Baked Pesto Chicken Pasta is the ultimate comfort food meal and perfect for busy weeknights. Made with just FIVE ingredients, this creamy pesto chicken recipe combines rotisserie chicken, creamy pesto sauce, frozen ravioli and shredded mozzarella cheese then it’s baked to bubbly golden perfection!

Quick and easy chicken dinner ideas are my jam!!

Nothing makes me happier than tossing together a handful of ingredients and serving up a delicious meal FAST.

That’s probably why I am now totally in love with this new Baked Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe.

Looking for more recipes with pesto? Don’t forget to check out my Pesto Chicken Ravioli and Veggies, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta and Chicken Ravioli with Jalapeno Pesto.

baked pesto chicken pasta

This creamy pesto chicken recipe is my new obsession.

When I searched for recipes with pesto, I just couldn’t find the perfect pesto chicken dish I was craving!!

Off to the store I went ..

One of my favorite easy dinner ideas is my Baked Tortellini Casserole.

It only takes a handful of ingredients to serve up some serious comfort food.

So I applied the same idea to making the perfect baked creamy pesto chicken pasta recipe.

When I was done, I had everything I needed to make the ultimate chicken pesto bake!

What is not to love about rotisserie chicken, store bought pesto, your favorite jar of alfredo sauce and frozen ravioli?

So much love in this dish!!!

This chicken pesto bake is the best of both worlds. It’s the perfect easy dinner recipe and it’s pure cheesy comfort food at it’s finest.

Basically you are dicing up some rotisserie chicken and tossing with store bought pesto and alfredo sauce.

Combining the two sauces is going to give you a delicious creamy pesto sauce.

Then mix in some frozen ravioli or tortellini with your pesto chicken.

Cover your pesto chicken pasta in shredded mozzarella cheese, bake and enjoy!

why this chicken pesto pasta is the BEST

• FIVE INGREDIENTS… HELLO!!!
• Quick and easy, my friend! Because this recipe is made using only FIVE ingredients, this pesto pasta dish is on your table in under and hour.
• Grabbing store bought convenience items cuts down on your work and gives you more time OUT of the kitchen.
• This creamy pesto chicken dish is a big ol’ pan of hearty comfort food. It feeds a lot of people and leftovers reheat beautifully.
• This baked pesto chicken pasta recipe is made using frozen ravioli. There is no need to cook your ravioli ahead of time.
• This can be made ahead of time and is perfect to throw in the freezer and have on hand when life gets crazy

ingredients for pesto chicken pasta

Let’s go over what you need to make this easy dinner recipe..

• Frozen ravioli or tortellini
• Jar of your favorite alfredo sauce
• Store bought container of pesto
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Rotisserie chicken

Can you already see all of the time you are saving yourself by making this pesto chicken recipe?

You could maybe find some quiet time .. to read .. with a glass of wine .. in complete silence … for at least 20 minutes..

…more if you are really good at hiding.

how to make baked pesto chicken pasta

Hang on kids, this is a fast one…!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick spray.

Remove the meat from the chicken, discarding all skin and bones. Cut or shred the meat into small pieces.

Move the chicken to a large skillet and add alfredo sauce. Heat over medium high heat, just to warm up the sauce.

Carefully pour out and discard as much of the excess oil from your pesto as possible.

Add the pesto to the chicken and alfredo sauce. Stir to combine.

Toss the frozen ravioli into the skillet with the chicken and pesto sauce.

Mix together until well incorporated.

Transfer half of the pesto chicken ravioli to your prepared baking pan and smooth into an even layer.

Cover with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Add remaining pesto pasta and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes, uncover and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese turns bubbly and golden..

Remove and serve with some garlic bread and a nice crisp, green salad.

pro tips for perfect creamy pesto chicken

• Not a fan of rotisserie chicken? Feel free to cut 2 large chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Also works perfectly with chopped or shredded baked chicken breasts.
• Store bought fresh pesto comes with a lot of oil in it. That’s how pesto is made. However, it’s a lot of oil to add to this dish. Be sure to gently tip your pesto and remove as much of the oil collected on top, as possible. Removing that top layer of pesto oil ensures your pesto chicken recipe won’t be oily.
• The frozen ravioli can be substituted with frozen tortellini, if you like. Both come out delicious.
• Bacon. In hindsight, there is definitely room for chopped cooked bacon in this recipe … 🙂 #baconislife
• Feel free to season this baked pesto pasta dish to your tastes. Throw in some onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh basil … 
• This pesto pasta casserole will keep in the fridge for about five days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until warmed through.
• Cooking just for two? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole as instructed in an 8-inch square pan. Or make the whole thing and freeze any leftovers for another night.
• You can prep easy dinner in advance and freeze it until you’re ready to bake it! To do so, in a freezer friendly baking pan, simply follow the recipe instructions up until where you would bake it. Instead, cover tightly with foil and freeze. To bake, remove from freezer and bake as instructed, adding on an additional 15 minutes or until warmed through.

frozen cheese ravioli

One of my favorite things about this pasta dish is that it is made using frozen ravioli. 

There is no need to boil the ravioli first, just add the frozen ravioli right into the sauce and bake as instructed. 

Frozen cheese tortellini could also be used in this recipe.

Frozen ravioli is easily found in the frozen section of your grocery store.

If you prefer to grab refrigerated ravioli vs frozen ravioli, simply reduce the main cooking time by 10 minutes.

recipes using rotisserie chicken

When it comes to easy dinner recipes, recipes using rotisserie chicken is a huge time saver, cutting at least 40 minutes out of the way.

But if you prefer to not use rotisserie chicken for this pesto pasta recipe, no worries!

Simply cut up 2 or 3 chicken breasts into bite size pieces and sauté them in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes should do the trick.

You could also bake your chicken breasts at 450 for 20-23 minutes and then chop into bite size pieces before adding to this recipe.

more quick dinner recipes

• Pasta Primavera
• Homemade Spicy Orange Chicken
• Chicken Rollatini
• Breakfast Egg Scramble
• Pesto Chicken Ravioli and Veggies

Enjoy ♥ Heather