Broccoli Pesto Chicken with Noodles

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broccoli pesto chicken with noodles

Is it comfort food, or is it a healthy dinner?  This dish is both!!   Wide ribbon noodles and creamy, thick pesto make this recipe rich and filling, yet the broccoli, basil, and lean chicken provide lots of nutritional value.  If your kids are anything like mine, they love pasta.
They especially love ribbon noodles.  I love the wide ribbons because all that surface area makes them great vehicles for getting lots of the yummy, healthy broccoli pesto into my boys!  It is a wonderful bonus that Pennsylvania Dutch makes the wide ribbons in a whole grain variety, so that every bite helps my family get some extra fiber, too.  For this recipe, I wanted to make something super-wholesome, so I chose broccoli, which is a nutritional powerhouse of a vegetable, and combined it with basil and other ingredients to make a really tasty pesto.  The best part was that the kids did not even realize that the pesto contained broccoli!  Your family will love this recipe, and you are going to feel so good knowing they are getting all that good nutrition!

Note that this recipe fed two adults and two teenage boys, and we had enough leftover for another dinner!  So this could actually feed 6-8 people.  I calculated the nutritional values assuming 6 servings, however.

Broccoli Pesto Chicken with Noodles
 
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Nutritious broccoli florets and fragrant basil team up to produce a flavorful, healthy pesto which coats the lean chicken and fiber-rich whole wheat Pennsylvania Dutch Ribbons in this dish. Serve with a side salad for quick, easy, and healthy meal the whole family will love!
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 (12 ounce) package Pennsylvania Dutch 100% Whole Grain Wide Ribbons
  • 1 cup broccoli florets (can be fresh, or thawed from frozen)
  • 20 large basil leaves (set aside some additional basil leaves for garnish, if desired)
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 and ½ cups cubed, cooked chicken
Instructions
  1. Boil water and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, combine broccoli florets and basil leaves in a food processor or blender, and pulse until the broccoli and basil are chopped very finely.
  3. Add the pine nuts to the food processor and continue to pulse until they are also chopped very finely.
  4. Add the parmesan cheese, salt, lemon juice, and garlic, and process until well combined.
  5. Add the olive oil and process until mixture is smooth.
  6. When the noodles are done, drain and return to the pot. Add the pesto and cooked chicken cubes and stir until noodles and chicken are coated. If needed, turn heat on low for a few minutes to keep the mixture warm.
  7. Garnish with extra basil leaves (optional) and serve.
Notes
Nutrition information is approximate. Your results may be different due to different brands/products and measuring differences.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅙ of recipe Calories: 550 Fat: 34 Carbohydrates: 41 Sugar: 3 Sodium: 119 Protein: 22
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If you like this recipe, please vote for me in the sweepstakes!  Remember, you get an entry to win the $250 VISA gift card every time you vote!  Click HERE to go to the sweepstakes page to vote!  Voting open until 1/31/2014.

Disclosure:  Pennsylvania Dutch provided me with a gift card to purchase the ingredients to develop this recipe.  No other compensation was provided, however if my recipe receives the most votes, I will win a $100 VISA gift card.

broccoli pesto chicken with noodles

Enjoy!

Kristin -

 

 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thanks, Edward! It looks like the other blogger has about twice the following I have, so I am an underdog. That is OK, it is still fun to participate! And you never know…I have the whole month to drum up votes! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  9. Kristen your recipe sounds really good and it is so pretty! I voted and shared it on G+ and FB+ asking people to check it out and vote. Hope that helps! Your recipe is definitely much more enticing than the other. Good luck. If you send me a G+ notification to vote for you I will. I probably won’t be able to remember day to day unless you do. I get these from other people who are in a voting contest.
    Terri Henkels

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Terri! I will try to send you a G+ notification. I don’t think I have done that before! I so appreciate your vote and your support! *Hugs*

      Reply

  11. Great job Kristin! I love this combo! Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies and pesto is one of my favorite sauces, why have I never combined the two before?! Brilliant. So glad you shared this recipe at the Foodies and Crafties Soiree!

    Reply

  14. G;day! Looks like a warm and comforting recipe!
    G’day! Your soup look terrific Barb! Wish I could try some now!
    View as party of this week’s Foodie Friends Friends St Patrick’s Day GREEN Recipes Party!
    Cheers! Joanne

    Reply

  15. Hi Kristin! Love your brococoli pesto chicken with noodles recipe. I’m a mom of 4 kids and i think preparing this food make my family mouth-watering. I have been preparing all sorts of dish using a blender because i fin it easy to prepare food with a blender. I can’t wait to try your recipe this coming Sunday. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

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