Spring Chicken Pesto Rigatoni
with Spinach, Charred Scallions, Almonds, Ricotta & Bacon
- Wheat
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
Think you’ve had every possible combo of chicken and pasta? Spring this decadent dish on your tastebuds for a flavorful surprise! Lemon juice and basil pesto coat rigatoni for a bright base that lets the stars of the meal really shine. Toasted almonds and charred scallions add smoky depth to pasta, then everything’s topped with garlicky chicken, a dollop of lemony ricotta, and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon. Sweet and savory, rich and refreshing—this delightful dinner features your favorite spring flavors in full bloom.
Ingredients
6 ounce
Rigatoni Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
4 ounce
Bacon
5 ounce
Spinach
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
4 ounce
Ricotta Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
8 tablespoon
Pesto
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
4 unit
Scallions
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 ounce
Sliced Almonds
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Halve scallions crosswise, separating whites from greens. Zest and quarter lemon. • Heat a large, dry pan over medium- high heat. Add scallion whites and scallion greens; cook 1-2 minutes per side, until charred. TIP: Scallion greens will cook faster than scallion whites. Once greens are charred, remove from pan and continue cooking whites. • Turn off heat; transfer to a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
• Slice bacon* crosswise into 1⁄4-inch pieces. • Heat dry pan used for scallions over medium-high heat. Add bacon in an even layer; cook undisturbed, until crispy on bottom, 2-3 minutes. • Stir bacon; cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 2-5 minutes more. • Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel- lined plate. Reserve bacon fat in pan. Once cool enough to handle, crumble bacon into smaller pieces.
• Pat chicken* dry with paper towels and season all over with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. • Once pan used for bacon has cooled slightly, heat reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. Turn off heat; transfer to a cutting board. Wipe out pan. • Heat a drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
• Once water is boiling, add rigatoni to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until almost al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve 1⁄2 cup pasta cooking water (1 cup for 4 servings), then drain and return to pot. • While pasta cooks, place ricotta in a small bowl. (TIP: To save on cleanup, mix ricotta directly in cup.) Season with 1 TBSP olive oil (2 TBSP for 4), lemon zest to taste, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
• Add spinach, pesto, stock concentrate, juice from half the lemon, and 1⁄4 cup reserved pasta cooking water (1⁄2 cup for 4 servings) to pot with pasta. Toss until spinach is wilted and pasta is al dente. If needed, stir in more reserved cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is thoroughly coated in sauce. • Stir in almonds and chopped scallions. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Slice chicken crosswise. • Divide pasta between bowls and top with chicken. Dollop with seasoned ricotta and sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Season with pepper. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the fresh spring flavors, but some found the pesto overpowering or bitter; adjusting pesto amount to taste may help.
- Ease of prep: Several noted it was time-consuming with many steps; simplifying the process could improve the experience.
- Suggestions: Consider chopping spinach before adding, using less pesto, and making the bacon optional to lighten the dish.
- Leftovers: Some enjoyed leftovers, while others found it became dry; reheating with a splash of water may help.
- Texture: The crunchy almonds and bacon bits added nice texture, though a few felt there were too many competing elements.
Reviews from our home cooks
The chicken is not needed at all for this recipe! Save it for another meal later! With the bacon, spinach, almonds and ricotta you've got all the protein and iron you need. Also there's way more than 2 people can eat. 4 can eat this! But there's nothing wrong with leftovers!
Went a little off recipe by blending the pesto scallions and ricotta to create a sauce and it was amazing
It was tasty but not worth the many steps: char scallions, fry bacon, sauté chicken, sauté almonds, boil pasta and mix ricotta. I was almost too tired to eat the meal!
Another delicious meal! We loved the complementary flavors of lemon, bacon and pesto, which all worked together deliciously. This tasted like a dish you might order from the menu of an upscale restaurant.
Great recipe with great portions. The ricotta, bacon and almonds really make this meal.
I didn't think I'd like this one as I am not a fan of Pesto. This was surprisingly delicious.
Scallions didn't "char" they wilted. Medium pot is too small. Should be large pot because of all the spinach added at end. Cooking times seemed way off for each step. Took an hour to make, not 35 min.
I was super excited about this one but it was just ok. The pesto was overly tangy, and when combined with the lemon it was too intense. It would have been a home run with a better quality or fresh pesto!
The pesto didn't have a great taste, and overall the dish was fairly bland which was surprising for the ingredients & calories.
What a hot mess! Start by handling the scallions differently - charring them is weird and doesn't produce deliciousness. Wilt the spinach separately because it won't happen properly in the pan with the drained noodles, and you don't have enough room to toss it. The lemon ricotta was not really right as an accompaniment to the other flavors. This dish has a lot of promise, but needs some tweaks!
