Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Chicken
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
One Pot Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles are a delicious, simple dinner. Naturally gluten free, this meal comes together in under an hour!
Click here to read my policy and more about affiliate links.
Juicy, sweet tomatoes, yummy zucchini, basil…. this Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Chicken recipe is the best way to use all of them up while making a cozy, veggie-packed meal.
This meal has only 10 simple ingredients, including chicken, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, basil, and pesto. It’s one of my favorite lighter dinner recipes to make, especially in the summertime.
This dish has 1.5 servings of veggies per serving, is paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and even be keto if you decrease the tomatoes in the dish (although that would just be sad cause they’re SO delicious). Best of all, it’s made in one pan! I’m always looking for ways to do fewer dishes!
If you’re looking for other healthy zucchini recipes – check out these 30 Healthy Zucchini Recipes!
Liz’s top tips to avoid soggy zucchini noodles
I commonly get asked how to avoid watery zucchini noodles. I have two tips for you on how to avoid soggy zucchini noodles.
- REALLY squeeze the water out of them. I use a thick, absorbent (and clean!) dish towel and squeeze the water out of the noodles hard. The towel should be damp when done.
- Lay the zucchini noodles out on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Typically I will squeeze them again and then add them to whatever dish I’m making.
- If you are going to meal prep this dish, I recommend not adding the zucchini noodles to the dish until you are ready to serve. You can place the chicken/veggie mixture into a container and place your raw zucchini noodles on top. When you’re ready to eat, microwave or heat over the stove to avoid mushy noodles.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Chicken: You can use chicken thighs, tenders, or chicken breasts in this recipe
Pesto: You can sub any pesto sauce in this recipe. If you don’t have a TJ’s near you don’t worry – you can use our favorite nut free pesto recipe.
Zucchini Noodles: You can sub pasta for zucchini noodles.
Fresh Herbs: If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Additional veggies: You can add mushrooms, onions, or corn to this recipe for more vegetables.
How to Make Pesto Zucchini Noodles
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Let the chicken cook for 10-12 minutes or until you get a nice golden brown color on the exterior.
- Once the chicken has browned, remove from the pan. Stir in garlic, cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, pepper and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.
- Once tomatoes are softened, stir in pesto and return the chicken to the pan.
- Using tongs, gently toss in raw zucchini noodles, coating evenly in tomato/pesto mixture. Sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes over medium heat until zucchini starts to soften.
- Serve warm. You can top with Parmesan if you’d like!
Can I use pasta instead of Zucchini Noodles with pesto?
Sure, you can use pasta instead of zucchini noodles in this recipe! We love this Chicken Pesto Pasta too, Ricotta Cavatelli, or Sweet Potato Gnocchi.
For paleo pasta, I like Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi or Capello’s fettuccine and will sometimes even add them into this dish for extra volume/carbs.
For gluten free pasta, I like Modern Table Meals. You can also do half past and half zucchini noodles. I would just cook the pasta while the chicken is cooking and toss it in when you would toss in zucchini noodles.
Can I make the Pesto nut free?
Yes, typically pesto is made with pine nuts, but you can make this dish nut free by using a nut free pesto. I like this nut free pesto.
Other delicious Dinner Recipes:
Here are some of our favorite easy healthy dinner recipes!
Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in ½ in cubes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb halved cherry tomatoes about 4 cups
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Trader Joe’s Kale Cashew Basil Pesto or homemade pesto
- 2 large zucchini spiralized with water squeezed out – about 4 cups
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken to the pan and let it cook for 10-12 minutes or until you get a nice golden brown color on the exterior. Make sure to stir occasionally to brown all sides.
- While the chicken is cooking, halve tomatoes, spiralize zucchini and chop garlic and herbs.
- Once the chicken is browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the garlic to the pan. You can spray the pan with olive oil if the garlic is sticking. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, pepper and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.
- Once tomatoes are softened, stir in pesto and return the chicken to the pan.
- Using tongs, gently toss in raw zucchini noodles, coating evenly in tomato/pesto mixture. Saute for an additional 1-2 minutes over medium heat until zucchini starts to soften.
- Serve warm. You can top with Parmesan if you'd like!
Video
Notes
- I commonly get asked how to avoid watery zucchini noodles. I have two tips for you for how to avoid soggy zucchini noodles. The first one is REALLY squeeze the water out of them. I use a thick, absorbent (and clean!) dish towel and squeeze the water out of the noodles hard. The towel should be damp when done.
- I then lay the zucchini noodles out on a paper towel lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt until I’m ready to use them. Typically I will squeeze them again and then add to whatever dish I’m making.
- If you are going to meal prep this dish, I recommend not adding in the zucchini noodles to the dish until you are ready to serve. You can place the chicken/veggie mixture into a container and place your raw zucchini noodles on top. When you’re ready to eat, microwave or heat over the stove to avoid mushy noodles.
This was absolutely delicious! Thank you for introducing me to this pesto from Trader Joe’s! We are on day 4 of the Whole30 and this was the most satisfying meal I’ve had so far!
Isn’t it so yummy? I love that pesto! Glad you liked the recipe! You can stir some of the pesto into this Potato Crust Quiche if you’re looking for a yummy breakfast!
I loved this recipe. Next time I make it I will sub out red peppers for the tomato only because that’s what my husband prefers! It was delicious with the zoodles! It was super easy to make and the chicken came out perfectly.
Thanks, Lisa! Glad you liked it!
Tried this recipe and it was AMAZING! Can’t wait to eat it again
Thank you so much, Beija!
So tasty!! Really really good. Will definitely make it again
So glad you liked it, Jonathan!
Seriously delicious Liz!!! My son was like please make this again!
So happy you both enjoyed it!!
Very delicious and easy to make!!
So glad you liked it, April! Thank you!
This was a great weeknight meal and was delicious! Will definitely be making this again.
Thanks, Amy! So happy you liked it!
Delicious recipe ! We thoroughly enjoyed I will definitely make more todo your recipes
So glad you liked it, Lia! Thank you!
I want to try this recipe ! How do you do your zucchini noodles? Do you make them at home or purchase them at the store? I.
I makee them at home using a spiralizer! You can get one on amazon- here’s a link
Hello!
Can you post the link for the spiralizer? I didn’t see it above.
Yes here you go – here’s a link to the spiralizer
Hi! I read online that each ounce of chicken is 37 calories, which would make one serving 375 calories before the other items. Can you explain how you got to the numbers you did?
Hi Rachel – Looks like there was an error with the nutrition facts on this – thanks for pointing it out. I just updated it. All of our nutrition facts are estimates through a plugin called WP Recipe Maker. If you are serious about counting calories/macros -you’ll need to measure out all the components of this dish separately and weigh it/enter via a macro tracking calculator like My Fitness Pal. Hope this helps!
This was even better the next day! I did make my own pesto and I used zoodles instead of a gf pasta. My husband couldn’t eat enough about this recipe!
So glad you liked it, Bonnie! Thank you!!
Can this recipe done in a crock pot?
No it can’t. Zoodles get extremely watery and would disintegrate in the crockpot. It’s super quick to make on the stovetop!
I made this with spaghetti instead of zucchini and it did NOT disappoint! I’m definitely saving this recipe for the future and once I get a veggie spiralizer, I’ll make this Whole30 compliant!
So glad you liked it, Lindsey! Thank you so much!
This was delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you so much, Holly! Glad you liked it!
This recipe is AMAZING. I love everything and anything with pesto. The tomatoes and zucchini gave the disk a super fresh and light feel while keeping all of the flavor. And finally some tips to make zoodles without them being super watery!! Thank you for the perfect recipe!
So glad you liked it, Jordan! This makes me so happy to hear. We’re HUGE pesto fans too and this is one of our favorite ways to enjoy it!
This is one of my favorite meals! Not only is it easy & fast to make but it is so flavorful & yet still healthy. I can’t recommend this meal enough!
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
I love this recipe not only because it’s delicious but also super easy to make! Doesn’t take long especially if you have leftover chicken laying around. One of my favorites.
So glad you like it! It is the perfect way to reuse leftover chicken!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I went to Trader Joe’s to buy the kale pesto after reading your post. OMG I AM IN LOVE! I eliminated dairy from my diet as part of the treatment for my autoimmune disease and I was really bummed to discover that most pesto contains parmesan. You cannot even tell that you’re eating vegan pesto when you eat it! It was delicious in the grilled chicken dish I made. Now I cannot wait to use it to make your Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles!
Isn’t it so good, Marybeth!? You really can’t even tell there is no cheese.. it’s one of our favorite things. You will love this! Let me know when you try it 🙂
Made this for friends dinner party last night. Very fresh and flavorful. I added red pepper flakes and added small dots of goat chees at serving. I will make again@
So glad you liked it! Thanks, Liz!
This recipe is amazing! It is quick and easy to make and super delicious! I made half of the Whole30 compliant recipe and it is enough for me for 3 small meals. I will definitely make this again!! I love the TJ Pesto, btw!
Thank you SO much, Melinda! I’m so glad you liked it! The TJ pesto is seriously my fav!!
For meal prepping the zoodles.. do you recommend still salting, laying them on the paper towel, and then putting them on top of the chicken and veggies? Or just squeezing the water out and putting them on top of the chicken and veggies?
I would should squeeze the water out regardless of whether you’re eating the zoodles right away or meal prepping. No matter what you do, if you meal prep this dish and sauté it ahead of time, the zoodles will still release some water when you reheat again!
SO good! I made this with your nut-free pesto recipe and it was divine. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Sara! That makes me so happy to hear 🙂
I am a huge pesto fan and not being able to have it on whole30 used to be tough, but thank you so much for introducing me to Trader Joe’s compliant pesto and this amazing dish! I absolutely love it!
I’m so glad you liked it, Lindsey!! Their pesto is one of my favorite things – it’s so delicious!
This recipe was amazing!!! So so so easy, clean, and delicious. Shopping all in one place made it really easy, which as a mom of three I love! Can’t wait to try more.
I’m so glad you liked it, Britnee!! It’s definitely one of my favorites too 🙂
Tried this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful! My kids (who I can’t get to eat anything) even ate it. We will definitely be having this one again. Thank you!
I’m so glad you + your family liked this!! It’s one of my favorite recipes to make for a quick dinner!
I made the noodles based on your recipe for dinner the other day. The family enjoyed it! Thanks for the share! Keep ’em coming.
So glad to hear it, Andy! This is one of my favorite recipes 🙂
Thank you so much for your helpful post!
No problem! We hope you love the recipe!