour in your mouth.
But if you don't have rotini pasta readily available, try Penne Rigate as it contains those ridges that also carry the sauce well.
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed this basil pesto pasta and chicken, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @christieathome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!
Made this recipe and loved it?
If you could leave a star rating for my basil pesto pasta recipe, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!
Take care,
Christie
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Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Pesto Sauce:
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cups raw cashews
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
Pasta:
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 250 grams pasta Rotini
- ⅓ cup pasta water
- 2 zucchinis thinly sliced for faster cooking
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs skinless boneless, sliced and seasoned with salt and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil for cooking
Instructions
- Boil your pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ⅓ cup hot pasta water. Strain pasta in a colander. Meanwhile in your food processor, blend pesto ingredients until smooth (basil, extra virgin olive oil, raw cashews, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast). Set aside.
- In skillet set on medium high heat, fry minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add in chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Then add in zucchini and fry until cooked. Once chicken and zucchini is cooked, add in pesto sauce and pasta water to create sauce.
- Add in pasta and mix to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Jamie
This looks delicious, Christie! Thanks for sharing another healthy meal 🙂
Christie
Thanks so much for checking it out Jamie!!
Vie
This is absolutely delicious. I made it for my family including a toddler who normally won’t eat pasta and he loved it. A definite keeper and a bonus that it is healthy too. Thanks Christie!
Freja
This looks delish! Can I use just a regular jar of pesto from the shops? If so, how much do you recommend I use? Thanks heaps
christieathome
Thanks so much! I would suggest finding a jar that is at least 125 -250 ml of Pesto to ensure you cover every noodle! Hope that helps.
Helene
I had to substitute cashews with pistachios because I didn't have that on hand. But it turned out great! Love that it uses nutritional yeast making it diary free ! Will have to try it again with cashews next time 🙂
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe Helene! Glad it worked well for you!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is such a great way to use up some of that fresh basil I have growing in my backyard right now... and using cashews instead of pine nuts in your homemade pesto was genius. It makes your homemade pesto so much less expensive to make!