This Spinach Pesto Pasta is a delicious pesto chicken pasta and a light and healthy meal with summer vegetables. The spinach and walnut pesto is easy to make and delicious on any pasta.
Last week I wasn’t feeling the whole meal planning thing. I’m usually really good about planning out our dinners for each night of the week, but I needed a break. Most weeks it works best for me and my family to have a menu plan, but it was refreshing to take a break for a week and it actually inspired some new recipes!
I had to get creative with what we had in our refrigerator and pantry, and that’s how this Spinach Pesto Pasta with chicken came about. I had some spinach in the fridge that was on its last legs, plus green beans from our farm box the week before. A spinach and walnut pesto was the perfect way to use up the spinach, and it was delicious tossed together with rotini pasta and vegetables and would make a great pesto pasta salad too. I added some leftover chicken from the night before for protein, but this pesto pasta recipes could easily be enjoyed vegetarian as well.
I’m adding this Spinach Pesto Pasta to my list of easy 30-minute meals, and I know I’ll be making it again soon! It’s delicious warm, at room temperature, or cold, making it the perfect dish to enjoy on a warm summer evening or as leftovers for lunch.
Try my Caprese Pasta next! It’s another easy pasta recipe that highlights fresh summer produce.
Spinach Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
For the Spinach Pesto:
- 3 cups fresh spinach, loosely packed
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ cup walnuts, toast them if you have time
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Pasta:
- ¾ pound green beans, trimmed
- 8 ounces rotini pasta, whole wheat preferred
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Instructions
Make the Pesto:
- Place all pesto ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely chopped. With the processor running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube and process until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Prepare the Pasta:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place green beans in the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes, until just crisp-tender. Use a slotted spoon to scoop green beans into a bowl of cold water. Keep water in pot at a boil. Remove green beans from cold water after a few minutes and place on a clean towel to dry.
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water; drain pasta and return to the pot.
- Line up the green beans a handful at a time and cut in half. Add beans and chicken to the pot with the pasta. Stir in the pesto, adding a little of the reserved pasta cooking water to help loosen the sauce as needed. Gently stir in the tomatoes.
- The pasta is delicious warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Enjoy!
These nothing better than a good pesto pasta- except one with fresh toppings! So yum 🙂
What a pretty pasta salad! All the best colors of summer.
This looks so fresh and seasonal! Love it!
What a perfect summer salad, Kristine! I love the fresh green beans in here. Such a great dish to use up those fresh veggies!
Simple and delicious. Love this pasta
This pasta is seriously RIGHT up my alley! Lovin’ all the green and the fact that it’s an entire summer meal-in-one! So gorgeous, Kristine!
This pasta looks delicious and so summery, Kristine! Love pasta and pesto – one of my favourites! Perfect lunch or light dinner recipe!
This pasta looks amazing, Kristine! I love how simple and fresh it is! So pretty and perfect for summer!
I know the feeling. Sometimes planning comes out so naturally, some other times is a bit more, say, challenging:)
Glad you diverted though. This is great!!
Looks like a bowl full of summer! Such a light and healthy summer meal!
I made this for dinner last night! It was delicious! I used some leftover roast chicken and it came together super quickly! I would have never through to add green beans to a pasta dish but it was great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Annie! Thank you for commenting to let me know!
I have been buying fresh green beans like mad lately … this pasta looks and sounds wonderful! So fresh!
Such gorgeous looking salad!! Looks amazing!
What a gorgeous salad!! Perfect for these hot days we are having! I need to make this asap! Pinned! 🙂
I wish I could get going on the meal planning thing…we wing it every night and it’s kind of a gong show 😉 Love this salad, looks just perfect for a picnic!
I love the colors in this pasta salad! YUM!
This is a fantastic, light, and healthy summer meal. Pesto is such a great way to use leafy greens and it adds amazing flavor to any dish.
Thank you, Thao! Pesto sure does add great flavor!