Chicken Pesto Pasta

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound DeLallo Whole Wheat Penne Rigate Pasta (or rigatoni, fusilli or similarly shaped pasta)

1 jar (6.35 ounce) DeLallo Simply Pesto Traditional Basil

1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1 package (10 ounce) frozen spinach, thawed with as much of the liquid squeezed out as possible

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved (or 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes of choice. (blot away excess liquid)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (or a blend of mozzarella and provolone)

1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped, divided

1/4 cup freshly grated DeLallo Parmesan Cheese Wedge

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the diced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute the chicken until golden on all sides and fully cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate, and set aside.

In a large stockpot of boiling, generously salted water, cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain. Return pasta to the stockpot.

While the pasta cooks, in a small bowl, whisk together the pesto and Greek yogurt until evenly combined. Stir in the spinach, breaking it up as needed and stirring until evenly combined.

To the stockpot with the pasta, add the pesto/Greek yogurt mixture. Gently stir to coat the noodles in the pesto mixture. If the sauce is too thick, splash in some of the pasta water. It should be a little saucy.

Add the cooked chicken, cherry tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. Gently toss to combine.

Pour half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup mozzarella and half of the basil. Layer the remaining half of the pasta over the top, spreading it into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and just barely starts to turn golden. Remove and sprinkle immediately with the Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve warm.

Recipe and photo used with permission from DeLallo

Please note that some ingredients and brands may not be available in every store.

This recipe originally appeared on www.delallo.com