One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta – Penne pasta with sautéed chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a creamy sauce all cooked in one pot. This is an excellent pasta dish for busy weeknights or when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. For that reason, it is a staple in our house!
What is one pot pasta? It is exactly that. Everything is cooked in one pot! Making this the easiest pasta dish ever. The only real work required is prepping meat and veggies and cooking the chicken and veggies. After the chicken and veggies are done, all you have to do is add the remaining ingredients to your pot.
When I’m having a hectic day or don’t feel like cooking, this is definitely one of my go to lazy day meals! We served ours with some delicious garlic bread, because who doesn’t love pasta with a some toasty bread? I know I do!
If you like dipping bread in your pasta too (I know you do), I’ll link some of my favorite bread recipes for you below that pair perfectly with this pasta! My Easy Homemade Garlic Bread recipe really pairs well with this pasta because it is super easy to make and only takes 10 minutes!
This one pot pasta serves about four people giving them fairly generous portions. Depending on everyone’s appetite, this could serve up to six people. If you are cooking for a very large crowd, you can double the recipe. Just make sure you use a large pot!
Ingredients you need to make my One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe:
Chicken Breasts – You’ll need about two boneless skinless chicken breasts or equivalent to one pound. However, you can also use chicken tenders or thighs.
Butter – Unsalted or salted butter both work great in this recipe.
Olive Oil – Olive oil, canola oil or avocado oil will all work fine in this recipe.
Yellow Onion – Red, white, yellow or sweet onion.
Garlic Cloves – You will need three cloves of garlic. This equals to about one tablespoon of minced garlic. If you don’t have fresh, you can use 1 tsp garlic powder.
Fresh Spinach – About two cups of fresh chopped spinach (stems removed!). I have never used frozen spinach in this recipe.
Diced Tomatoes – One 15 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes are both perfect in this recipe. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, You’ll need about one and half cups chopped.
Penne Pasta – For the pasta, you’ll need half of a one pound box of penne. If you don’t have penne, you can use rigatoni, farfalle, ziti, and more.
Salt – I almost always use sea salt in my cooking. But, you can use whatever salt you have on hand.
Chicken Broth – I used regular canned chicken broth in this recipe. If you are panning on using low sodium chicken broth, that will work fine too.
Black Pepper – I always use freshly cracked black pepper.
Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded mozzarella cheese is best in this recipe.
Basil – Fresh basil or dried basil. If using fresh basil chop up about a tablespoon. If using dried basil, you’ll need one teaspoon.
Cream Cheese – Full fat cream cheese works best in this recipe to give the pasta a really nice creamy texture.
Parmesan Cheese – For the parmesan cheese, I aways buy a block of quality parmesan cheese and grate it fresh.
Tools to have on hand to make one-pot pasta:
- Enameled Cast Iron Skillet or Large Pot – To cook your pasta in!
- Cooking Spoon – For stirring and cooking your pasta.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – To properly measure all of your ingredients.
- Cutting Board + Chef Knife – For chopping veggies and chicken.
- Garlic Mincer – To mince your garlic or you can use a fine grater.
- Cheese Grater – If you are shredding cheese off the block.
How to make my super easy One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta:
Add oil and butter to a large deep skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add diced chicken and onions and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.
Next, add remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until penne is al dente. When you reach this point, remove pasta from heat, stir, and let sit a couple minutes before serving.
Serve pasta with fresh grated parmesan, red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley (optional). Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
To store your pasta: Place completely cooled pasta in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Here are a few of my favorite quick and easy bread recipes to pair with pasta:
Quick Drop Biscuits – My super easy quick biscuits are done in 20 minutes from start to finish! They are super fluffy, buttery and full of flavor despite the short amount of time it takes the make them.
Easy Homemade Garlic Bread – Classic garlic bread recipe with one secret ingredient that places this garlic bread above the rest. Serve warm with your favorite pastas, salads and soups.
Texas Toast – Warm, buttery and delicious thick cut garlic bread with a secret ingredient toasted to golden perfection
If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few more pasta recipes I think you’ll love:
Chicken & Sausage Pasta – Penne pasta with shredded rotisserie chicken and sausage tossed in a delicious creamy parmesan sauce.
Creamy Tomato Cajun Chicken Pasta – Cajun chicken and farfalle pasta tossed in deliciously creamy tomato sauce sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley and green onions.
Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta – Fettuccine tossed in a creamy chipotle sauce with chicken, corn, diced tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
Chicken Parmesan – (Chicken Parmigiana) Crispy breaded baked chicken topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Serve over a bed of pasta with marinara sauce.
One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb. chicken breast cut into cubes
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups spinach chopped, stems removed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Add oil and butter to a large deep skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add diced chicken, and onions and cook for about 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.
- Next, add remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until penne is al dente. When you reach this point, remove pasta from heat, stir, and let sit a couple minutes before serving.
- Serve pasta with fresh grated parmesan, red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley (optional). Enjoy!
Notes
This post was originally published on January 17, 2019 and updated on August 11, 2020.
I subbed ground chicken and reduced fat cream cheese (watching my sat fat intake) and added red pepper flakes for a little kick. Reheated beautifully all week for lunch. Definitely a keeper!!
Do you drain you tomatoes?
Hi Cheryl, No, I didn’t 🙂