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Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

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Cooking ahead is a great way to make sure dinner gets on the table on busy nights. This Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad can be made in the morning or even the night before!

Get dinner on the table on busy nights with easy family meals like pasta salad. This Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad has lots of great flavors and is quick to make!

One of the ways I'm balancing this busy summer with my goal of feeding my family healthy foods is by making the time to cook ahead for busy nights.
Pasta salads are perfect for this because they typically can be served either warm or cold, and the flavors meld together when given time to sit and chill before serving.
While my go-to dish is the Spinach Feta Pasta Salad (made so often I can make it in my sleep!), it's nice to try a new recipe once in a while.

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

My family loves the flavors in this pasta salad, since they'll eat anything with olives and artichoke hearts. They were a little disappointed because they thought “pesto” in the name would make the whole thing green.

This is a healthier serving of pesto, but feel free to add more pesto if your family really likes it!

We enjoy this Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad warm. It's also good cold for lunch the next day.

Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 cup pesto
  • 2 14.5 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 small can sliced olives, drained
  • 1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 lb. penne pasta

Instructions

  • Prepare pasta as directed.
  • In a large skillet, saute the chicken in the olive oil.
  • Once chicken is no longer pink, stir in pesto, tomatoes, olives and artichoke hearts.
  • Stir gently to combine and heat another 5-10 minutes to blend flavors.
  • Spoon over prepared pasta, and top with crumbled feta.
    • © MoneywiseMoms
    Cuisine: Dinner Recipes / Category: Recipes

    Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad is linked up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Craft-O-Maniac Mondays at Craft-O-Maniac, Fun with Food Friday at Paisley Passions, Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet, and Feasting in Fellowship Friday at Comfy in the Kitchen.

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    Meal Plan Monday: Summer Eating

    Monday 4th of June 2012

    [...] Tuesday–Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken (recipe coming on Friday), brown rice noodles Wednesday–Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Thursday–Turkey Spinach Burgers, red potato salad, corn on the cob Friday–Pizza at the pool; [...]

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