4-Ingredient Spring Pasta

This 15-minute spring pasta recipe is my kids' favorite dinner. Made with just 4 simple ingredients it's super quick and full of flavor!

Total Time: 12 minutes

Jump to RecipePrint Recipe

• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Twitter

This 15-minute one-pot meal is my kids’ favorite dinner!!! My 4-Ingredient Spring Pasta is a fast and healthy weeknight dinner that’s bursting with fresh spring flavor!

This is one of those dinners — you know the kind — they’re the meals that we pull together at the last minute because we need something easy and fast that the whole family will actually EAT?!

My boys call this supper “Pesto Wheels,” and it’s been a staple in our mealtime rotation for a looooong time.

Even though it has been the #1 most-requested, most-served, and most-praised dinner in our house over the past 6 years (ever since Gibbs could eat solid foods!), I haven’t shared it on here because it’s hardly a recipe at all!

You just cook some pasta and stir 3 other ingredients into the pot! But you know what? It’s a meal that comes together in a matter of minutes with pantry staples, and I haven’t met a toddler YET who doesn’t love it.

Weeknight solutions like this are just too good to keep secret, so post is for all of the moms (or grandmothers!) with finicky little (or big) eaters at home!

Ingredients for Making Spring Pasta

• Pasta: I choose wagon wheels because kids love them but any short pasta will do
• Peas: frozen, thawed
• Pesto: I used pesto sauce from Costco but you can use your favorite
• Cooked chicken: this is great for using up leftovers

How to Make Spring Pasta in 15 Minutes

1. First, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to packet instructions.
2. Meanwhile, make sure to thaw the frozen peas and dice the cooked chicken.
3. Once the pasta is cooked add the peas, chicken, and pesto. Mix to combine.

Green Pasta that’s Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!

Oh, and the real reason that I decided to share it now, as opposed to some other time? It’s GREEN!

If you need a festive St. Patty’s Day lunch or dinner option that appeals to all palates and doesn’t include any green food coloring or other artificial stuff, this is the winner!

Top Tips

• This pasta is great eaten cold as a pasta salad just store it in the fridge
• You can buy a rotisserie chicken for this recipe or use up leftovers you have. Cooked ham or smoked sausage would also work well.

More Quick and Easy Pasta Recipes

• Dump and Bake Wagon Wheel Pasta Casserole
• BLT Pasta Salad
• 5-Ingredient Pasta Pomodoro Sauce
• Dump and Bake Pasta Puttanesca

Did you try this recipe? Don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest, and on Twitter!

4 from 2 votes

Print

4-Ingredient Spring Pasta

This 15-minute spring pasta recipe is my kids' favorite dinner. Made with just 4 simple ingredients it's super quick and full of flavor!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Pesto pasta, Spring Pasta

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Total Time 12 minutes

Servings 4 (1 1/2 cup servings)

Calories 248 kcal

Author The Seasoned Mom

Ingredients

• 2 cups 4 ounces uncooked wagon wheel pasta (can substitute with other small pasta, such as penne)
• ½ cup frozen peas thawed
• 1/3 cup prepared pesto sauce you can use homemade pesto, but I love the convenience and taste of the Kirkland brand pesto from Costco
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken such as leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken

Instructions

1. Boil pasta according to package instructions. Stir in peas, pesto, and chicken until completely combined. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

• This pasta is great eaten cold as a pasta salad just store it in the fridge
• You can buy a rotisserie chicken for this recipe or use up leftovers you have. Cooked ham or smoked sausage would also work well.

Nutrition Facts

4-Ingredient Spring Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 248 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9g 14%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Cholesterol 25mg 8%

Sodium 239mg 10%

Potassium 249mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 2g

Protein 13g 26%

Vitamin A 11.1%

Vitamin C 9.3%

Calcium 4.4%

Iron 5.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Looking for other EASY kid-approved dinners? Try these:

• Dump-and-Bake Chicken Alfredo Pasta Casserole
• Dump-and-Bake Chicken Taco Casserole
• No-Work Italian Baked Chicken