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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Spinach Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled Chicken

[heart_this] · May 17, 2010 · 38 Comments

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled Chicken

Armed with my shiny new spinach and feta pesto I needed to try it out on something and of course the first thing that came to mind was pasta but I was looking for something a little more this time. One of the easiest ways to make a pasta a bit more of a meal is to add chicken and I was thinking that some contrasting paprika grilled chicken would go nicely with a spanakopita pesto pasta. I garnished the pasta with some walnuts and feta, mirroring the flavours already in the pesto.

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled Chicken

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat penne) (gluten free for gluten free)
  • 1 pound chicken breasts (pounded thin)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika (I used hot and smoky)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 batch spinach pesto (aka spanakopita pesto)
  • 1/4 cup walnuts (toasted)
  • 1/4 cup feta (crumbled)
directions
  1. Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.
  2. Season the chicken with the paprika, salt and pepper.
  3. Grill the chicken until it is cooked all the way through, about 5-7 minutes per side.
  4. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the water and toss the pasta with the pesto and the reserved pasta water.
  5. Slice the chicken, serve it on the pasta and garnish with the walnuts and feta.
Similar Recipes:
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta with Feta and Kalamata Olives

Take a look at the Presto Pasta Nights roundup on The Well-Seasoned Cook.

6 Ingredients, Food, Gluten-free, Italian, Main Course, Pasta, Pesto, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cahya says

    May 17, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    hhhmmmmmmmmm………… yummy.
    Thanks for the menu.

    Reply
  2. Belinda @zomppa says

    May 17, 2010 at 11:52 pm

    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm what a great spring meal!

    Reply
  3. Lauren says

    May 18, 2010 at 12:29 am

    Great idea to make a pesto with Greek-inspired ingredients! Gorgeous green color too :).

    Reply
  4. Catherine says

    May 18, 2010 at 12:42 am

    Amazing post Kevin! Everything looks fantastic!

    Reply
  5. robin @ penny pinching provisions says

    May 18, 2010 at 12:42 am

    Mmmm. That looks beautiful and delicious!

    Reply
  6. LunaCafe says

    May 18, 2010 at 4:31 am

    Wow, all the flavours of spanakopita in a spinach pesto sounds wonderful. I love the addition of the herbs and walnuts. I could just eat this on it's own with a spoon. 🙂 …Susan

    Reply
  7. Furball says

    May 18, 2010 at 4:54 am

    I just finished dinner a few hours ago…and this made me hungry again!

    Reply
  8. The Duo Dishes says

    May 18, 2010 at 5:18 am

    Love that spanikopita pesto idea! Sounds so healthy.

    Reply
  9. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    May 18, 2010 at 6:25 am

    Although it is not even 9am, I am drooling over those pictures! What a gorgeous dish!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  10. Sanyukta Gour(Bayes) says

    May 18, 2010 at 7:30 am

    that looks so bful and loved the color..awesome clicks
    first time here…u have a lovely space…just started blogging..and love to add u in my list..
    ur comments/suggestions r highly appreciated..happy blogging…following u>>>>>>

    sanyuktagour(bayes)
    http://creativesanyukta.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  11. Margot says

    May 18, 2010 at 8:56 am

    Very interesting version of pesto Kevin, I love it 🙂

    Reply
  12. Joanne says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:18 am

    Spanikopita – DECONSTRUCTED! Love the flavors.

    Reply
  13. Anonymous says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:30 am

    Sounds good, Kevin, but I would skip the chicken. Too much food.

    Reply
  14. Ruth Daniels says

    May 18, 2010 at 11:37 am

    As the Greeks would say OPA!

    What a wonderful creation. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night.

    Reply
  15. Girl Foodie says

    May 18, 2010 at 11:38 am

    What a clever pesto recipe! I love the alternative to basil and parmesan.

    Reply
  16. Koek! says

    May 18, 2010 at 11:42 am

    I just happen to have all these ingredients in my fridge at home… That's dinner solved, thanks!
    Robyn

    Reply
  17. Claudia says

    May 18, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    I love mixing it up. The basil is almost in – but the fresh spinach is at the markets now – why not play. Love the addition of feta to mimic spanikopita.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says

    May 18, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    wow, I love pasta but never tried to mix it with spinach,this post make me interesting to try it, and I always amaze on how you serve it, and look awsome on the pic!!

    visit my blog to on :

    http://twidiantari.blogspot.com/

    to see some tradisional indonesian food, and dont forget to leave ur track =p

    Reply
  19. Toni says

    May 18, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    I attempted to make spinach pesto with walnuts a few weeks ago except mine turned into a disaster. Way too much walnuts. Yours sounds amazing though! And I was just thinking about what to make tonight for dinner. I'm thinking that spinach pie could be the ticket.

    Reply
  20. Sophie says

    May 18, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    Stunning dish, Kevin!!

    Waw!! I so love the feta, spinach & parsley pesto!!

    MMMM,..I bet the paprika spiced rubbed chicken is just perfect with it!

    A fantastic meal, best enjoyed with your loved one!

    Reply
  21. Lori says

    May 18, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    I started using spinach in pesto recently, but never thought of the feta and spanakopita. What a great idea! The chicken sounds amazing as well!

    Reply
  22. Bellini Valli says

    May 18, 2010 at 6:25 pm

    Perfection on a plate Kevin. I love the feta cheese added here.

    Reply
  23. Adventures in Domestic Cooking says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    That pesto looks insanely good!!

    Reply
  24. saveur says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:35 pm

    I love knowing your thought process when you come up with these fantastic and delicious dishes!

    Reply
  25. My name is Lee! says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    I have an idea. I love brownies and I love Spanakopita. I think I'll try to make brownies which have the flavors of Spanakopita. Then I can start my food blog!

    Reply
  26. My name is Lee! says

    May 18, 2010 at 10:50 pm

    LOL. Just kidding.

    Reply
  27. All Our Fingers in the Pie says

    May 18, 2010 at 11:33 pm

    Looks rich and delicious. Love the chicken. We don't get ramps out west. Would love to try some.

    Reply
  28. Susan says

    May 19, 2010 at 9:25 am

    Stunning bowl of green, Kevin. What a lovely presentation of a platter of generosity. This is the kind of meal you want friends to gather around table for.

    Thank for joining in PPN this week!

    Reply
  29. ngs says

    May 19, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    OMG… anyone who can make pesto wtih only 3 tbsp of olive oil is a genius!
    i love your site!

    Reply
  30. eatme_delicious says

    May 21, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    Spanakopita pesto!! Brilliant.

    Reply
  31. Christine says

    May 22, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Yum! I decreased the olive oil a bit and just used parsley instead of all three. But we also stirred it into rice, since we'd already had plenty of pasta during the week. It's really good added to rice as well, even though it makes for a bright green rice!

    Reply
  32. smilinggreenmom says

    May 22, 2010 at 9:37 pm

    This looks wonderful! I am going to have to try this one for usre since we love pasta! I would like to try it with our favorite pasta that is made from Kamut Wheat since it is so healthy – and I will have to eliminate the walnuts due to our son's nut allergy. Other than this – I think it's good to go! TY!

    Reply
  33. Bergamot says

    May 24, 2010 at 3:31 pm

    This looks really good… like the combination of grilled chicken with pesto-pasta

    Reply
  34. Anonymous says

    September 5, 2010 at 2:04 am

    Kevin, I really don't know how you do it. TO be honest. This is the second recipe ive made from your blog and all of them have been awesome. And on top of that this one was really healthy. The changes i made to the recipe were very minor:

    Used Smoked Paprika instead of regular paprika.

    Put the zest from the lemon in the pesto (why waist the zest right?).

    For those who are wondering how much lemon to put in the pesto…i used 1/2 of a lemon and it was perfect.

    At the very end i drizzled some roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil that i made yesterday.

    This was soooo delicious. Great Job!!

    Reply
  35. kayakmama says

    December 10, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    I luv your recipes and the photgraphs are to drool for.

    Reply
  36. oak dining tables says

    December 15, 2010 at 5:42 am

    I love the pesto! It really looks so delicious! You made it perfectly.

    Reply
  37. Adrienne says

    September 12, 2011 at 3:11 am

    this was SO GOOD! I had a huge bag of spinach i needed to use…the spinach pesto was super yummy and that paprika chicken was a revelation! (I used smoked because I prefer it) All the flavors were awesome together!

    Reply
  38. Stuster says

    February 26, 2012 at 2:33 am

    Made this dish tonight. My wife, son & I thought it was great, especially the Pesto. Would only add 3-4 tablespoons of pasta water to the pesto.

    Reply

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