Easy Pheasant Pesto Pasta

Pheasant Pesto Pasta is an easy and creamy pheasant pasta dish with juicy brined pheasant and tender asparagus. It’s a quick 30-minute meal that my wife and 10-year-old daughter absolutely love, so I'm confident it will become a staple in your family dinner rotation as well.

A Simple Pheasant Pasta Recipe for Weeknights

As a full-time wild game chef and recipe developer, I'm always striving to turn pheasants we work so hard to harvest into a restaurant-quality dish at home. This Pheasant Pesto Pasta recipe is for upland bird hunters and home cooks who want something approachable, delicious, and doable on a weeknight.

If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen with a pair of pheasant breasts and wondered, “Now what?” - this is your answer. With just a handful of simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store, you’ll create a creamy, flavor-packed pasta dish the whole family will love.

And the best part? You can pull it off in under 30 minutes!

The Importance of a Pheasant Brine

A brine is simply salt dissolved in water. The brine seasons the meat and promotes a change in it protein structure, reducing its overall toughness and creating gaps that fill up with water. This keeps the pheasant meat juicy and flavorful. I prefer to use table salt vs. kosher salt for brining since it dissolves quickly in the water. Brining the breast meat before cooking is an essential step because we're dealing with the lean, athletic nature of wild pheasants vs. chicken.

Pheasant Brine Directions

Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in 1 quart of cool water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the pheasant breasts. Submerge the pheasant completely in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 2 hours - no more! Remove the pheasant from the brine and pat dry with paper towels before cooking.

Pheasant Breast Pasta Ingredients

• 6 ounces fettuccine or spaghetti noodles
• 2 boneless, skinless pheasant breasts from 1 bird
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, divided
• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 6 ounces asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
• 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons basil pesto

How to Make Pheasant Pesto Pasta

1. Brine the pheasant

Place the pheasant breasts in a brine for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours (see brining directions above). Remove from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel.

2. Cook the pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to the package instructions, about 12 minutes. While the pasta cooks, move on to the next steps. When done, drain the pasta and set aside.

3. Cook the pheasant

Season the pheasant breasts on both sides with ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the pheasant and sauté until fully cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes, then slice into bite-sized pieces.

4. Sauté the asparagus

In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil along with the asparagus pieces. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.

5. Make the sauce

Add heavy whipping cream to the skillet and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil pesto, then add the cooked pheasant. Let everything cook together for 2 more minutes. Season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.

6. Combine and serve

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss well to coat the noodles in sauce. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley if you’d like.

Tips from a Wild Game Chef

1. Brine with intention.
If you skip the brine, you’re risking dry pheasant. A quick brine locks in moisture and seasons the meat from the inside out.

2. Don’t overcook the pheasant.
Two minutes per side is plenty for thin pheasant breasts. Trust me!

3. Taste your sauce before serving.
The pesto already brings salt and flavor, so give it a taste before adding more salt or pepper.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a splash of cream or milk to the pan and warm gently over low heat. The sauce will come back to life without separating.

Pheasant Hunting in North Dakota

The beauty of pheasant hunting in North Dakota lies in its simplicity. It’s a walk with a shotgun. Your goal is to frighten a ground-dwelling bird into flight, so you can shoot at its green head with a distinctive red wattle. Even if you don’t find anything, you’ve had a nice walk in the fresh air. When you do find these upland birds, the jolt of excitement you feel as a hidden bird blasts off at your feet is only matched by the tasty reward of a pheasant on your kitchen table. 

If you are headed our way for North Dakota pheasant season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

More Pheasant Recipes

If you are looking for more great ways to use pheasant in your diet, be sure and check out my Fried Pheasant Tenders and Pheasant Fritters and Pheasant Pot Pie and Buffalo Pheasant Dip. Or you can find all my pheasant recipes here.

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