Week night meals can feel like a last minute scramble on busy week days. Hungry kids and not enough hours in the day. In my house, I rely heavily on meals that can be made in 30-45 minutes, or can be prepped in advance for a quick evening prep.
Enter One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta.
Traditional chicken Parmesan is a little too labor intensive for me on some night, but that does not meal that the flavors or this traditional meal need to be abandoned. This recipe takes the flavors of the beloved classic and makes them a little more weeknight friendly- and easy to prep in advance!
This recipe uses white meat ground chicken, onions, seasoning, flavorful marinara sauce, hearty pasta and melted cheese to create a one-pot meal that will be a quick family favorite. To top it off, I top my pasta with buttered toasted panko bread crumbs to replicate the texture of the crispy chicken in the original recipe.
Why are one-pot recipes one of my favorite types of recipe? I love the minimal clean-up and I love that all the flavors are cooked together. The pasta always tastes so delicious after it soaks up all the delicious cooking liquid.
My boys adored this meal, and both went in for seconds. One of the features of this recipe that I believe hits a home run for my boys is the ground chicken. They both prefer the texture of ground beef, turkey, or chicken over a larger pieces of meat, and paired with pasta- I had two happy little guys and that makes one happy mama.
I mentioned loving dinners that allowed me to prep in advance, and this recipe certainly can be adapted for that. The pasta portion can be cooked and chilled for last. To re-heat, I recommended baking covered at 350° F for about 30 minutes and then finishing it with the buttered bread crumbs under the broiler.
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Meals like this one are also one of my favorites for a cold and snowy night. I love having something hearty ready after the kids have been in the snow or just to make us feel warm and cozy.
We finally have snow, and the kids are thrilled. Kellen was bummed not to have any snow over break, and now they can't get enough. Well, until they start fighting and snow ends up down the backs of their jackets and in their faces..... From what I have been told by other mothers this never ends. Just keep that snow out of my jacket boys!
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One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 1 small Onion, diced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 lb uncooked rotini pasta
- 24 oz jar Marinara Sauce
- 2 cups Water
- 1 ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
- ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese, divided
- 3 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
- In a medium to large oven safe dutch oven (or other comparable skillet) heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Add ground chicken, and onion. Cooke til chicken can be broken apart and crumble. Once onions begin to soften, add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add pasta, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and water to chicken. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked.
- While pasta cooks, mix bread crumbs with melted butter and set aside.
- Stir in 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Parmesan cheese until melted and combined.
- Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and and Parmesan cheese over pasta. Top with bread crumbs. Heat broiler to high and broil uncovered for 2-3 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Notes
Marisa Franca
I simply love these one pat dishes with pasta. What a great recipe for busy moms and dads. This dish is full of flavor and all the essentials that make it a comfort dish. I know that my kiddos would love this -- I could even make this for a weekend lunch! The recipe is a keeper.
Claudia Lamascolo
wow, this is pretty irresistible and a must make! All in one pan and my son favorite chicken parm and pasta! this is brilliant!
Emmeline
Just give me anything with parmesan!! But really, this looks amazing. I will definitely make it!
Marisa Franca
I wanted to let you know that I made this recipe and it was everything you said it would be. I loved the texture and the taste was fantastic!! I had quite a bit leftover and we watched two of our grandsons and gave them the chicken parmesan pasta for lunch. They loved it. In fact they asked that I give their mommy the recipe. The recipe is a keeper.
CheeseCurdInParadise
That is awesome!
Veena Azmanov
I am a huge fan of one pot dishes and this looks like something my kids would enjoy very much. Parmesan and chicken together is always a winning combination for me. Saving this to try soon. Sounds so yum.
Danielle Wolter
This seriously looks like the ultimate comfort food. I love how cheesy it is, and so easy to make too!
Jyothi (Jo)
I'm a huge fan of one pan recipes , i simply hate cleanup dishes. Chicken Parmesan is the best combo and I love the flavors and combinations here.
Jere Cassidy
I need this recipe. I have been looking for more pasta recipes and this is it. Looks comforting.
Stine Mari
Ohh YUM! I want this right now. So comforting yet so easy to make. And I love the thought of that panko butter topping, sounds delicious.
Gloria
Well you got me a "one pot". Then pasta...and I love the combination of chicken and pasta. This looks like a crowd pleaser, Leftovers would be great too.
Carmen Berry
I'm a sucker for a good one-pot meal. I love the simplicity of this crowd pleasing dish! This is definitely being added to my weeknight dinner rotation. Thanks!
Jeannette (Jay Joy)
I love meals we can make in ONE POT! I am just way to busy sometimes to be too fancy for dinner, yet this Chicken Parmesan Pasta seems pretty fancy, LOL. It also seems like it is filling, which is perfect for my growing family.
Lathiya
One pot dishes are my favorite..and these chicken parmesan pasta looks delicious and perfect for me to try this weekend
Candiss
This is a very clever adaptation of a classic recipe. I never thought of making a one pot chicken parm before but now I might have to try
Jacqueline Debono
I also love one pot meals and they were a real life saver when my boys were young! (I have 4!) I love the way you did the breadcrumbs on top. Have to try that!
Amanda
I love how you used bread crumbs to get that classic chicken Parm coating -- so brilliant and delicious! This is definitely going on my weeknight dinner rotation. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Jori
I love one-pot meals! With two little ones and a 9-5, it's so tough to find an easy weeknight meal. Thank you!
Linda
I love a good one-pot recipe like this. So creamy, so comforting, and less cleaning so I can go back to my PJ and Netflix early.
April
I think I am crazy about every work in this 5-word recipe: one pot (let's consider this as one word), chicken (yum!), parmesan (yes please) and pasta (give me some more please!). Definitely the recipe I would enjoy!
Mirlene
You had me at one pot. I love one pot dishes. Simply put it in and forget it. I cant wait yo make this parmesan pasta dish for my family. I'm sure they will not be able to stay away.
Kelly Anthony
I'm all about one pot quick meals for busy weeknights. This will be a perfect meal for my family and one that everyone will enjoy!
Farrah
Gotta love one-pot meals! I've never tried making chicken parmesan, but this looks awesome and totally doable! <3