Your Friday night dinner sorted: Young cook shares his simple recipe for the best and creamiest creamy chicken pesto pasta ever

A cook has shared his simple dinner recipe for a creamy chicken pesto pasta
Morgan Hipworth, from Melbourne, made the dish using his DIY pesto sauce
The dish consists of chicken breast, penne pasta, sun-dried tomato and avocado
For pesto, he blitzed basil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, salt and olive oil

Published: 07:05 BST, 24 September 2021 | Updated: 08:56 BST, 24 September 2021

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A cook has offered his simple dinner recipe for a creamy chicken pesto pasta.

Morgan Hipworth, from Melbourne, made the dish using chicken breast, penne pasta, sun-dried tomato, avocado, spinach, herbs and his DIY pesto sauce.

'Dinner sorted with my creamy chicken pesto pasta,' the 20-year-old baker said in his TikTok video.

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Morgan Hipworth has offered his simple dinner recipe for a creamy chicken pesto pasta

To make the pesto, he blitzed together the basil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, salt and olive oil until finely chopped.

In a pot over low heat, Morgan added the diced chicken breast and stock, allowing the ingredients to cook for about five minutes.

Meanwhile, he cooked the penne pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for two minutes less than the packet's instructions.

In a pan, he added the pasta along with the pesto, thickened cream, sun-dried tomatoes, avocados, parsley, basil and a handful of baby spinach.

To serve, Morgan added cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

To make the pesto, he blitzed together the basil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, salt and olive oil until finely chopped

The 20-year-old made the dish using chicken breast, penne pasta, sun-dried tomato, avocado and his DIY pesto sauce

How to make Morgan's creamy chicken pesto pasta

INGREDIENTS (serves four)

350 grams penne pasta

2 teaspoons sea salt

200 grams chicken breast, cut into 1.5cm cubes

2 cups chicken stock

For the pesto:

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

Pinch of sea salt

For the sauce:

300ml thickened cream

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 avocado, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped

1 handful baby spinach

1 handful of grated mozzarella cheese (optional)

To garnish:

Freshly cracked black pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

METHOD

To make the pesto combine all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blitz until a slightly chunky paste forms. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium/low heat add the diced chicken breast along with the stock. Bring to a boil and cook for around 5 minutes or until the chicken turns completely white. Drain and set aside to keep warm.

Add 1 litre of water to a large saucepan and place over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Add the pasta, and cook as per the packet instructions - minus 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the pasta, saving ⅓ cup of the pasta water.

Add to a pan along with the homemade pesto, cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs. Cook for a minute and add the pasta water if needed (different brands of penne soak up different amounts of the sauce so only add if the sauce looks too thick), the spinach and mozzarella (if using). Cook for a further minute and serve up.

Top with black pepper, parmesan cheese and the remaining sun-dried tomatoes. Enjoy!

His video has since been viewed more than 600,000 times, with hundreds of foodies saying they couldn't wait to give his recipe a go.

'If I could, I'd eat this for the rest of my life,' one woman wrote.

Another said: 'That's definitely one to try,' while one added: 'Yes! Absolutely delicious! Pesto chicken is a favourite in our house.'

Those who made the dish said they couldn't get enough of it, with one home cook saying: 'It was so yummy'.

Many suggested roasting the pine nuts first before blending it into pesto.

'Next time, roast the pine nuts. The more flavour you get out of it. It's a tip but still love what you're doing,' one fan wrote, while another added: 'You should toast your pine nuts until fragrant first.'