This delicious dinner features tender chicken and sweet sun-dried tomatoes tossed with al dente pasta and a creamy pesto alfredo sauce.
My pesto alfredo recipe starts with a classic alfredo sauce base, with the bright punch of fresh pesto blended into it. This is served over noodles with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. The tomatoes can be removed from the recipe if you don't care for them, without greatly affecting the final dish. This flavorful comfort food is a great twist on a chicken alfredo dinner the whole family will love.
Chicken Pesto Alfredo
Chicken alfredo is a classic combination, so I added chicken to my pesto alfredo as well. The recipe calls for pan-searing the chicken breasts, which works great, however, you can bake them instead if you wish. You could even use leftover chicken in a pinch.
I recommend using a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts into a 1" thickness. This will allow them to cook more evenly, as well as cook quicker. The slightly thinner breasts will also be a better size for slicing and incorporating into the dish. No one wants a giant chunk of chicken on their fork!
What are the best noodles for alfredo
I used penne pasta in this alfredo recipe, however, that is admittedly not the traditional choice. Penne pasta just sounded really good to me at the time, so I ran with it. The traditional noodle choice for an alfredo dish is fettuccini. You can certainly substitute fettuccini noodles instead of penne in this dish, but penne works great too!
Ingredients Needed
- Penne pasta - Or substituted fettuccini noodles.
- Chicken breast
- Butter
- Flour
- Half and half - Heavy cream also works well to make a luxurious cream sauce. Milk can also be used, but doesn't make as thick of a sauce because it has less fat.
- Basil Pesto sauce
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Sundried tomatoes - For a brighter flavor, fresh cherry tomatoes can be used instead.
How to Make Pesto Alfredo Sauce
This pesto alfredo sauce is made the same way as my traditionally flavored homemade alfredo sauce. Start by making a roux, which is an equal mixture of butter and flour continuously stirred in a skillet until the flour cooks out. Then slowly add half and half to create the base of the sauce.
Tip: It is important to add the half and half a few splashes at a time, while stirring, to ensure it incorporates smoothly.
Once the half and half has been added, then you can sprinkle in Parmesan cheese. Keep stirring, and slowly add more cheese until it has all melted into the sauce. Parmesan is the primary flavoring agent for alfredo sauce. Finish your pesto alfredo sauce by adding fresh pesto and sundried tomato to finish it off, then gently simmer until it reaches your desired thickness.
How to serve this dish
Finish your pesto alfredo by adding the sliced chicken and cooked noodles to a large bowl and pour the pesto alfredo sauce over them. Then toss to combine with the creamy sauce. Top with additional shredded Parmesan cheese if desired and serve immediately.
Pesto Alfredo
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne pasta (cooked according to package instruction)
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt (as needed)
- fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Pesto Alfredo Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 ¼ cup half and half
- ⅓ cup pesto
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ½ cup sliced sundried tomatoes
- fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- While bringing a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta, gently pound the chicken breasts into an even thickness about 1" thick. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken and place in a large skillet over medium heat with olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping once, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, and let rest. Slice chicken into 1" chunks prior to serving.
Pesto Alfredo Sauce
- While pasta is boiling, prepare the pesto alfredo sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, then sprinkle in flour and stir continually for 2 minutes, while the raw flour taste cooks out.
- Very slowly add half and half, only a few splashes at a time, while continuing to stir. Once half and half has all been added, Parmesan can be sprinkled in as well. Continue to stir to ensure the parmesan fully melts into the sauce.
- Add pesto and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce as well and let gently simmer until it reaches your desired thickness. If it gets too thick you can thin it out with more half and half. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Add cooked noodles and sliced chicken to a large bowl and pour alfredo sauce over, and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately.
Norman Rivkim
In the ingredients you call for heavy cream yet the instructions you are using half and half. Which is correct ?
Fox Valley Foodie
Good catch! Half and half is correct!