Sun dried tomato and pesto chicken sausage pasta is the epitome of summer cooking – 4-ingredients, 20 minutes, all in one dish.
YOU GUYS. I am feeling really good today. I mean real good. Why, you might ask? Well let me tell you…
- It’s Friday. (Duh!)
- I got a stand up desk at work and it’s making me feel healthy af.
- I’m a couple weeks into my kombucha brewing and my gut is luuuving all the probiotics.
- And my birthday is this weekend!
Oh and I got super lucky and have an amazing husband who has been totally cool with me turning my birthday into a birthday week / long weekend / really long drawn out extended party.
Ok, now that I’m done rambling about ma birfday, let’s talk about this pasta salad. My mom always made cold pasta salad in the summer and I loved it. Luckily, it wasn’t the classic mayo-laden dressing kind; it was packed with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, a little cheese, some salami, and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette. It will forever be my favorite summer pasta salad.
But what that salad lacks, this sun dried tomato and pesto chicken sausage pasta totally makes up for. This, my dear friends, is your entire meal. Yup, you hear me right – your entire dinner in one bowl. We’ve got your grain, protein, and veggies all in one dish.
Turns out, every single ingredient is from Trader Joe’s. I have an unhealthy (or maybe healthy… idk) obsession with TJ’s. And I honestly did not intentionally use only Trader Joe’s ingredients; that just happens around here a lot. #sorrynotsorry #ilovetraderjoes
- Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli. I don’t make a lot of pasta at home; but when I do, I try to use whole wheat.
- Asparagus. TJ’s has such a great produce section and at an affordable price.
- Sweet Basil Chicken Sausage. Oh my gosh, I hope you have discovered the chicken sausage at Trader Joe’s. I think I’ve tried every flavor; and I highly recommend the spicy jalapeno variety for breakfast.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil. I love these things. They add the perfect punch to any recipe. Just go and buy them. You won’t regret it.
This Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto Chicken Sausage Pasta Salad is perfect for you Labor Day celebrations! If you make these or any of my recipes, don’t forget to post a picture social media and use the hashtag #imhungrybynature for a chance to be featured!
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Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Chicken Sausage Pasta
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 servings as a main dish 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
Description
Sun dried tomato and pesto chicken sausage pasta is the epitome of summer cooking – 4-ingredients, 20 minutes, all in one dish.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound whole wheat fusilli pasta
- 3/4 pound asparagus, trimmed
- 12.8 ounces or 4 sweet basil pesto chicken sausages, fully cooked (found at Trader Joe’s)
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
- 1 Tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomato jar
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Slice the chicken sausages in half and broil or grill until charred.
- Steam asparagus until just tender.
- Combine sun-dried tomatoes and oil in food processor and process until a thick sauce forms. Feel free to add water to thin.
- Once the pasta, chicken, and asparagus are cooked and cooled, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the sun-dried tomato sauce.
Keywords: pasta, easy dinner, trader joes
Looking for another one-bowl summer dinner to beat the heat? You will love this Chicken Avocado Salad with Tomatillo Dressing.
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Not only does this look amazing, but I can also swoon at the fact that I can buy every ingredient at TJ’s, AKA my fav place EVER!
My thoughts exactly! Thanks Rachel!
This really does look amazing and my hubby is a huge fan of sausage! I will have to save this to try to for later 🙂
Thank you Annmarie – let me know how your husband likes it!
The sundried tomatoes <3
Right?! Swoon.
Umm wow this looks incredible! Plus I love how simple the ingredient list is. Perfect for summer.
PS: what standing desk did you get? I’ve been really interested in getting one and was curious what you got!
★★★★★
Thank you Kara! And totally – my summer cooking style is trying to make things as easy as possible and this sure makes it simple! I am loving my desk – this is it (http://amzn.to/2bynwyq). You should seriously think about getting one. I keep a better eye on my posture when I am standing versus sitting and this is helping out big-time!
Looks amazing! I love Trader Joe’s and I’m not above making the 45 minute drive to our nearest one just to pick up their dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Will definitely try their chicken sausage next time I go!
Oh man – that’s so far away! I’m lucky that I have one within a 5 minute drive. And you MUST try the chicken sausage. They seriously have a dozen flavor and I haven’t met one I don’t like!
I love and adore pesto, and the fact that this recipe only takes 4 ingredients!? Plus almost no clean up!? Definitely a win in my book! <3!!
Right?! My thoughts exactly. I’m all about easy-breezy recipes in the summer!
Ellie! How was your birthday?! I hope you got tons of presents and had an amazing time 🙂 This pasta looks so good – the sundried tomato sauce is so easy to make too!!
My birthday was incredible. Pat told me we were going to Milwaukee for the weekend, but that was a cover for this insane surprise party he had planned (and he had apparently been planning for months!). My sisters flew in from Colorado and Minnesota. My two best friends flew in from Seattle and Minnesota. There were so many people there and I had no idea that it was happening and I was crying and it was such a blast! I couldn’t believe it.
this has to be one of the most gorgeous photos of pasta i have ever seen! wonderful. & definitely something about dinner in a bowl, it just is somehow better, love it.
Thank you Grace! My thoughts exactly 🙂