Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta - only 6 ingredients! Chicken, spaghetti, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan - SO good! Great make ahead pasta casserole recipe - can freeze too!

This recipe is adapted from The Deen Family Cookbook – the first book I downloaded on my iPad, and it is wonderful.  I had some pesto from the calzone braid that I wanted to use up and this recipe fit the bill.  The original recpie was just a cheesy pasta bake; I added chicken to make it into a nice meal. 

This was a fabulous dish!   We couldn’t stop eating it.  The pesto wasn’t overwhelming – it just gave it a nice flavor.  It was simple to put together, as most of Paula Deen’s recipes are.  It could easily be made ahead of time and popped in the oven after work.  I know that I will be making this again!

Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta - only 6 ingredients! Chicken, spaghetti, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan - SO good! Great make ahead pasta casserole recipe - can freeze too!


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Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta - only 6 ingredients! Chicken, spaghetti, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan - SO good! Great make ahead pasta casserole recipe - can freeze too!
Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta - only 6 ingredients! Chicken, spaghetti, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan - SO good! Great make ahead pasta casserole recipe - can freeze too!
Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta - only 6 ingredients! Chicken, spaghetti, pesto, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan - SO good! Great make ahead pasta casserole recipe - can freeze too!

Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta
serves 4 to 6
(Printable Recipe)

  • 2 chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I sprinkled my chicken with some garlic seasoning before I cooked it)
  • 8 oz spaghetti
  • 6 oz pesto
  • 8 oz ricotta cheese
  • 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the package directions specify.  Drain the spaghetti well and transfer it to a bowl.  Stir in chicken, ricotta, pesto, ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese.  Toss the mixture well and transfer it to a 9-inch square dish.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.  Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1 minutes or until golden.

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Comments

  1. I printed this one off too! Just one question, do you just chunk up the chicken and saute it, then add to the casserole before cooking, or do you stir it in later? I just don't want the chicken to dry out … Thanks!

  2. I made this for the family last week. Yummy! They said it was good enough to be served at an Italian restaurant. Thanks for sharing this one!

  3. YUM, now we're talking! This is definitely up mama's alley. LOVE pesto. Brillant idea adding in the chicken. Thanks for passing along the recipe.
    ~ingrid

  4. I tried commenting on this when I saw it on twitter but the browser on my blackberry blows biscuits. This pasta looks amazingly good and I can just imagine how velvety the texture was with the pesto in there.

  5. Quick and easy. I like those kind of recipes.

    I'm thinking of buying an ipad. Never bought into electronic crazes before, but this one intrigues me. I tell everyone I'm the only computer geek on the planet that doesn't own a computer.
    I work on this one 8 hours a day and that's usually enough.

  6. That Deen family is bound and determined to make sure I gain weight. This really looks good, another bookmarked. I'm still jealous of that Ipad, but I'm pretty sure my boss is going to buy everyone in our company one…hope…hope… Did you see my post about your sticky buns?

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