Enjoy all the flavors of spring in this 30-minute fettuccine, that’s filled with tender asparagus spears, juicy chicken, soft feta cheese, and lots of homemade pesto!
I made us all dinner. An entire meal-in-one. So perfect for a Monday, no?
You guys probably find my weather updates extremely boring and whatnot, but I’ve just gotta share: IT GOT UP TO EIGHTY DEGREES YESTERDAY. —- I know. My jaw practically scraped the ground when I stepped outside yesterday morning to go for my morning run and found that I had to ditch my sweatshirt because it was already so warm outside.
Thank you, Mother Nature is all I have to say.
Soooo yeah, these photos? I’m just really not feeling it. To me, pasta is reaaaally difficult when it comes to food styling. I mean, the noodles just want to stick out in all directions, and that’s just not pretty. — I did my best though, and hopefully you can see enough to know that this pasta is good. Like, really good.
The main reason I decided to share this pasta with you? 3 words. It. Is. Amazing. — Seriously, it’s one of the best pesto pastas I’ve ever put in my mouth, and believe me, I’ve had a LOT of pesto pasta throughout my lifetime.
Fresh asparagus spears and diced chicken breasts are first pan-fried with a bit of garlic and olive oil until chicken is thoroughly cooked and the asparagus is tender. — Cooking the asparagus and chicken together melds the flavors and creates an explosion of flavor. The smell of it cooking, alone is pretty awesome. 😀
I used a homemade sunflower-seed spinach pesto for this pasta, (which was SO good!) but pretty much any kind of pesto will work in this recipe.
Life is just better with pesto. I freaking love it and put it on pretty much everything. — I’m counting down the days until we have fresh basil in our vegetable garden this summer, so I can make up and freeze a few jars of homemade pesto.
Have I ever told you my obsession with feta cheese? It is the BEST — So soft, creamy, and full of calories but I don’t care. I love it and I put it on about 90% of my savory dishes.
It works SO well in this pasta. — It goes perfectly with the other components and add just an extra little “zip” of flavor.
I like sprinkling a little extra crumbled feta on my individual serving. It’s just necessary. 😉
You’ll never go back to regular pesto pasta again, after trying this amazing twist on the classic. I’m already busy dreaming up new pesto pasta combinations. Stay tuned. 😉
My family, who is usually anti-green, gobbled down this pasta when I served it for dinner the other night. My mom questioned all the green, but I just smiled and told her it was good. Really good.
I think she believed me because she cleaned her plate. And so did every other member of my family. Score. 🙂
Chicken Pesto Fettuccine With Asparagus + Feta
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts cut into 1 in cubes
- 1 lb fresh asparagus spears cut in half
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 16 oz fettuccine pasta cooked according to package instructions, and kept warm
- 1 cup prepared pesto
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute chicken, asparagus, and garlic in olive oil, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cooked pasta, pesto, and feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep pasta warm until ready to serve. Serve with additional feta cheese if desired.
Notes
Check out my other quick dinner ideas!
Skillet Chili Macaroni & Cheese
Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Hurray for warm weather! It was so hot here in California yesterday. Spring is definitely here. And I think your pictures turned out beautiful! Pasta can be trick to photograph though. Love all that bright green color : )
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Natalie!
Zan says
Sarah, you always do such a good job with your recipes. What amazes me, is that they are healthy, too!
Sarah says
You’re so sweet, Zan! Thank you so much. 😀
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating says
I think these photos look great, and this pasta sounds absolutely delicious! I love asparagus. Sounds good with chicken and pesto!
Sarah says
Thank you, Kelly. And yes, all 3 of those components go so well together! 😉
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
The pictures look great. I agree, it can be really hard to photograph pasta, but you did a fantastic job. Love this recipe
Sarah says
Thank you, Kathy! You’re very kind. 😀