18 Super-Fast Meals to Make With a Tub of Pesto Sauce

Presto! Start with that pesto in your fridge and end with dinner.

I'm always looking for quick dinners, bonus points if I can use fresh ingredients in the process. The dinner recipes below are quick, easy, and use a hefty portion of pesto—as well as other fresh ingredients, such as spinach and cherry tomatoes.

Traditional pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. These days, you can find pesto made with a variety of greens and nuts, such as kale and walnuts.

Though you can make it on your own, canned versions and refrigerated versions are so much more convenient. Both are found in the pasta sauce section. Refrigerated pesto will have the freshest herb flavor but also a much shorter shelf life. It's never a bad idea to have a jar in the pantry for those nights when you need a quick dinner.

Pesto Chicken Meatballs

I get cheers when I make meatballs for dinner. This genius recipe saves me from chopping herbs and uses pesto instead. These have me cheering too, because they only require four ingredients and bake in only 15 minutes.

Get Recipe: Pesto Chicken Meatballs

Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Give your grilled chicken sandwich a zing by adding basil two ways. Fresh basil tops the sandwich alongside tomato and mozzarella, with pesto spread on the bun. Ciabatta buns hold it all together without getting soggy.

Get Recipe: Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Spring Vegetable Tortellini Soup with Pesto

Keeping a hearty vegetarian soup in your back pocket is a marvelous idea. The pesto adds an extra layer of flavor that elevates this meal to company-worthy. If asparagus isn’t in season, you can swap it out for broccoli.

Get Recipe: Spring Vegetable Tortellini Soup with Pesto

5-Ingredient Pesto Shrimp

Dinner doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious. All you have to do is toss pesto into a skillet with shrimp and cherry tomatoes for the simplest, yet incredibly flavorful, weeknight dinner.

Get Recipe: Pesto Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes

Three-Cheese Pesto Lasagna

While not the quickest meal to make, this vegetarian lasagna earns points by its ability to be made ahead, doubled, and frozen. Plus, it’s delicious! Tomato haters will appreciate being able to dig into this meal wholeheartedly.

Get Recipe: Three-Cheese Pesto Lasagna

Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto

You made the kale pesto (or bought it at Trader Joe's). Now what? Toss it with pasta, lemon and mozzarella for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Whole wheat has a nutty flavor that kale pesto adds a pleasant zip to but any pasta will work here.

Get Recipe: Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto

Chicken Minestrone With Basil Pesto

Here’s your reminder to pull out your stash of pesto that you froze and use it in this pot of soup. The recipe makes 10 servings of soup and keeps well in the refrigerator, saving you from tired lunches for the rest of the week.

Get Recipe: Chicken Minestrone With Basil Pesto

Pesto Pasta Salad

Hold on to the flavors of summer with a garden-fresh pasta salad. The spiral pasta is enrobed with basil pesto and then olives, cherry tomatoes, and green peas are added, resulting in a satisfying lunch or welcome side at the next backyard bbq.

Get Recipe: Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto White Bean Veggie Burgers

I’d eat pesto spread on any burger, but this recipe does more than that. The pesto is mixed into the white bean patty and adds moisture and flavor. Make sure to save some pesto for spreading on the buns for serving.

Get Recipe: Pesto White Bean Veggie Burgers

Pesto Havarti Mac and Cheese

The best mac and cheese uses quick-melting cheeses. Havarti is a semi-hard cheese that melts like a charm but you can substitute gouda if you can't find it. Pesto is stirred into the cheese sauce, turning it a light green.

Get Recipe: Pesto Havarti Mac and Cheese

Summery Pesto Shakshuka

Shakshuka is a warming meal any time of year, but it’s especially satisfying when you can use your garden-grown tomatoes, squash, and basil. Eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and serve with crusty bread.

Get Recipe: This Summery Pesto Shakshuka Is Bursting With Summer Produce

Rotini With Kale and Walnut Pesto

Adding kale along with the basil pesto tempers the sauce and adds a hearty helping of greens in the process. Plus, I’m always looking for new ways to use kale that don’t require me massaging it beforehand. This recipe keeps it simple and doesn’t add any other vegetables to the pasta, letting the kale and basil pesto shine.

Get Recipe: Rotini With Kale and Walnut Pesto

Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl

Try saying that five times fast! Zucchini cut into the shape of noodles is such a fun way to eat your veggies. Pan-fried chicken, basil pesto, and cherry tomatoes turn these zucchini noodles into a satisfying dinner, in just 20 minutes.

Get Recipe: Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

Bow tie pasta wins the pasta cuteness award. Dress it up with chicken, spinach, white wine, and of course, pesto. You may want to chop the chicken breast into the same-size pieces as the pasta to make it easier for children to eat.

Get Recipe: Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

Italian Gnocchi Skillet With Chicken and Pesto

Making dinner in 15 minutes sounds too good to be true, but with the help of pre-cooked chicken strips, store-bought pesto, and a package of gnocchi, you’ll be eating dinner before you know it. If spinach and cherry tomatoes aren’t your thing, feel free to substitute for kale and sliced red peppers.

Get Recipe: Italian Gnocchi Skillet With Chicken and Pesto

Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta

Pasta dinners are my weeknight go-to. The spaghetti is tossed in the pesto before adding the sauteed shrimp and artichokes. Canned artichokes are a fine substitute for frozen, just remember to drain them before adding to the pasta.

Get Recipe: Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta

Pesto Pasta With Spinach and Avocado

All you need are 6 ingredients and you’ll have a crowd-pleasing pasta dinner. Pesto and fusilli pasta are the main ingredients, which makes this a very flexible recipe. Use whatever pesto you have on hand or experiment with an untraditional variation, such as pea pesto.

Get Recipe: Pesto Pasta With Spinach and Avocado

Lemon Pesto Turkey Pasta

Turkey season is almost here but even if you’re not looking for a way to use up all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey, this is a recipe worth checking out. Substitute ground turkey and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Get Recipe: Lemon Pesto Turkey Pasta

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.