Chicken and Mushroom Pasta with Simple Pesto White Wine Sauce -

4.75 from 27 votes

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta with Simple Pesto White Wine Sauce

Chicken Pasta in Simple Pesto White Wine Sauce is so delicious with flavors of basil, thyme and oregano as well as pungency from garlic, you simply can't go wrong here!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword how to cook with pesto, pesto chicken pasta, pesto pasta, simple pesto white wine sauce

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 721kcal

Author Olya

Ingredients

Main Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoon butter (divided)
1 lb boneless, skinless thin chicken breasts, or tenders (cut up in 1 inch chunks)
10 oz white mushrooms (thickly sliced)
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper

Pesto White Wine Sauce:

4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil - combined)
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup sodium free chicken broth (adjust salt if not sodium free)
½ cup white wine
½ cup (4 oz.) basil pesto
½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
½ teaspoon salt
chopped fresh basil (for garnish)

Pasta:

10 oz fettuccine pasta

Instructions

Cooking chicken:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken chunks to the hot skillet, generously season them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning right in the skillet and cook for about 4 minutes on one side, flip once and cook for 2 additional minutes on the other side.
In order to not overcrowd the pan I cooked chicken in 2 rounds (this avoids overs-teaming it and ensures proper browning). Because the pan will be hotter on the second round, reduce cooking time for chicken to 2 minutes per side. Add a splash of olive oil to the second round of cooking chicken. Remove cooked chicken from skillet after each round.

Cooking mushrooms:

Add second tablespoon of olive oil and second tablespoon of butter to the now empty skillet. Once the pan is hot, add sliced mushrooms, generously season them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning right in the skillet.
Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat without flipping for 2-3 minutes until mushrooms release liquid and get soft. Pressing down with spatula will speed up the process. Flip to the other side and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove mushrooms from skillet.

Pesto White Wine Parmesan Sauce:

Add minced garlic to the now empty skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ cup wine and cook on medium for 2 minutes to reduce wine.
Now add ½ cup basil pesto and ½ cup chicken broth. On medium heat, mix everything to combine. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until the sauce reduces.
Reduce the heat and add salt and ½ cup of shredded Parmesan. Slowly mix it in until it's evenly incorporated with the sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Pasta:

In the meantime bring a large pot of salty water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions.
Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.

Putting it all together:

Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce, and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce.
Add chicken and mushrooms. Mix with pasta and sauce. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.
Garnish with fresh basil.

Nutrition