A couple of weeks ago we went to this italian restaurant in Palo Alto. I had the chicken ravioli with pesto and they were good but… the sauce was a little too much on the heavy side.

However, it gave me the idea of making my own light creamy pesto sauce.  After making the sauce I had to have something to put it on and wanted something fresh and light for spring so I decided to combine chicken, roasted tomatoes on Zucchini Noodles!

This recipe was done faster than I thought it would. I used the Spiralizer so the preparation of the zucchinis was very quick and easy.

We like our Zucchini Noodles ‘al dente”, like pasta. Zucchini has the tendency of releasing water when you cook them so I try to cook the Zucchini Noodles first on the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Once they are done just drain the excess liquid and set them aside.

While the tomatoes were roasting in the oven I made the sauce. This time I had store bought pesto which made the process even simpler. Once the chicken is seared and cooked everything comes together in no time!

I placed the Zucchini Noodles in the skillet, added the chicken, the roasted tomatoes and the sauce. Sauté for a few minutes and voila.

I served it with shaved parmesan on top with toasted pine nuts and it was delicious! It is a really filling dish when you are trying to eat lighter. This recipe could perfectly feed 4 or 5. We were 2 and had leftovers just for one so I guess my husband thought it was fantastic:)

Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Roasted Tomatoes and Creamy Pesto

Yields: 4 - 5 servings

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders

1 1/2 cups of grape tomatoes

2 tsp of dry thyme

3 to 4 oz or 2 bit tbsp of good Pesto (I used Buitoni)

Salt and Pepper

3 tbsp of sour cream

1/4 cup of vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 – 3 tbsp olive oil

Parmesan Cheese

 

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.

Place tomatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper and add 1 tsp of thyme. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Once the tomatoes burst,  take them out and peel them since the skin is lose and pulls off easily.

In the meantime, cut the zucchini into noodles in the Spiralizer. Place 1 tbsp of olive oil and the zucchini noodles in a big skillet and start cooking at medium high heat with some salt and pepper. Stir constantly for about 3 minutes or until the zucchini are tender but still crunchy. Discard all the excess liquid released by the zucchini and set them aside in a bowl.

In a small sauce pan place the vegetable broth, the pesto and stir on medium low heat. Add the sour cream and stir until is warmed through and mixed together.

Place the chicken tenders in the skillet, with the remaining tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper and the rest of the thyme – about 1 tsp. Cook in medium high heat for about 8 minutes. Take the chicken out and cut the chicken in bite size pieces.

In the same skillet, add the zucchini noodles, the chicken, the roasted tomatoes and then add the sauce. Stir at medium high heat until all ingredients are heated through.

Notes

Serve with shaved or grated parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts!