Spicy Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
A chicken pesto pasta recipe with a twist, made extra spicy with roasted jalapeno peppers, prepared with spinach and basil, pecans, manchego cheese and more. If you enjoy pecan pesto, you'll love this version.
Servings: 2
Calories: 691kcal
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup spinach
- 1/4 cup basil
- 1 roasted jalapeno pepper + extras for serving if desired
- 1/4 cup olive oil + a bit more for cooking
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup shredded manchego cheese
- A bit of pasta water for the pesto
- Cooked pasta to serve
- Seared asparagus spears for topping
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts flat to about 1 inch with a meat tenderizer. Rub them down with a bit of olive oil then season with dried basil, dried oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
- Heat a pan to medium heat and sear them 3-4 minutes per side, until they are cooked through. Set aside.
- While chicken is cooking, get your pasta going by bringing a pot of salted water to boil. Boil the pasta noodles according to your box directions. Should be 10 minutes or so. I used rotini noodles!
- While pasta is cooking, heat a small pan to medium heat. Dry roast the pecans a couple minutes until they start to brown. Add them to a food processor.
- Splash the same pan with oil and add garlic clove. Toss and cook about a minute or so, until you can smell the garlic. Into the food processor it goes.
- To the food processor, add spinach, basil, 1 roasted jalapeno pepper, olive oil, and manchego cheese. Process to form your pesto. If you'd like to thin out your pesto, add a couple tablespoons of the pasta water and process.
- Drain pasta and toss it with the pesto. Serve with extra sliced jalapeno peppers and top with seared asparagus spears, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 691kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 601mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 995IU | Vitamin C: 10.8mg | Calcium: 257mg | Iron: 4.8mg