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I’d consider this grilled chicken pesto pasta one of my easiest pasta recipes! This pasta dish is also packed with flavors, so you’ll want to make this again and again! I guarantee with this pesto pasta recipe, you can get dinner on the table in 30 minutes! If you have your Classic Basil Pesto Sauce ready to go, you’ll cut the preparation time down even more! Otherwise, feel free to use your favorite store-bought pesto sauce!
The inspiration for this recipe came from finishing off leftovers, actually. I had also seen a picture of a similar dish, using chicken, lemon and some other goodies such as almonds. So I used my own spin on that recipe - when I first tried this out, I didn’t use pesto, and instead it was just chicken, olive oil, peas and Parmesan cheese.
The goal was also to get a fast dinner on the table because I was really pressed for time and wanted to enjoy something simple but flavorful. I loved the bright green pop from the peas, so I wanted to enhance it a little more with the addition of pesto sauce! It really added so much flavor and freshness to the dish! I’d say this seriously an awesome recipe for those busy weeknights!
The main effort in this recipe is boiling your pasta and grilling the chicken. For the grilled chicken, I’m using a simple Italian mix of flavors for the marinade that I’ve been loving, which emphasizes the simple and bold flavors of olive oil and lemon juice, with a touch of chili flakes, oregano, white vinegar and garlic. It’s actually my Italian Herb Grilled Chicken recipe, which you can read more about by clicking the link!
If you want a healthy and extremely delicious weeknight dinner option to feed yourself and/or your family, then you’ve come to the right place! This pesto pasta with grilled chicken sure is the perfect choice! Be sure to watch the video for all the details, and if you haven’t already then be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! Hit the bell button to be notified when all of my video recipes go live!
Why You’ll Love This Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken Recipe!
- Easy to make: You just need to cook the pasta and grill the chicken! It’s also super simple to make the homemade pesto sauce!
- Healthy: We’ve got a balanced meal of protein from the chicken breast and peas, along with carbohydrates and healthy fats from the pine nuts and olive oil. This combination will keep you full and satisfied.
- Fresh ingredients: While you could use a jarred pesto, I do recommend fresh because fresh is best! I just love the flavor of fresh pesto sauce, and you’ll really taste the difference!
- Perfect for families: You can scale the recipe based on how many portions you want to make using the recipe card at the bottom of this post! All the quantities to make your own pesto sauce and for the chicken marinade will be automatically adjusted!
Equipment Needed for Grilled Chicken With Pesto Pasta!
Ingredients for This Easy Grilled Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
The ingredients are so simple! Here’s what you’ll need for this ultra fast weeknight dinner to feed your family!
- Bowties. Bowties are always so much fun to cook with. Even though I’m using white pasta, there still is a considerable amount of fiber and protein. I like how the bowties scoop up all the pesto sauce and are evenly coated. You’ll also get lots of peas on your bowties! Other pasta shapes that go well with pesto sauce include penne rigate, fusilli and rotini.
- Pesto sauce. I’m using my Classic Basil Pesto Sauce here, but feel free to use a jarred pesto sauce if you’re looking to save some extra time.
- Chicken. I’m using chicken breast here. I love the combination of juicy, grilled chicken breast with pesto sauce. I also love grilled shrimp with pesto, if you’re looking to switch up the protein! To make it vegetarian, simply omit the meat and replace with tofu if you would still like that protein boost.
- Green peas. You can use fresh or frozen here. Note that if you’re using fresh green peas, boil them in water for 5-10 minutes before using. I love the peas still popping out with the pesto sauce, and they add a nice texture to the pasta. Peas add extra protein, so if you’re opting out the chicken, then you’ll get some peas if you load them up!
- Extra virgin olive oil. This is key for the marinade for the chicken. Don’t be scared of olive oil! It has heart healthy fats, and is prominently used in Mediterranean cooking. You really want to coat your chicken in a significant amount of olive oil so it’s really juicy and grills well.
- Lemon juice. This adds a light and tangy flavor to the chicken.
- Red chili flakes. I always love a hint of heat to my dishes!
- Ground oregano. This gives the chicken a nice Italian flavor that complements the grilled flavor so well. You can also use dried oregano leaves.
- White vinegar. A few drops of this in the marinade will go a long way!
- Salt and pepper: Add these to taste! In particular, we’ll need salt for both the chicken marinade, the pesto sauce, and to season the pasta water.
- Parmesan cheese. The final touch to our pasta dish. I love the nutty flavor, and a little goes a long way!
How to Make Easy Grilled Chicken and Pesto Pasta
Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Season to taste.
Slice the chicken diagonally into two equal sized portions and place the chicken in a large ziplock. Using a meat tenderizer or a heavy object (I use a rolling pin), flatten to 1/4 inch thickness. Add chicken cutlets to the marinade and marinate for 10-15 minutes.
First, add water to a large pot and bring it to a boil. When the water has come to a rolling boil, generously season with salt and add bowties. Cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a grill pan on medium heat. With the help of tongs, place the marinated chicken directly on the hot grill, letting any excess marinade drip back into the bowl.
Cook for 4-5 minutes on one side until lightly charred. Then, flip the chicken, lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the other side is slightly charred and the chicken is no longer pink.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4 Cup of the pasta cooking water and transfer the pasta back to the pot. Mix in the fresh pesto, green peas and a drizzle of the cooking water to dilute the pesto slightly. Then sprinkle half of the grated parmesan on the pasta and mix well.
Once the chicken is cooked, set grilled chicken aside on a cutting board to rest.
Serve the pasta on a plate and top with the chicken pieces.
Finish with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, serve hot, and enjoy!
Tips to Make the Perfect Grilled Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Of course an outdoor grill will do wonders to the grilled chicken. If you have the option, go ahead and grill it on the barbecue. To use a regular pan on the other hand, you can follow the same steps as I did for the grill pan.
- To ensure the chicken is fully cooked you can follow the steps that I swear by. Get a hard sear on a hot pan on one side, this is where you infuse the chicken with flavor. Then, once the chicken releases easily and is browned, turn the chicken, lower the heat, and cook the other side. The chicken is cooked when the chicken is white inside and is juicy, and poking it results in a light bounce back - just like the tip of your nose.
- It’s hard to advise how much pesto exactly is right for the recipe. I personally like tons of pesto on my pasta but that might not be authentic or match the palette that you have. So, use a spoonful, mix, taste and adjust to your liking.
- Don’t throw away the pasta water, it is full of starch will help thin out the pasta after the pesto is mixed in and will help give the pasta some body. Add a splash and adjust as needed.
Variations of Pesto Grilled Chicken Pasta
- Change the pasta shape: Try out any of the other pasta shapes mentioned previously in the ingredients section of this post.
- Veggies: We’ve already got peas here, but if you want to bulk up the pasta dish with even more veggies, you could also add in Garlic Butter Broccoli, sauté some peppers or asparagus, or even throw in onions and tomatoes!
- Dark meat: I find grilling chicken breast is best for this recipe, but nothing stops you from using chicken thighs if desired! However, note that there is a difference in cook time from white meat to dark meat.
- Vegetarian: Don’t want the meat? No problem! I actually served this vegetarian for my mom without the chicken, and she loved it!
Can I make Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Peas Ahead of Time?▼
I really don’t think you should in this case! The Parmesan will become gloopy and the chicken may get soggy. For best results, serve this fresh! To be fair, if you have your pesto sauce made in advance, this will really save a lot of time!
Serving Suggestions for Chicken Pesto Pea Pasta
While I think this meal is hearty enough in itself, some crusty bread like a baguette can’t hurt to scoop up all the extra sauce on your plate! For some more greens, try serving with a simple Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese. To make this a complete meal with appetizers, try pairing this chicken pesto pasta with Mozzarella Sticks! If you want to serve the perfect dessert after this main, try out a cool No-Bake Oreo Mud Pie. For something quick and easy to make on the spot, you’d love my Caramelized Apple Spiced Bananas or my Air Fryer Crescent Roll Baby Cinnamon Rolls!
Grilling the Chicken: Cutlets, Not Breasts
The recipe starts with 6 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast, but it never reaches the grill pan as a breast. The recipe card instructions have you slice it diagonally into two equal portions, drop them in a ziplock and flatten them to a quarter inch with a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin. At that point they are cutlets, and that is the whole reason this dish lands in under forty minutes. A quarter-inch cutlet needs four to five minutes on the first side and only a few more after the flip, where a whole breast would still be cooking long after the pasta had gone cold.
Flattening also fixes the marinade. Ten to fifteen minutes is a short soak, and on a thick piece of meat it would only ever season the outside. Spread thin, that same window is enough to season chicken the whole way through. The marinade itself is worth reading properly, because it is not italian seasoning shaken out of a jar: it is half a tablespoon of olive oil, one garlic clove minced fresh rather than garlic powder, the juice of half a lemon, half a teaspoon of ground oregano and red chili flakes to taste. Over fifteen minutes, fresh garlic gives you a bite that powder simply cannot.
Pesto Is Not a Creamy Sauce, and the Pasta Water Is Why
There is no heavy cream in this dish and there is not meant to be. Pesto reads like a creamy sauce on the plate, but it is an emulsion of olive oil, cheese and basil, and what makes it coat the pasta rather than slide off it is the quarter cup of starchy water you reserved before draining. Add it a splash at a time, stir, and watch the pesto go from thick paste to something that clings to every bowtie.
The order matters here too. The cooked pasta goes back into its own pot with the heat off, then the pesto, the peas and the water. Keep it off the heat, because pesto is not a cooked sauce and holding it over a burner dulls the basil and can make the Parmesan seize. The honest tip in this post is the one about quantity: there is no correct amount of pesto, so add a spoonful, stir, taste and adjust. Farfalle is the shape used because the folds trap both the sauce and the peas, and penne rigate, fusilli and rotini all do the same job. If you want to bulk the bowl out, the variations above already point at broccoli, peppers, asparagus, onions and tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes are the easiest of those to add since halving them is the entire preparation.
Make the Pesto Ahead, but Not the Pasta
The FAQ above is right that this chicken pesto pasta recipe does not want to be made in advance. The Parmesan turns gloopy and the chicken goes soggy, and no amount of time in the microwave brings either of them back, so reheating is not the plan. What you can get ahead is the sauce, and it happens to be the part that takes the longest anyway.
The Classic Basil Pesto Sauce is one cup of tightly packed fresh basil leaves, a tablespoon and a half of pine nuts, two garlic cloves, four tablespoons of olive oil and a cup of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. It goes into a blender, or a food processor if that is what is already on your counter, and gets pulsed only until finely chopped. The Parmesan is folded in afterwards with a spatula rather than blitzed, which is what keeps the texture right. Made that way it keeps in the fridge for about two weeks in a sealed airtight container, so the pesto can be a Sunday job and Wednesday's dinner becomes nothing more than a pot of pasta and a grill pan. Pesto also takes to the freezer if you want it beyond that, though the texture never quite comes back the same way it went in.
One small thing that is easy to miss: the peas go in defrosted, not frozen. The recipe card says so plainly, and the reason is that they are added off the heat at the very end, so there is nothing left in the pot to thaw them and a handful of frozen peas will simply cool the whole bowl down. Leave them out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature while the pasta boils. If you are using fresh peas instead, they want five to ten minutes in boiling water before they go anywhere near the pesto. Total time on the recipe card is thirty-seven minutes, and the bulk of that is the twenty-five minutes of prep, since the actual cooking is twelve.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Quick, easy, and full of flavor — this pesto pasta with grilled chicken and peas is the perfect weeknight dinner. Ready in minutes with simple ingredients you already love.
Grilled
Rate this recipe ✦
25 min
Prep
12 min
Cook
37 min
Total
2
servings
medium
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
- (170 g) chicken breast
- (170 g) farfalle pastaShop →
- Classic Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe · make your own
- (145 g) green peas(defrosted if frozen)
- Parmesan(grated, for topping)
- salt(to taste)Shop →
Instructions
To prepare the chicken
- 1
Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Season to taste.
Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Season to taste.
- 2
Slice the chicken diagonally into two equal sized portions and place the chicken in a large ziplock. Using a meat tenderizer or a heavy object (I use a rolling pin), flatten to 1/4 inch thickness.
Slice the chicken diagonally into two equal sized portions and place the chicken in a large ziplock. Using a meat tenderizer or a heavy object (I use a rolling pin), flatten to 1/4 inch thickness.
- 3
Add chicken cutlets to the marinade and marinate for 10-15 minutes.
Add chicken cutlets to the marinade and marinate for 10-15 minutes.
To prepare the pasta
- 1
Heat a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta.
Heat a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta.
- 2
When the water has come to a rolling boil, generously season with salt and add farfalle. Cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
When the water has come to a rolling boil, generously season with salt and add farfalle. Cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
- 3
While the pasta is cooking, heat a grill pan on medium heat. With the help of tongs, place the marinated chicken directly on the hot grill, letting any excess marinade drip back into the bowl. Cook for 4-5 minutes on one side until lightly charred.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a grill pan on medium heat. With the help of tongs, place the marinated chicken directly on the hot grill, letting any excess marinade drip back into the bowl. Cook for 4-5 minutes on one side until lightly charred.
- 4
Then, flip the chicken, lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the other side is slightly charred and the chicken is no longer pink. Once cooked, set grilled chicken aside on a cutting board to rest.
Then, flip the chicken, lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the other side is slightly charred and the chicken is no longer pink. Once cooked, set grilled chicken aside on a cutting board to rest.
- 5
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and drain the pasta, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Transfer back to the pot and mix in the fresh pesto, green peas and a drizzle of the cooking water to dilute the pesto slightly.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and drain the pasta, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Transfer back to the pot and mix in the fresh pesto, green peas and a drizzle of the cooking water to dilute the pesto slightly.
- 6
Sprinkle half of the grated parmesan on the pasta and mix well. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Sprinkle half of the grated parmesan on the pasta and mix well. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
- 7
Serve pasta on a plate and scatter the grilled chicken bites. Top with extra Parmesan. Serve hot and enjoy:)
Serve pasta on a plate and scatter the grilled chicken bites. Top with extra Parmesan. Serve hot and enjoy:)
Notes
- •If using fresh green peas, boil in water for 5-10 mins or until soft before using. As the lemon juice from the chicken drips onto the grill pan, the pan will darken as the lemon juice cooks. Once the pan is no longer hot, add about a cup of hot water to the pan and let it sit 10-15 minutes. The lemon juice should come right off.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
Filed under
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