Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles

One Pot Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles are a delicious, simple dinner. Naturally gluten free, this meal comes together in under an hour!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Servings: 1.5 cup servings

Calories: 293kcal

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

Can I use pasta instead?

Sure, you can use pasta instead of zucchini noodles in this recipe. For a 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. You can also do half pasta and half zucchini noodles. I would just cook the pasta while the chicken is cooking and toss in when you would toss in zucchini noodles.

Can I make this nut free?

Yes, you can make this dish nut free by using a nut free pesto. I like this nut free pesto recipe.

Help! My zucchini noodles are always soggy!

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.

Nutrition