Easy Weeknight Dinners for Summer: The Pesto Pasta My Family Asks for on Repeat
It's almost summer in Nashville, which means it's already unreasonably hot and I have zero interest in standing over a stove for an hour. This is the dinner I make when the heat wins, and my son asks for it by name.
Twenty minutes. One pan. He ate two bowls.
It is already hot in Nashville. Not "oh it's warming up" hot. Like, we skipped the pleasant part and went straight to standing-in-the-driveway-at-7pm-questioning-your-life-choices hot.
This is the time of year when I start leaning hard on the handful of dinners that come together fast, don't heat up the whole kitchen, and actually get eaten without complaint. That last part matters the most.
The one my son asks for by name is pesto pasta. It takes about 20 minutes. It involves one jar, one bag, and a pan I'd marry if that were legal.
Here's how I make it.
The whole ingredient list, basically. Rao's pesto is non-negotiable. I've tried the others.
What You Need
Spaghetti noodles. A jar of Rao's pesto (I've tried others and I keep coming back to this one). Pre-cooked grilled chicken strips from Soules Kitchen (find them at Costco. They come in a double bag). A small handful of pine nuts. Shredded mozzarella or parmesan, whatever's in the fridge.
That's it.
That's the whole list.
Is this a mom dinner, or what?
How It Comes Together
Boil the noodles. While they're cooking, toast your pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat. Stay close — I burned mine last week because I walked away for what felt like thirty seconds, and toasted pine nuts go from perfect to tragic faster than you think. I do mine in my Our Place pan, which I use for approximately everything and have no intention of stopping.
Stay close. I'm serious. These go from perfect to burnt in the time it takes to answer one text.
While the pine nuts are toasting, heat the chicken strips according to the package. Drain the pasta using the Our Place built-in strainer — genuinely one of my favorite things about these pots — then toss with a generous spoonful (or three) of Rao's pesto right in the pot. Add the chicken. Top with the toasted pine nuts and whatever cheese you've got.
Done. Twenty minutes, one pot of boiling water, one pan.
The Version My Son Actually Ate
I'll tell you what really happened the first time I made this last week. I made it with the Soules Kitchen chicken, served it for dinner, and my son decided that particular night he did not want the chicken and systematically pulled every piece out and set it on his napkin. He proceeded to slurp down every pasta noodle and pine nut he could find. Fine.
This is the version without the chicken. He still cleaned the bowl.
The next night I had leftover crispy garlic chicken thighs from earlier in the week (a separate dinner, one of my husband's favorites that I'll write up soon because it deserves its own post) and I chopped those up and used them instead. He ate two bowls.
So. Both versions work. Use what you have.
Why This Is a Summer Staple
I have a whole rotation of dinners like this. Meals that aren't completely from scratch but aren't just ripping open a bag either. You're doing something: you're toasting the pine nuts, you're building the flavor, you're making it yours.
But you're not making it hard.
When it's this hot outside and the sports schedule is crazy, that detail matters.
Caprese salad with good tomatoes from the produce stand. Coconut shrimp with sweet potato fries. Taco night with premade meat and whatever's in the fridge. These aren't cheating. These are how real people feed their families in the summer.
I get my produce from a stand down the street from us here in Nashville. They source from Amish country in southern Tennessee ( the same area where we have a farm) so the strawberries this week were genuinely good. The kind you eat standing over the sink before they ever make it to a bowl.
Summer produce. Fast dinners. A pan that doesn't stick.
That's where I am right now. And the crispy garlic chicken thighs that saved dinner the next night deserve their own post entirely. Coming soon.
Enjoying this? I wrote a letter I wish someone had sent me at 35 — plus a playlist to go with it. Both are yours, free. Grab them here.
The Recipe
Easy Pesto Pasta with Toasted Pine Nuts Prep: 5 min | Cook: 20 min | Serves: 4
Ingredients
Spaghetti noodles (1 lb)
1 jar Rao's basil pesto
1 bag Soules Kitchen pre-cooked grilled chicken strips (or leftover chicken, chopped)
¼ cup pine nuts
Shredded mozzarella or parmesan to top
Instructions
Boil and drain noodles.
Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat. Stay close — 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pull them the second they're golden.
Heat chicken strips according to package.
Toss drained pasta with pesto right in the pot. Start with a generous spoonful and add more to taste.
Add chicken. Top with toasted pine nuts and cheese.
That's it. Twenty minutes, one pan, no drama.
Exactly What I Used for this dish
Rao’s Basil Pesto - the only one I keep coming back to.
Our Place Pots and Pans - I use this for everything. The drain feature alone is worth it.
Soules Kitchen Grilled Chicken Strips - Costco, double bag, grab two.
saga
If you want to hear what I do when I'm not cooking (the songs I've been sitting on for years, the stories behind them) that's what the Inner Listening Room is for. One vault song a month, with the whole story. Come find it at laurenlucas.com.
More Summer Dishes from my kitchen ↓
5 Things People Always Ask Me About (And Why I’m Obsessed)
Five things people stop me about in real life — my hair, my lips, my pans, my Spanx, and my garden beds. Here they are, with links, so you don't have to hunt them down yourself.
I get asked about these things constantly. In real life, on Instagram, in my DMs. So here they are — with links — because I'm done answering one at a time.
01. The Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb + Blow Dryer Brush
The tool behind the blowout. Worth every penny.
I have been asked about my hair more times than I can count. The honest answer used to be "my colorist is a genius" — and she is — but the other half of the answer is this tool.
It's a heated comb and blow dryer brush in one. No more holding a round brush in one hand and a blow dryer in the other while slowly losing feeling in both arms and sweating through my shirt. One tool. One pass. Salon blowout.
But here's the part I love most: I wash my hair once a week. This keeps it looking fresh on day three, day four, and honestly day five if I'm being real. A few passes and it smooths, flips, or softly waves depending on what I need that day.
$119.85 on Amazon — currently 20% off. Comes with a carrying case. Worth every penny.
02. Spanx Clothing (Yes, the actual clothing, not just the shapewear)
I'm a Spanx partner because I love them so much! All opinions are my own. And they’re all glowing.
Most people know Spanx for the shapewear. I'm here to talk about the clothing line.
I get stopped regularly and asked about my jeans. My shorts. My tracksuits. The answer is almost always the same: Spanx.
Are they a little pricey? Yes. Are they worth it? Also yes. Here's why: they know how to clothe a woman's body. They smooth the right things, they're long enough if you're tall, and they actually last. I've had pieces for years that still look brand new.
The jeans especially. I've had people tell me they look expensive. They do. Because they are. But you wear them constantly so the cost per wear ends up being embarrassingly reasonable.
If you've only ever tried their shapewear, go look at the clothing line. You can thank me later.
Spanx jeans are good enough to wear on TV! I wear them all the time on tour dates. This was a live performance on Channel 4.
I live in the Spanx Air Essentials separates. This color is my favorite around the holidays.
Enjoying this? I wrote a letter I wish someone had sent me at 35 — plus a playlist to go with it. Both are yours, free. Grab them here.
03. Rosebud Salve
Not lip gloss. I promise. Just this little tube doing all the work.
I have been stopped and asked what lip gloss I'm wearing more times than I can count. The answer is always the same: it's not lip gloss. It's this.
Rosebud Salve is a lip moisturizer that pulls double duty as the softest, most natural-looking lip stain you've ever seen. No gloss, no sticky, no "I just applied something" feeling. Just hydrated lips with a hint of color that looks like you’re glowing from within.
I buy the three pack every time. One in my purse. One in my car. One on my nightstand. Because I hate needing it and not having it within reach.
It's on Amazon. It's inexpensive. It's one of those things you'll wonder how you lived without.
Shop Rosebud Salve on Amazon →
04. Our Place Always Pan & Perfect Pot Set
Christmas gift. Used every single day since. The pot with the strainer lid changed my life a little.
I got these pans as a Christmas gift and I cook with them every single day. Every. Single. Day.
Last night I toasted pine nuts in one while boiling pasta in the other. That's a Tuesday.
The pot is the thing I can't stop talking about. It comes with a lid that has a steam vent on one side and a strainer on the other. So you can drain your pasta without hunting for a colander. It has a built-in spoon rest on the handle. It's nonstick. And it is light as a feather. You're not getting a weightlifting workout just moving dinner from the stove to the table.
Listen, I love a good heirloom pan for my favorite family recipes. But for everyday cooking — the weeknight pastas, the quick sautés, the pine nuts you're toasting at 6pm because you promised your family pesto — this is what I reach for every time.
They come in the most beautiful colors too. Mine is Spice and I'm not sorry about it.
05. Raised Garden Beds
Three weeks in. Everything looks intentional. The tomatoes are lying.
I started my first vegetable garden this spring and I built it around these cedar raised beds. They are beautiful. Like, genuinely beautiful. My husband wants to know why I'm outside at 7am talking to my tomatoes. Valid question.
I have two of them set up alongside a galvanized stock tank and one very ambitious horseradish plant that won't be ready until fall. Together they hold my lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and marigolds. The beds are sturdy, well-built, and elevated enough that you're not breaking your back every time you need to water or weed.
If you've been thinking about starting a garden and just need a reason to commit, well, this is your reason.
Fair warning though: I am three weeks in and my tomatoes are already staging a protest. Read the full tomato story is over here if you want to feel better about your own garden struggles.
Shop the Raised Garden Beds on Amazon →
These are the things that genuinely make my daily life better. Not sponsored, not gifted — just five things I actually use and get asked about constantly. If you try any of them, come back and tell me what you think.
And if you have something I absolutely need to know about, I'm listening.
Shop the Post
Everything I actually use. Everything I actually get asked about. Links to all of it in one place.
Five things I get asked about constantly. All of them worth every penny.
Keep Going →
A dairy-free iced latte with cinnamon, espresso, and a drizzle of honey. Serve it hot or cold — we made the iced version and it's a homerun. Your mornings just got better.