This Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta is the perfect veggie packed and light pasta dish for summer!

Pesto season is here!! And this Broccoli Pesto Salad does not disappoint! Does anyone else think of summer as the best time to have pesto on anything and everything? Combining such simple flavors with a delicious pasta and veggies makes for a great summer dish for any day of the week.  I am teaming up with Ocean Mist Farms to share this epic Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe using their amazing broccoli!  I like to chop the broccoli into smaller pieces so it blends in with the pasta nicely and that also makes it much more kid friendly!  It is so crazy that I am already trying to find ways to make meals kid friendly by the way. I am SO hoping I can get my girl to start loving veggies from an early age and think I can do it!  I cannot wait to have her try all my favorites like sweet potato and broccoli and hope to make a bunch of fun puree combos for her.

I’ll never forget when we had my nephew spending the week with us when my niece was born and we were having one of our standard healthy dinners.  We had roasted broccoli and we got him to eat tons of it!! Proudest aunt moment of my life so far. I bet if I served the broccoli with pasta like in this dish he would eat even more!  I love this Broccoli Pesto Salad because it isn’t heavily dressed so it is nice and light for summer. And I am a believer that any pasta can be turned into a pasta salad if you serve it cold – which definitely works in this case!

This Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta is the perfect veggie packed and light pasta dish for summer!

If you love pesto pasta but want to keep it grain free, check out these pesto chicken zoodles! This post is sponsored by Ocean Mist Farms but all opinions are 100% my own!

Lots more Broccoli recipes for you to try:

Mushroom Beef and Broccoli

Fig and Sage Roasted Broccoli Salad

Five Spice Beef & Broccoli

Harvest Broccoli Salad

This Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta is the perfect veggie packed and light pasta dish for summer!

Pin the photo below to save this Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe for later!

This Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta is the perfect veggie packed and light pasta dish for summer!

Nutrition for Broccoli Pesto Salad

The nutrient star in this dish is hard to determine.  The sauce alone has a lot of nutritional benefits from the  basil leaves and the pine nuts are a great source of protein.  Also the Broccoli here is such a powerful vegetable for overall health!  Broccoli is high in fiber ( 2.4g / cup ) is also a great source of vitamins K and C, folic acid and also potassium. It is also very high in Vitamin C which is essential to immune health and assists with building collagen, which forms body tissue and bone, and helps wounds heal.

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This Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta is the perfect veggie packed and light pasta dish for summer!

Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta


  • Author: Kelsey

Ingredients

Scale

Pesto:

  • 1 cup packed fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Chicken Pasta:

  • 3 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
  • 3 tbsp. pesto
  • 10 oz. small pasta like bowtie or rotini
  • 2 cups broccoli
  • 1 cup snap peas
  • 1 cup zucchini
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • In a large pot, start boiling water for pasta, add the salt and pepper and return to a simmer. Once the pot is boiling add pasta.
  • Cook for about 10-12 minutes then drain.
  • In a food processor or blender combine fresh basil, garlic cloves, pine nuts and olive oil.
  • In a sauté pan, add the olive oil, pesto and the chopped garlic. Bring to a simmer.
  • Add the vegetables: broccoli, snap peas and zucchini, stir to coat and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add cooked chicken and pasta.
  • Once everything is cooked, toss all in a large bowl, add parmesan cheese and enjoy!