Chicken Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Sooooooo, now you’ve made my easy peasy pesto you’re wondering what to do with it? Here’s the perfect dish for lunch or a light dinner.
I love poaching chicken breasts for salads. It’s such an easy way to prepare it, keeping it nice and soft so you can shred it, giving it great texture to mix through the other ingredients and take on all the lovely dressings.
You could also leave the chicken out and use the pesto noodles as a side dish or bulk it out with some extra veg for a ‘meat-free Monday’ meal (that concept hasn’t really caught on in this house to be completely honest with you, but it’s just a thought….)

Method

First poach the chicken.
Put your chicken in a saucepan so it fits snugly in a single layer. Cover with water, so water level is about 1-2 cm above the chicken. Half cover pot with a lid and bring it to a simmer. As soon as it reaches a simmer, turn the heat right down, so only the occasional bubble comes to surface and poach for 8 minutes.
After 8 minutes, turn the heat off and cover pot fully with lid. Stand for a further 12 minutes. Drain the chicken and leave on a plate to cool. Chop/shred into bite sized pieces.
While the chicken is poaching, make your zucchini into noodles. I use a Spiralizer, but a julienne slicer will work just fine.
Halve the tomatoes and fry off gently in a pan until softened, but still holding their shape.
Add the cooked chicken and tomatoes to the ‘zoodles’ along with a serving of pesto. Coat everything well and serve.

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients

  • 500 grams chicken breast
  • 2 zucchini, made into noodles
  • Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 serve of Paleo Kale and Macadamia Pesto (recipe found here)