Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Make your entire meal in one dish with this skillet chicken broccoli pasta. I also added some bell pepper to add more flavor and a pop of color. The sauce made with onion, garlic, chicken broth and cream brings it all together.

Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pasta - made with chicken, broccoli, onion and bell pepper cooked in a creamy sauce.

I have so much love for one dish dinners! This chicken broccoli pasta is made all in one skillet. Since it’s a pasta recipe, it cooks really fast too, so this is perfect for a busy weeknight. It’s also really versatile, so you can use different cuts of chicken, either chicken breast or chicken thighs and use many different combinations of vegetables.

Instead of cooking the pasta separately, we add it right into the skillet along with everything else. The cooking method is perfect to have a delicious pasta dish. Even though cooking the pasta in such a small amount of water produces lots of starch, that’s actually a good thing in this case, since it creates the base for a beautiful, light sauce. I use broccoli, peppers, onion and garlic in here, and it’s such a colorful combination and so beautiful too.

You can use many different types of pasta and a variety of vegetables. How fun is that? You’ll have only one skillet to wash and if you do the prep ahead of time, it’s a 30 minute meal, and you don’t have to be Rachel Ray to appreciate it. 

Ingredients:

  • chicken
    • I have used both chicken breast and chicken thighs for this recipe and they both work really well.
  • pasta (medium shapes are best, such as rotini, penne, campanelle, etc.)
  • oil, salt, pepper (for seasoning and sauteing the chicken and vegetables)
  • dry herbs and spices – to flavor the chicken and veggies. My favorite combinations are granulated or powdered onion and garlic, dry chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary, etc.
  • broccoli – cut into florets
  • pepper
    • Use any kind of sweet peppers that you like in any color. I usually use bell peppers, but this time I found a bag of these Sunset Sweet Twister Peppers at our local grocery store, so that’s what I used. You can add a bit of hot peppers to, if you want to add some heat to the recipe.
  • onion and garlic (Almost all my savory recipes have to have onions and garlic. They add so much flavor.)
  • chicken broth + water
  • white wine, or lemon juice (optional)
    • If you want to use the wine, use a dry white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc, Pino Grigio, Riesling, or Chardonnay. Omit the wine and use lemon juice instead or don’t add either.
  • heavy cream – You can omit the cream completely, but it does add such a lovely creaminess.
  • Parmesan cheese – Grate some in at the end.
  • fresh parsley – other fresh herbs you can use are thyme, rosemary, chives, oregano etc.
Ingredients for Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pasta

How to Make Chicken Broccoli Pasta in the skillet

  1. Prep the ingredients. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces, season with salt, pepper and dry herbs and spices. Cut the broccoli into florets, peel the stem and slice into smaller pieces. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Slice the bell pepper into slices.
  2. Saute the chicken in a large skillet until golden. It doesn’t have to be cooked through all the way, since we will finish cooking it in the broth with the pasta later. Set the chicken aside in a separate bowl.
  3. In the same skillet, cook the broccoli. Season with salt and pepper, saute for 1-2 minutes on higher heat, then add a bit of the broth that you’ll be using later, just enough to create some steam in the skillet. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low and cook until the broccoli is tender but still vibrantly green. Remove the broccoli to a bowl.
  4. Next, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium low heat until they are translucent and soft.
  5. Pour in the white wine, if using, and deglaze the skillet, then add the pasta, chicken broth and water. (Season with salt, since the water will dilute the broth.) Bring to a boil, then reduce slightly, to medium high heat.
  6. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, until the pasta is partially cooked and has absorbed some of the liquid. Add the bell peppers and continue cooking until the pasta is completely cooked through, a total of 12-15 minutes. (If your chicken wasn’t cooked all the way through, add it in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.)
  7. Add the cooked broccoli, pour in the cream and grate in the Parmesan cheese. Mix to combine. Garnish with parsley.

The liquid should be mostly absorbed, with only a bit on the bottom of the skillet.If you use a smaller skillet, or don’t use a high enough heat, the liquid may not reduce enough. That’s not a big deal. Just drain off some of the liquid. Leave enough to make a sauce. (You don’t want to cook it too long, since you don’t want the pasta or the broccoli to become mushy and overcooked. )

Serving the Chicken Broccoli Pasta

When I serve the pasta, I like to garnish each plate with more fresh herbs and finely grated Parmesan cheese. It looks so beautiful and elegant, but is so simple to prepare. On extra busy nights, just serve this by itself.

If you want to add a few extras, serve it with a fresh garden salad and a lemon garlic vinaigrette and some crunchy Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots on the side.

Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pasta

More Delicious and Satisfying One Dish Dinners

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Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pasta

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Make your entire meal in one dish with this skillet chicken broccoli pasta. I also added some bell pepper to add more flavor and a pop of color. The sauce made with onion, garlic, chicken broth and cream brings it all together.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Entree

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 chicken breast halves
  • salt, pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons oil (canola, vegetable, olive, etc.)
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 bell pepper, julienned
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 8 oz pasta (capanelle, ziti, fusili, etc.) (approximately 2 1/2 cups)
  • 1 2/3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 3/4 cups water
  • 4 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or white wine
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream,
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for garnishing
  • fresh parsley, minced, for garnishing

Instructions

  1. Trim the chicken. Blot dry with a paper towel. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Prep the rest of the ingredients. Chop the onion, julienne the bell pepper, cut the broccoli into florets, mince the sun dried tomatoes and the garlic.
  3. In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Take it out of the skillet and set is aside. The chicken should still be raw in the center.
  4. Add 1 more Tablespoon of oil to the same skillet. Add the chopped onion, season with salt and pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes, on medium heat, until the onion is softened.
  5. Add the pepper, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.
  6. Add the garlic to the center of the skillet, cook for about 30 seconds longer.
  7. Add the pasta, chicken broth and water to the skillet. Bring it to a boil. Season with salt, since the water will dilute the chicken broth significantly.
  8. Nestle the chicken in the center of the skillet. Cook, covered, until the chicken reaches 160-165 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Take the chicken out of the skillet, and keep it covered to stay warm.
  9. Keep cooking the pasta for a total of about 15 minutes, until the liquid has become absorbed up to the level of the pasta.
  10. Add the broccoli and sun dried tomatoes to the skillet, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until the broccoli is almost ready.
  11. Turn the heat to high, uncover the skillet and cook for approximately 3 more minutes. Add the lemon juice or white wine. The liquid should be mostly absorbed, with only a bit on the bottom of the skillet.
  12. Add the heavy cream and the Parmesan cheese. Keep cooking for another 2 minutes or so, until it’s all warmed through.
  13. Slice the chicken and add to the rest of the dish. Garnish with fresh minced parsley and more cheese.

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14 Comments

  • Nina

    WOW!!!!!
    Another great recipe. Can’t wait to cook it. So smart. Fast. Easy. Healthy. And I’m 100 percent sure it will be sooooooo
    Delisious. Thanks again for your wonderful job!!!!

  • Marina

    This looks too easy! I like easy:) If I were to add zucchini to this dish, at what point would I add it without it turning to mush?
    Olga, I’m digging your easy, one skillet meals: if you have any more, I’d love it if you’d share!
    I made your roulette with farmer’s cheese today, just to see if your dough is softer than others I’ve tried… It was! I ate half of one roulette in one sitting, just out of the oven, then my four year old ate the other half. Thank you for sharing!!!

    • olgak7

      Hi Marina.
      Add the zucchini with a few minutes after the broccoli. I am a big fan of one skillet meals. They sure make life a lot easier on those busy weeknights. I’ll be sure to share more similar recipes in the future.
      I’m so glad you like the Roulette with Farmer’s Cheese. It’s one of my favorites.

  • Vera

    This was delicious!!! I love pretty much anything that has heavy cream as an ingredient. It just makes the dish much tastier! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  • Veronika

    I made this for dinner today it tasted great, and my husband absolutely loved it! Will definitely be making it again. Maybe ill try to put shrimp into it next time:)

    • olgak7

      Thanks for taking the time to let me know, Veronika! It’s so satisfying to me when my husband loves a meal that I cooked. Makes it twice better:).

  • Elina

    Wow Olga, this is an amazing dish, so flavorful!! I love this “one skillet” concept; I’ve never done it with pasta before. Genius! The pasta ends up being so perfectly flavored. Wow. Will DEFINITELY be making this again (and again and again:))!! My husband devoured it and he is not a huge pasta fan!!

    • olgak7

      That’s great, Elina! I love to hear comments like yours. My husband also really likes this dish. I LOVE that the whole meal is cooked in one skillet. I want to come up with more convenient dinners like this one.

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