Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta is an amazing one-pot wonder that's super easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes to put together. It makes a lot which is great given the the leftovers are just as yummy!
Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta
You probably have most, if not all of the ingredients for this yummy pasta dish on hand.
- The Chicken: I like to use skinless boneless chicken breasts, but you could also use skinless boneless chicken thighs or a combination of the two.
- The Broccoli: I used frozen broccoli florets, but you could also use fresh broccoli florets. Make sure that you don't get frozen broccoli cuts. My experience is that you get a lot of the tough stalks and not that much of the tender florets. If you don't like broccoli, you could easily substitute fresh spinach.
- The Pasta: I used Penne pasta for this dish. However, in the past, I've also used Rotini and Ziti. Actually, you could use whatever pasta you had on hand!
- The Sauce: The creamy sauce uses a combination of heavy cream, sour cream, Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies and mozzarella cheese. Are you drooling yet?
- The Flavorings: To flavor this dish, I used Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, fresh garlic and crispy crumbled bacon.
Ahead of Time
Before actually putting this dish together, I cooked the pasta in boiling salted water to the al dente stage according to the package directions. Once the pasta was done, I drained it in a colander and set it aside.
While the pasta was cooking, cooked the bacon in a large skillet until the bacon was crispy done. Then, I drained the bacon on paper towels. When the bacon had cooled, I crumbled it and set it aside.
Making the Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta
After removing the bacon from the skillet, I poured off the grease and added back about a tablespoon of it. Then, I added the chicken, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper to the skillet.
I cooked the chicken over medium heat until it was no longer pink. This took about 5 minutes.
Next, I added the minced garlic and cooked the mixture until the garlic was fragrant. This took about 30 seconds.
After that, I added the drained Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies and broccoli. I stirred everything together to make sure that the ingredients were well combined.
Next, I added the cream and sour cream. I stirred everything together and cooked the mixture until the cream was bubbly.
Once the cream was bubbly, I added the pasta and the cheese. I stirred the creamy chicken broccoli pasta together and heated it until the cheese was fully melted.
Finally, I added the crumbled bacon to the Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta. I gave the mixture a stir and heated it for another minute or so to ensure that everything was nice and hot.
I served the Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta with a freshly baked loaf of Crusty French bread and a chilled Chardonnay. The chicken was tender and perfectly seasoned and the whole dish was amazing. Yum!
Chula's Expert Tips
- Although this recipe uses Penne pasta, you could also use Rotini, Ziti or the pasta of your choice.
- You could use chicken thighs in place of the chicken breasts, or a combination of chicken breasts and chicken thighs.
- You could also use fresh broccoli florets in place of the frozen broccoli florets. However I would avoid using frozen broccoli cuts. In my experience, the frozen broccoli cuts while cheaper, tend to be primarily the tough broccoli stalks as opposed to the tender florets. Also, rather than using broccoli you could use 2 to 3 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves.
- I used light sour cream in this recipe, but you could also use full-fat sour cream. Also, you could skip the sour cream and use heavy cream in its place.
- This makes yummy leftovers. If you have any, refrigerate the in a covered container. When you're ready to eat the leftovers, heat them in microwave for several minutes or until hot.
Other One-Dish Wonders That Produce Amazing Leftovers
If you're interested in recipes for other one-dish wonders that produce amazing leftovers, check out these:
- Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice with Chicken: Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice with Chicken is an amazing one-pot meal with an incredible blend of flavors and textures. It makes a lot, so be prepared for yummy leftovers!
- Easy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole: Easy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole is a one pot wonder that's sure to become a family favorite. With the combination of chicken, rice, broccoli, and of course cheese, you know it's going to be delicious. It can be made ahead of time and produces awesome leftovers.
- Pasta Jambalaya: Pasta Jambalaya replaces the rice with pasta in a more traditional jambalaya recipe to create an unforgettable meal!
- Make-Ahead Shepherd's Pie: Shepherd's Pie is a traditional staple of British and Irish cooking. It's easy to make, and incredibly tasty. Shepherd's Pie can be made ahead and frozen for an anytime meal.
- One Pot Cream Tuscan Chicken: One Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken is the ultimate in simplicity and taste. Thinly sliced chicken breasts are pan-fried and finished in a creamy Italian style sauce that's bursting with goodness and flavor. Served over pasta, One Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken is perfect for an elegant dinner party, but easy enough to serve any night of the week.
- Cheesy Southwestern Chicken Pasta: Cheesy Southwestern Chicken Pasta - the name for this amazing one-dish wonder says it all! Imagine the marriage of succulent chicken in a creamy southwestern sauce with tender pasta topped with ooey gooey cheese. It doesn't get much better than this.
- Easy Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta: Easy Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta is an awesome twist on the classic Chicken Marsala. It's easy enough for week-night meals, but elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. Tender pieces of chicken are cooked to perfection with caramelized onions and mushrooms tossed with pasta in a creamy dreamy Marsala sauce. Who could ask for more?
- Lasagna: If you're looking for an incredible lasagna recipe, look no further. It has layers of thick and rich meat sauce, lasagna noodles, homemade ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Are you convinced yet? If not, let me add that it's easy to make, produces awesome leftovers, and freezes beautifully!
- Spicy New Orleans Jambalaya: Nothing speaks classic New Orleans cuisine like Spicy New Orleans Jambalaya. Laizzez les bons temps rouler with this delicious one-pot meal. It combines rice, shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage in a spicy tomato sauce enhanced by the holy trinity.
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Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried Penne pasta, cooked to al dente stage according to package directions (See Tip 1)
- 5 pieces bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into ¼-inch slices (See Tip 2)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups frozen broccoli florets (See Tip 3)
- 10 ounce can Rotel original diced tomatoes & green chilies, drained
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sour cream (See Tip 4)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water to the al dente stage according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Cook bacon in a large skillet. Drain and crumble. Set aside.
- Pour bacon grease from skillet; return 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Add chicken, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add broccoli and Rotel tomatoes. Stir to combine. Add cream and sour cream. Heat over medium heat until bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cooked pasta and cheese. Stir to combine. Heat until cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add crumbled bacon. Stir to combine.
- Yield: 6 servings (See Tip 5)
Tips/Notes
- You could also use Rotini, Ziti or the pasta of your choice.
- You could use chicken thighs in place of the chicken breasts, or a combination of chicken breasts and chicken thighs.
- You could also use fresh broccoli florets. However avoid using frozen broccoli cuts. In my experience, the frozen broccoli cuts while cheaper, tend to be primarily the tough broccoli stalks as opposed to the tender florets. Rather than using broccoli you could use fresh 2 to 3 cups of fresh spinach.
- I used light sour cream. You could also use full-fat sour cream, or heavy cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers, if any in a covered container. Heat in microwave for several minutes or until hot.
Nutrition
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