Pasta! A timeless favourite in many homes — especially with kids. My children absolutely adore pasta, and the combination of pesto and pasta is always a winner. I often swap in wholemeal pasta for a healthier option, and sometimes use tuna in place of chicken. No matter how I serve it, they love it.
This chicken, roast tomatoes and homemade pesto pasta is simple to prepare and versatile — perfect for a family dinner, a garden or BBQ gathering, a lunch box, or a picnic. It tastes wonderful served hot or cold.
Other pasta recipes you may like and enjoy :
- Macaroni pasta with ground walnuts and cardamom – a delicious sweet pasta version
- Pasta shells filled with spinach and ricotta cheese
- Chicken, roast tomatoes and homemade pesto pasta
- Linguini pasta with clams and squid
- Spiralized zucchini pasta
Chicken, roast tomatoes and homemade pesto pasta
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Ingredients
- 500 g spaghetti (dry)
- 500 g chicken (boneless, skinless)
- 300 g cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt
- pepper
For the homemade pesto:
- 50 g basil (fresh) roughly chopped, and a few for decoration
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 4-5 tablespoon pine nuts keep a few to sprinkle over at the end
- 1 clove garlic (grated for ease)
- Himalayan salt (pink)
- 1 pinch pepper (freshly ground)
- 30 g parmesan (shredded) leave some aside for serving
- 1 pinch red chilli flakes (optional) for serving
- few basil leaves to decorate
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 200°C.
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On an oven tray arrange the washed, dried and halved cherry tomatoes with the cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 15–20 minutes.
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Boil the chicken in lightly salted water for about 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in a pressure cooker). Remove, place on an oven tray and bake for about 10 minutes to develop a light golden colour.
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Use the water the chicken cooked in to cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta in a sieve, reserving a little of the cooking water to loosen the sauce if needed.
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Meanwhile, make the pesto: in a food processor add the basil, pine nuts, grated garlic, salt and pepper and pulse a few times. With the motor running, add the olive oil gradually until you reach a smooth sauce. Add the parmesan and pulse briefly to combine.
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Toss the pesto with the drained pasta in a large bowl. Add a splash of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Shred the chicken and fold it in with the roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle extra parmesan and red chilli flakes if using, then serve garnished with a few basil leaves.
Notes
Wholemeal pasta is a great, healthier option if you prefer it.
If you don’t want to make pesto from scratch, store-bought jarred pesto will work fine — though homemade lets you control the salt level.
You can grill the chicken instead of boiling and baking, but avoid drying it out. Leftover roasted chicken also works very well tossed into a cold pasta salad.
Canned tuna is a delicious alternative to chicken and makes a lovely variation of this dish.