My wife and I love this easy One-Pot Chicken and Broccoli Pasta for busy weeknights. It's loaded with broccoli, chunks of chicken breast, and a creamy sauce to bring everything together. Ready in 20 minutes or less!
Looking for more easy dinner recipes? Try my broccoli rice casserole or shrimp scampi next!
About This Recipe
Today's recipe is brought to you by... laziness! If you're lazy like me, then this is the perfect pasta recipe for you. It's super easy to make (less than 20 minutes) and everything is cooked in a single pot.
Ever since the dawn of time, I've heard of one-pot recipes, but I never gave into them because I was always under the impression that one-pot = lazy or bad. But this recipe changed my mind!
One-pot is not only great for less dishwashing, but sometimes it can actually improve a recipe. With this one, the pasta is cooked directly in the sauce instead of being boiled and drained. This means all the starches from the pasta stay in the pot, and you end up with a thicker and creamier sauce.
Chicken and broccoli is also one of my favorite protein + veggie combinations. I used to eat this on repeat when I was trying to bulk up for the summers as a college student. Except it was much more boring back then, I just steamed everything in a pot. Now, I make it much more fancy like this recipe.
Key Ingredients
Olive oil: For sauteing the veggies. I always use olive oil for sauteeing now to reduce my saturated fats.
Chicken breasts: I like chicken breasts because they are lean and the pasta has a lot of richness from cream already.
Garlic: You want to mince this as fine as possible as it provides a lot of the delicious flavor.
Heavy cream: This is self explanatory; it provides the creamy aspect.
Seasoning: Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Crush red pepper flakes is optional.
Fusilli pasta: You can use any pasta you like, but I love fusilli because it has more nooks and crannies which cling onto the pasta sauce.
Broccoli florets: For this recipe, I used a broccoli crown and cut it up myself. However, I did exclude the stalk because I wanted my pictures to look nicer.
Grated parmesan cheese: Highly recommend grating it yourself from a block as the fake parmesan cheese is not nearly as creamy.
Instructions
STEP 1: Heat the olive oil in a large pot and saute the chicken for 3-4 minutes. Keep in mind, the chicken will stick to the pan initially (before it develops a crust), so I usually leave it alone for the first 60 seconds. Then, I use a sharp spatula to flip the chicken. Once the chicken is "cooked" on sides, it will no longer stick. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
STEP 2: Add the chicken broth, cream, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and pasta. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and let it bubble for 8-10 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the broccoli and cook partially covered for 4-5 minutes.
STEP 4: If there is still a lot of liquid left, remove the lid and let it bubble for a few more minutes. On the other hand, if the pasta sauce is too thick, stir in some water.
STEP 5: Finally, remove from the heat and stir in parmesan. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice as well.
๐ Recipe
One Pot Chicken And Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ยฝ cup heavy cream
- ยฝ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- ยผ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
- 2-3 cups broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)
- ยผ cup grated parmesan cheese
- lemon slices (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and pasta.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and let it bubble for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn't stick. Add the broccoli and cook for 4-5 minutes partially covered.
- If there is still a lot of liquid left, increase the heat and let it bubble uncovered until it thickens.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Feel free to squeeze on some lemon juice for extra acidity. Serve immediately!
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