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Easy Weeknight Dinner: Pesto Pasta Recipe with Barilla Ready Pasta


This post was sponsored by Barilla, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!

I have recently mentioned in my Fitness Friday posts (in February and March) that I have been looking for some easy weeknight dinners to cook, and incorporating some healthier foods into my diet.  I had gotten into a bad habit of making frozen meals or occasionally picking up takeout on the way home. As a result of trying to change that, I have been eating a lot of pasta. It is easy to make, versatile in how it can be cooked, and is available in a variety of options.
One of the easiest solutions I have recently found is Barilla Ready Pasta at Walmart. You are just 60 seconds away from perfect pasta! I am breaking down a very simple (but very tasty!) recipe that only took me a little less than 15 minutes to make. This new option from Barilla is available in several types of pasta, can be cooked in the microwave, is non-GMO, and simply made with just pasta, sea salt, and olive oil.  Each package is 2 servings, which is perfect to make yourself dinner and lunch, a solo dinner for 2 nights, or a meal to share! As an adult that is still a bit of a picky eater, I like to incorporate vegetables I may not typically eat into recipes made up of ingredients I do like to eat. In this case, I added grape tomatoes (that I am slowly starting to like) to the recipe with pasta, pesto sauce, cooked spinach, and rotisserie chicken.


You will need:
1/2 bag of Barilla Ready Pasta (I used penne)
1/4 cup of Barilla Basil Pesto sauce
1/2 cup of rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup of baby spinach
1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Open the bag and place Barilla Ready Pasta in the microwave for 60 seconds.
2. Heat up a skillet to medium heat to lightly cook the spinach with a tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Add the pasta, chicken, and tomatoes to the skillet, stirring to combine.
4. Turn heat down to low, add pesto sauce, and stir until desired temperature.
5. Enjoy!

I think this the perfect weeknight dinner recipe for any time of year. There is also plenty of room to include more vegetables or some extra seasoning, if desired. Next time you are at Walmart, check out the pasta aisle for Barilla Ready Pasta to combine convenience and quality into one meal! Interested in more inspirational Barilla recipes? Click here to register for their weekly email newsletter.

Photos by Deeana Kourtney Photography

Thanks for reading!

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