Dry pasta cooks up perfectly tender in a luscious sauce with chicken, spinach and tomatoes in this one pot wonder. This utterly delicious Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta is on the table in about 30 minutes!
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you know I’m pretty crazy about fast and easy one-pot meals. It stems from the “life is complicated, dinner shouldn’t be” philosophy that I’ve adopted over the years. This is what raising four boys while working both in and out of the home does to a woman!
After serving many of these simple, delicious meals to my family, I’ve determined that complicated does not necessarily mean better.
Ever since the momentous day when I discovered you could throw dry pasta into a pot with a slew of other ingredients and end up with a delicious result, things have never quite been the same around here. It led me to experiment with all kinds of different pastas, proteins, and veggies and this Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta has risen to the top as one of my favorites. My family loves this easy meal! It’s been a regular on our menu around here for so many years.
The funny thing is, I could work for hours in the kitchen to create a special meal and the next night pull off this easy chicken pasta and the crowd goes crazy. Go figure!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – You’ll need 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Spinach – Pick up a 5-ounce bag of fresh baby spinach. It will seem like too much but trust me, spinach has a way of almost disappearing as it wilts so you’ll need the entire bag.
- Chicken broth – I recommend using low sodium broth – always – and season with salt, to taste. I use reduced sodium Better Than Bouillon so that I can mix up exactly how much broth I need for each recipe.
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes – I prefer flavorful fire roasted tomatoes over regular diced tomatoes for this recipe. I just love that hint of smokiness.
- Penne – Uncooked, dry penne cooks up perfectly in this one pot pasta. You can substitute a different short pasta but I think penne is the best choice. While you can use a measuring cup, I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive kitchen scale with a bowl to ensure you are using the correct amount of pasta in recipes like this one.
- Onion – Diced yellow or white onion.
- Mozzarella and parmesan – A little shredded part-skim mozzarella adds a luscious layer but this is not an overly cheesy dish. Grated or shaved Parmesan is the finishing touch.
- Half and half – Combines with the diced tomatoes and mozzarella to create a light cream sauce.
- Oil – Extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic – Minced garlic,
- Seasoning – The pasta is simply seasoned with a little Italian Seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If you want a spicy pasta, add additional crushed red pepper.
How to Make Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta
Sauté the seasoned chicken in oil until browned. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Cook the onion and garlic until softened and lightly browned. Add the broth, tomatoes, pasta, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked chicken and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the pasta is tender. Stir in the half and half and mozzarella. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach.
- Heat the oil in deep 12-inch skillet and add the chicken. Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, a touch of salt, and pepper, and continue cooking for 3 or 4 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Add additional olive oil to the pan and add the onions. Cook until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, pasta, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Stir in the cooked chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the skillet, and simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in half and half and mozzarella and simmer for minute or two until warmed through and the cheese has melted.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach until it wilts from the heat of the pasta. Top with Parmesan and serve.
FAQs and Valerie’s Tips
I have found penne to be the best choice but you can substitute any type of short pasta you love. Bowtie, shells, or fusilli will all work.
I recommend using fresh baby spinach, when at all possible. Frozen spinach can be used in a pinch but be sure it is fully defrosted and wring out as much of the liquid as possible before adding it to the pasta.
Yep! Other readers have added mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, and more with great success. I recommend reading the reader comments section to see what has worked for others.
More One Pot Pasta Recipes
- Shrimp and Spinach Pasta
- Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
- Skillet Sausage Pasta
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Meaty Tortellini Skillet
Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces penne pasta (uncooked), approximately 2 ½ cups
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (part skim or whole), shredded
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a deep 12-inch skillet or sauté pan and place it over MEDIUM heat. Add the chopped chicken and cook, stirring frequently. Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, a touch of salt, and black pepper, and continue cooking for 3 or 4 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and add the onions. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the broth, tomatoes, pasta, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Stir in the cooked chicken and bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to MEDIUM-LOW. Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the half and half and mozzarella and simmer for minute or two until warmed through and the cheese has melted. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach until it wilts from the heat of the pasta. Top with Parmesan and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on October 23, 2014. It has been updated with new text and images.
Fast and Easy Dinner Recipes
This recipe was perfect for a family of 6 when doubled, i also used sharp cheddar instead of mozz, no tomato, no half and half, but did use the milk and a can of cream of chicken,
Doubled it for 5 adults , no leftovers.Everyone loved it
Do you have any suggestions how to make this dairy and nut free?
This recipe is already nut-free. To make it dairy-free, you can swap the half-and-half for an unsweetened, neutral dairy-free creamer (like an oat- or soy-based cooking creamer) and use a dairy-free mozzarella-style cheese. You can also simply omit the Parmesan.
This was recipe was super simple and came together fast. I doubled it and still great. A few changes I made: added less mozzarella and used a pkg of Boursin cheese (shallot & chive), increased half & half, used vegetable broth instead of chicken. Added small jar of cf finely chopped artichoke hearts. Added a little paprika and basil. Also added a pat of butter. I used leftover chicken, just diced it. Used petite diced tomatoes (no fire). Will be making again!
I make this recipe all the time and it comes out perfect! My family loves it. I use Italian sausage instead of chicken . You can switch up the protein in this recipe and it is always perfect!
Made this twice now for the firehouse. Done the recipe as is and tripled it. Both times everyone loved it! Definitly a new staple to my meals.
This recipe was delicious, but I doubled the recipe and it turned out a little more runny than I thought it would be. Will definitely make again!
Perfection!! Everyone enjoyed added fresh lemon and DRY zesty italian salad dressing too
I followed the recipe exactly as is. Absolutely delicious. I will definitely make again. Thank you.
The Ultimate Comfort food. Quick n Easy,. deliciously nutritious! Absolutely will do this again!! Highly Recommended!
Came out perfect! Delicious! Definitely a keeper. I read the comments about remaining liquid in pan. So I kept the lid on the entire 15 minutes, kept heat a bit above medium-low. There was no additional liquid in the pan at the end of the 15 minutes. Definitely put the chicken in with the pasta and broth! I think it served to make the chicken more tender, more flavorful. Some people said they left the chicken out until the end. Don’t do that! You’re missing out. When I cooked the chicken with the salt and pepper and Italian seasoning, I also added garlic powder since some people said the recipe was bland. I omitted the tomatoes because I don’t like them. I did also leave the pan on the heat when adding the spinach. I put it all in, put the lid back on for a few minutes then it was more manageable to stir in. Great and easy recipe!!
This turned out watery, and the mozzarella stuck together. I followed the recipe but maybe the broth amount is off. Still good and love the spice
So sorry you had these issues! I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count and haven’t experienced this. If you watch the video in the recipe card, you’ll see the consistency of the recipe at the end of the cooking time. It sounds like maybe you needed to add a bit more pasta to absorb some of the broth.