Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Basil pesto stretched with Greek yogurt into a creamy sauce that coats every piece: seared chicken, pasta, cherry tomatoes, and spinach, with the pesto flavor fully intact at a fraction of the usual oil. 49 grams of protein a bowl.
Method
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Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.
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Season the chicken with the Italian seasoning and salt and sear in a nonstick pan over medium-high, 6 to 8 minutes until golden and cooked through.
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Whisk the pesto and yogurt together with a splash of warm pasta water until smooth and pourable.
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Turn the heat to low. Add the pasta, tomatoes, and spinach to the chicken pan and toss until the spinach wilts.
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Off the heat, fold through the pesto-yogurt sauce, loosening with pasta water as needed. Finish with parmesan and basil.
💡 Tip: Off the heat, always. A boiled yogurt sauce goes grainy.
Notes
Yogurt into pesto, off the heat, is the whole trick. It doubles the sauce volume without doubling the fat.
A good store-bought pesto is fine. The yogurt carries it further than it could go alone.
Do not boil the sauce once the yogurt is in or it can split. Residual heat is enough.
Protein pasta pushes the bowl over 55g protein if you want it.
Nutrition Information
| Calories | 525kcal |
| Total Fat | 13g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 51g |
| Protein | 49g |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn't yogurt change the pesto flavor?
Less than you would expect. Pesto is intense enough that cutting it with yogurt reads as creamy pesto rather than yogurt-with-basil, the same way restaurant versions cut it with cream — this just does the job at 59 calories per 100g instead of 340.
Can I make my own pesto?
If you have basil to use, absolutely — blitz 50g basil, 15g pine nuts, 15g parmesan, a garlic clove, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Homemade runs slightly leaner than store jars and tastes brighter.
Does it work cold as a pasta salad?
Very well, which makes it a strong meal-prep double: dinner tonight, cold pasta salad lunch tomorrow. Keeps 4 days refrigerated.
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