Parmesan Zucchini Tomato Chicken Spaghetti

Parmesan Zucchini Tomato Chicken Spaghetti – a delicious pasta toss with basil pesto and lots of grated Parmesan cheese!

This easy-to-make pasta is a great recipe for both Summer and Autumn seasons.  Zucchini and chicken when combined can be bland, but in this recipe their flavors are deliciously accentuated by tomatoes, basil pesto and grated Parmesan cheese. As you can see on the photos, there are lots of veggies in this dish (which makes it healthy!), and the chicken adds the protein and makes this pasta a more filling dish for those of us who can’t survive just on meatless recipes.

Start by cooking sliced zucchini (just use 1 zucchini) in a large skillet with olive oil and a pinch of salt:

After removing the zucchini, cook sliced chicken breast in the same skillet, and mix it with 1/4 cup of basil pesto:

Cook spaghetti according the package instructions, and combine all ingredients together in the skillet: cooked spaghetti, cooked chicken, cooked zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. I used 2 colors of cherry tomatoes, yellow and red, and I sliced each tomato in half.

Add another 1/4 cup of basil pesto and mix everything together!  Reheat gently. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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Parmesan Zucchini Tomato Chicken Spaghetti

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 lb chicken breast, uncooked, sliced
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 8 oz spaghetti, uncooked (use gluten free spaghetti, for gluten free version)
• 1 cup red cherry tomatoes, each sliced in half
• 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, each sliced in half
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat until hot. Add sliced zucchini, sprinkle with salt, and cook, on medium-high heat, for about 5 minutes, flipping once, until the zucchini is soft and slightly browned. Remove zucchini from the skillet.
2. To the same skillet, add one teaspoon of olive oil and sliced chicken breast. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, flipping chicken slices a couple of times, until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 cup of basil pesto with the chicken slices.
3. In a large pot, bring water to boil, add spaghetti, and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain pasta.
4. Add cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with the cooked chicken. Add red and yellow cherry tomatoes (each one sliced in half). Add another 1/4 cup of basil pesto, stir everything together, and reheat gently on low-medium heat. Taste and add extra basil pesto (if desired) and extra salt, if needed. Remove from heat. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta in the skillet.
5. When serving, sprinkle each individual serving plate with extra Parmesan, if desired.

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