This chicken asparagus pesto pasta features tender fettuccine pasta tossed with sautéed chicken, asparagus, and lots of flavorful pesto.
A bowl full of green on green pasta does the dinner game VERY right! Even more so if we’re pulling this off in 30 minutes with only a handful of ingredients.
All of which is 100% happening today so meet your newest dinner gem. Your emerald if you will.
Green puns aside, this pasta is absolutely packed with flavor and there’s a reason it’s almost always on our regular dinner rotation! It’s got veggies, meat, pasta, and pesto so all the bases are covered.
And I certainly wouldn’t blame you for wanting to camp out in that glorious pan of green goodness for awhile.
This Pesto Pasta features…
- Juicy sautéed chicken and tender asparagus
- Tender fettuccine pasta tossed in flavorful pesto
- Minutes to make and only 8 ingredients needed
Making the Pesto Pasta
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Olive oil
- Chicken breasts
- Asparagus
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Fettuccine pasta
- Pesto
- Parmesan cheese
Homemade vs. Jarred Pesto
This recipe works great with both homemade and store-bought jarred pesto. We personally think that homemade always has an edge on jarred because it’s made with fresher ingredients, but both work perfectly fine in this recipe.
For jarred pesto brands we typically prefer DeLallo as we think this has the most flavor. If you want to try your hand at homemade, give this spinach basil pesto a try.
Tips for Perfect Pesto Pasta
- Cut chicken and asparagus in uniform sizes – aim for 1/2-inch cubes for the chicken and 1-inch pieces for the asparagus so they cook evenly.
- Cook chicken and asparagus separately – these will have different cooking times, so we recommend cooking them separately to avoid over/undercooking.
- Cook pasta to al dente – be careful not to overcook the pasta or it may turn mushy when added to the rest of the ingredients.
- Reserve pasta cooking water – this will help thin the pesto sauce and make the pasta creamy.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this recipe.
- Skip the chicken – you can easily skip the chicken or sub in a vegetable for a meatless pasta.
- Add more vegetables – try adding sauteed sweet pepper, mushrooms, spinach, or zucchini.
- Try a different cheese – try feta, burrata, or fresh mozzarella.
- Use a different pasta shape – spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, or farfalle work great in this recipe.
If you’re looking for the perfect meal to make the transition into spring foods, look no further than this pasta! The pesto adds the most incredible herby flavors that absolutely smother every inch of the tender pasta, asparagus, and juicy chicken.
Green wins today, no way around it.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch this pasta made step-by-step on Google web stories.
Try these other quick pasta favorites next!
Chicken Asparagus Pesto Pasta
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz fettuccine pasta
- 3/4 cup homemade or jarred pesto
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and saute 3-5 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and shallot and cook 3-5 minutes until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add garlic and cook 1 additional minute until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside for a moment.
- Cook fettuccine in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and drain fettuccine.
- Fold fettuccine, cooked chicken, and pesto into asparagus mixture until evenly coated, adding a splash of pasta water as needed to thin sauce. Season fettuccine with salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle Parmesan over top of fettuccine and serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 3/7/24.
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. 😀