All the great chicken parmesan flavors, combined in one easy one pot pasta dish that’s ready in 30 minutes! Less dishes, but a meal with maximum flavor!
Do you love chicken parmesan, but don’t love all the dishes that come with it? Then this is the dish for you! One pot, 30 minutes! The pasta cooks in the pot with all the sauce and chicken, making it super flavorful!
I’m obsessed with one pot pasta dinners. They. Are. AMAZING!! No waiting for a big pot of water to boil, no draining, no extra pot to wash… just one pot of pure comfort food.
I also love chicken parmesan… SO much. But I definitely don’t love the tedious breading process, so many dishes to wash, and how long it can take to make it!
BUT, WHERE’S THE BREADING??
I opted to omit the breading here… to save calories, recipe steps, and to keep the ultra creamy consistency. If you really want that breading crunch, you could add some toasted Italian panko breadcrumbs to the top of the dish.
Of course, you could always bread some chicken tenders and cook them before laying them on top of the pasta, but that kinda defeats the whole “one pot” idea.
You can make this one pot chicken parmesan pasta in any large skillet or pot, but I always make it in my enameled dutch oven.
When I’m stirring the pasta as it cooks, I don’t want to be worried about the liquid slopping up and over the sides. I’m a messy cook, but no one likes to clean up burn on sauces from their stovetop!
If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use a deep sided skillet, or a stock pot… but I highly recommend picking up a dutch oven, they have so many uses!!
To go alongside this pasta, I like to serve either my homemade cheesy garlic bread, cheesy garlic crescent rolls, or no knead artisan bread. Add a nice green salad and it makes the perfect trio!
In case your family isn’t licking the pot clean by the time dinner is over, this pasta reheats well for lunch the next day!
As the weeknights get busier and busier, do yourself a favor and whip up this 30 minute one pot chicken parmesan pasta!
Things you may need for this recipe: (these are affiliate links – see my disclosure page for more details)
- Dutch oven – I own several Le Creuset’s that I love too, but this is a much more affordable option, and it’s been a workhorse in my kitchen!
- Box grater – I like to grate my own cheeses… they get extra gooey and melty this way
- Marinara – This is the brand of marinara sauce that I like to use
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz dried short-cut pasta (I used rigatoni)
- 24 oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Newman's Own)
- water to fill empty marinara sauce jar
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- additional dried Italian seasoning, optional
- fresh parsley and/or basil, minced for garnish
Instructions
- To a large pot or skillet (I used my dutch oven), add a drizzle of olive oil and heat over MED-HIGH heat. Add chicken, season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Cook about 5 minutes, until chicken is most of the way cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook about 2-3 minutes, until soft. Pour in marinara sauce, fill up empty sauce jar with water and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a strong simmer.
- Add chicken and pasta, stir, then cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is cooked to your liking. Stir in parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
- Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese on top of the dish and cook another 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and gooey.
- Sprinkle with additional Italian seasoning if desired, and garnish with parsley or basil.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Keelz says
Came out really good. The whole family loved it.
Sebastian Hunter says
Random recipe that I found, as I was looking for something to cook up with chicken. Amazing meal!
Sarah says
Hi! I’d like to make double and use half as a freezer meal. Have you tried this? If so, any tips/advise on freezing? ….How long would this meal last in the freezer?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain how well it would freeze. My advice would be to make sure the food has completely cooled before you transfer it to a freezer-safe container, and it should last about 3 months. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Ashlee says
First thing I need to say is that this is a toddler approved meal! My 18 month old isn’t a picky eater per say, but she’s such a busy body the meal has to be pretty impressive for her to sit still and eat. She ate her entire serving, my husband and I actually got to sit and eat at the table together without having to alternate who sings while the other shovels food into their mouth as fast as possible! It’s definitely going into the rotation.
I love that the ingredients are basic, every day ingredients. It makes it a lot more likely that I’ll actually make the recipe again since I won’t have to plan for it at the grocery store. I didn’t have marinara on hand so I used a box of tomato sauce, filled the box halfway with water, and added 3 diced tomatoes and some herbs and salt for an improvised marinara. It’s a very filling meal for pretty cheap – 2 chicken breasts stretched across 8 people pretty easily which I think puts the price per serving right around $2 a plate, if that much.
Martin says
Hey Amanda, Thanks for the great recipe. Everyone in the family really enjoyed it. I added a few veggies to the recipe the second time I made it and it turned out great the second time as well. Thanks again.
Sandra Thornton says
Excellent easy, delicious recipe. I will definitely make it again!
Aaron says
During the cooking process for the noodles and chicken, some of the noodles ended up getting burnt from the bottom of the pot. How can I prevent this next time?
Amanda says
It sounds like a bit more stirring would help keep the noodles off the bottom of the pot 🙂
Cameron Byers says
My family loved this which is saying a lot because we all have very different taste-buds! Everyone went back for seconds! Definitely saving this recipe for the future!
M. Powell says
Made this “One pot chicken Parmesan pasta” tonight, with leftover barbecued chicken – it was fabulous and so delicious…Also bought a chunk of fresh Parmesan cheese, that I grated (Instead of the store-bought “shaker kind”)!! What a huge difference, and the fat content was a lot less….TASTY!!! Will definitely be saving this recipe
Chelsi says
This was a big hit with my family! But we like extra sauce so I added an extra half jar of marinara sauce so about 12oz more. And we sprinkled extra mozzarella cheese on ours since we love extra cheese!
Morgan says
This was fantastic! I had some chicken that I wasn’t sure what to do with, and I was sick of all of my go-to chicken dinner recipes. This was easy enough that I could make it on a busy weeknight without preparing in advance, plus my kids helped me with it and they loved it! This is definitely going into the rotation!
Katie Fallon says
I have made a TON of chicken parmesan pasta skillets, bakes, you name it… over the years and this one is just WOW… This recipe was so unbelievably good and is now my go-to and on the family dinner rotation. I made it unaltered from the recipe and it couldn’t be more delicious. Thank you so much Amanda. And thank you Pinterest for letting me find you! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Rosemary Cook says
Easy to prepare and delicious! May become a part of the rotation.
Mariah sanchez says
Thanks so much fir the recipe loving it❤️
Tamara Peters says
I was looking at recipes and found one I really like
Alexandra De La Cruz says
If you want spaghetti, this is it!
David says
Nice base, simple recipe ! great for guest and family.
Helen says
Loved this recipe. Will be making it again. Thank you for sharing it.
Lucy Hsueh says
If I only have regular pasta not short cut, what should I do?
Amanda says
Regular, as in spaghetti? Short cut just refers to how long the pasta is.
Samantha Skaggs says
I added crushed red pepper and garnished with basil. 👌🏻