Shrimp and Chicken Pesto Pasta

This shrimp and chicken pesto pasta is delicious and so easy to prep! Chicken and shrimp are married together with a simple yet tasty homemade spinach pesto. Use spaghetti noodles or linguine and top with Parmesan cheese.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Italian

Recipe Type Camping, Chicken, Fall, Pasta, Quick Dinner, Seafood, Served Hot, Shrimp, Spinach, Summer

Skill Level Easy

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings Servings

Calories 703kcal

Author Angela G.

Equipment

Ingredients

16 oz linguine pasta, cooked
16 oz jumbo shrimp deveined, tail-on
1.25 lb diced chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste

Pesto Sauce

4 cups fresh spinach
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoon dried basil
¼ cup pine nuts lightly toasted
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
¼ cup olive oil plus more to grease pan

Topping

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta. Cook and drain pasta as directed on the package. Return pasta to the pot and cover to keep warm. Add a little oil if needed to prevent pasta from sticking to pan.
Toast pine nuts. Add pine nuts to a baking sheet and bake until light golden brown. About 2-3 minutes at 350ºF. Remove from pan and set aside.
Prepare pesto sauce. While pasta is cooking, using a food processor, blend together spinach, basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and oil to create the pesto sauce.
Combine pesto and pasta. Add pesto sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Cover again to keep warm.
Cook shrimp. Using a greased cast iron skillet, cook raw shrimp over medium-high heat, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until pink. Season generously with salt and pepper as they cook. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook chicken. Using the same skillet, add a drizzle of oil and cook diced chicken over medium-high heat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 4-6 minutes or until internal temperature reached 165ºF then remove from heat and set aside with shrimp.
Serve. To serve, twirl pesto noodles and place several twirls onto each plate. Top with shrimp, chicken and Parmesan cheese.

Video

Notes

Be sure to salt the water when cooking your pasta. For added depth of flavor you can add chicken or vegetable bullion to the pasta water.

Pine nuts should be a light golden brown when done. Do not over toast or pesto will have a burnt taste.

For plump shrimp and moist chicken, be sure to only cook just until done then remove from heat.

I like to use a dutch oven to cook my pasta but you can use any large pot.

Nutrition