This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla®. All opinions and text are mine.

Easy Vegetarian Pasta Recipe

This simple Mediterranean pasta can be ready in 30 minutes so you just can't go wrong here. We all need a collection of quick and flavorful recipes for those hectic weekdays.

For this sun dried tomato pasta recipe, I used Barilla spaghetti as it's my go-to brand of pasta. It's always such a reliable product, and it turns out perfectly every time! And it's also an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, which incorporates a variety of quality food groups that should be eaten often in reasonable quantities.

It's a delicious base to all your creative pasta creations! It's just one of those comforting foods I can never get enough of.

Isn't pesto one of the best foods ever created? The flavor is so bold and vibrant, and when it's homemade it's just bursting with fresh flavor. It makes for one of the easiest and best pasta sauces, plus it's healthy! Add it to spaghetti with some sweet roasted cherry tomatoes and some perfectly grilled chicken strips and you've got a meal worth remembering!

I was actually so surprised; I was planning on eating this chicken pesto pasta for the next few days myself. I didn't think my husband would like it and I thought the flavors would be a little too fancy for my kids. They all loved it! My four-year-old was asking for more, and normally she's the toughest critic for stuff like this. She'll always say "I don't like that green stuff, could you take it off please" whenever there is anything like spinach, basil, cilantro, etc. Not this time and it was covered in green stuff. Success! Thank you, pesto sauce!

I loved it so much that I'm planning on making this pesto chicken pasta again in the next few days! All the best Italian flavors in one delicious pesto spaghetti dinner. And you'll love what the roasted tomatoes bring to this, it was hard for me not to eat them all straight from the baking sheet. They can take all of your pasta recipes to the next level. Roasting veggies, or fruits in this case, always brings out the most irresistible flavors in them and it just brings out that delicious natural sweetness that sugar simply cannot duplicate.

Ingredients for Pesto Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Grilled Chicken

The quality ingredients really make this dish, but there are some shortcuts you can take if you're in a pinch!

• Fresh basil leaves make the best basil pesto
• Almonds or walnuts can be used instead of pine nuts, but the flavor will be more dry
• Swap your spaghetti for penne pasta
• Cut your pasta with heavy cream or chicken broth for a lighter flavor
• Use shrimp or sausage in place of grilled chicken thighs
• Add vegetables like zucchini to your pesto
• Use a jar of store-bought pesto
• Add mushrooms for more flavor and nutrients