Sunday dinner: Pasta with arugula pesto and grilled chicken

This pasta recipe incorporates pesto and grilled chicken for a savory, brightly-colored and tasty dish.

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You might think of pesto as being made with basil, but there are other tasty ingredients you can use, too. This Sunday dinner recipe for pasta with arugula pesto and grilled chicken incorporates arugula in place of basil in this delicious dish. Fire up the grill for the chicken and put on the pasta because these two ingredients go perfectly with pesto! This is an easy meal to toss together.

Pasta with arugula pesto and grilled chicken recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pesto

• 3 cups (packed) baby arugula leaves
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 cup walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

For the chicken and pasta

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 ounces spaghetti, or another type of strand pasta
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

For the pesto

1. Add all the ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor and blend.
2. While the mixture is blending, drizzle the olive oil in through the processor’s reserve.
3. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Before you’ve finished blending, you may need to stop to scrape the ingredients down from the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula.
4. When finished, set the pesto aside until you’re ready to use it.

For the chicken and pasta

1. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with the salt, pepper and lemon juice.
2. Grill the chicken over medium heat, for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until done. The FDA says that a safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165 degrees F, as measured with a meat thermometer.
3. When the chicken is finished cooking, cut it into small strips. Cover it and keep it warm until the pasta is cooked.
4. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and add it to a large serving bowl.
5. Add the pesto to the pasta and toss until it’s well coated.
6. Add the chicken strips to the pasta, toss lightly and serve on individual plates.
7. Garnish with the cherry tomato halves, if you’d like.

More Sunday dinner recipes

California turkey burgers
Pasta with sausage, spinach and creamy Gorgonzola
Chicken Parmesan sandwiches