I am all about taking shortcuts in the kitchen – as long as the flavor and nutrients are not cut. Using a store-bought pesto like this one that I picked up from Back Porch Mercantile is made with all-natural ingredients and in small batches, so I don’t feel like I’m cheating at all.
And I can absolutely say, without a doubt, this doesn’t taste like a semi-homemade meal. The lemon and artichoke go so well together and added texture from the canned artichokes along with the chicken makes a really balanced meal. Enjoy!
Lemon Artichoke Pesto Pasta
Life is crazier than ever these days and there are days I simply don’t have time (or the energy) to make dinner from scratch. I recently discovered Bella Cucina and I’m loving their brand and flavors! This is not paid or sponsored, I just like helping small businesses when I can!
Lemon Artichoke Pesto Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1/2 a box of thin spaghetti
- 1 jar Bella Cucina Artichoke Lemon Pesto
- 1 can artichoke hearts – drained and cut into quarters
- 1 chicken breast, shredded. I used a rotisserie chicken from Kroger
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
- 4–5 fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 lemon, zested and cut into slices
Instructions
- In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water cook pasta al dente. Reserve one cup of pasta when draining water.
- After draining place pasta back in the pot. Add in the jar of artichoke pesto, plenty of pepper, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, some lemon zest, and half the pasta water. using two large forks toss pasta until everything is coated well. Then add in the chopped artichokes and shredded chicken, toss again. Taste and add any salt or pepper to your liking.
- To serve sprinkle on the torn basil and parmesan cheese. Plate with lemon zest on top and lemon slices on the side.
Keywords: pasta. artichokes, pesto, lemon, one pot meal, parmesan cheese, basil
Hi, there are two sizes of the artichoke lemon pesto. I have the larger one which is 23 ounces. And your recipe I couldn’t find a reference to which size you should use. Although it does look like the smaller jar, I’m not sure what the ounces are. I’ve looked at many recipes trying to figure out what I can use this in and your recipe is the best by far! Please help. Thank you for your time.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for visiting my food blog! For this recipe I used the smaller jar (6oz) of lemon pesto, the large is 25oz so you could use a little less than than half the jar for half a box of pasta. With the leftover I think it would be great on fresh rustic bread, just lightly toasted! Let me know how your pasta turns out, have a great weekend! 🙂