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.
Evi Leonardos says
Hi! How many does this recipe normally cook for? I wanted to make it for a big group of 30!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Evi 🙂 As an entree, it serves about 6 people, so you’ll have to make some adjustments to the recipe to get it to serve that many people. There’s no way it’ll all fit in one pot, so you’ll more than likely have to have it going in various pots. I’ve never made the recipe for that many people, so I can’t say for certain how it’ll hold up by increasing it that much.
Miriam Wilkerson says
Made this tonight and I am super impressed how easy it was for how delicious it turned out. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah says
I’m thinking about making this and freezing it to have for a later time. Have you ever made it and frozen it before?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never tested it that way, unfortunately.
Teri says
I just have regular dried pasta…..not short cut. Is it ok or should I precook it for a couple of minutes before adding it to the dutch oven?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never tested it with longer cuts of pasta, but I think it should be okay.
Candice says
Made this tonight and used canned tomato sauce, it was amazing! My very picky italian fiance loved it! She said it was the best sauce I’d ever made! Thank you for this recipe! Will definitely be making this again and again.
Nikki says
I make this this evening for dinner and my family loved it as well as myself. Thank you again.
Ali says
Made this today. Amazing! All the cheese made the pasta very enjoyable.
Conversions:
1 Cup of Mozarella = 8 Oz. of Mozarella
1/4 Cup of Parmesan = 2 Oz. of Parmesan
Moriah says
It says you used a skillet, how will all that and pasta fit in the skillet when cooking if I’m reading your instructions correctly?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Moriah 🙂 I actually said I used my dutch oven (which I linked to in the written post above the recipe itself). I know not everyone has a dutch oven, but if you have a very large, deep-sided skillet you might be able to get it all to fit. Whatever you cook soup in should work perfectly.
Jesse says
I used a wok …works great
Irais says
This is really good and super easy to make. Of course I changed it a little by using rotisserie chicken instead of raw because that’s what I had but it came out really good. The kids loved it. My cholesterol is a CV little high so it kind of has too much cheese so I’ll decrease the amount next time. Also it’ll taste better or worse depending on the quality sauce you use.
Elizabeth Federici says
Making this tonight! I put UNCOOKED pasta in with the sauce, correct?
The Chunky Chef says
Yep, that’s correct 🙂
Donna S says
Amanda, thank you! I am a busy mom and hate resorting to ordering pizza because I got home late. Love the one pot dish concept. Made the recipe as stated (I used Barilla marinara). Delicious! And to the commentor couldn’t see the chicken…there is plenty. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber. Thanks.
Kristen says
It was wonderful!! Easy to make!
Melissa says
Do I cook the pasta before all of the other stuff or does the pasta cook when it’s added in with the chicken and other ingredients ?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Melissa 🙂 The pasta cooks when added with the chicken and other ingredients, no need to cook it beforehand.
AR says
How many quarts should the pot be?
The Chunky Chef says
I usually cook this in my 3 quart soup pot, but anything that size or larger would be perfect.
Cara says
I tried this dish tonight, and it was a hit! Lots of flavor and I loved that it was made in one pot.
Barbara says
I want to try this, but is it possible for one pound of pasta to absorb 24 ounces of water? I just don’t see how that could be right, but nobody mentioned that a full marinara jar of water was too much. Please advise!
Thanks–sounds delicious.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never had a problem with the amount of liquid, it ends up very creamy at the end 🙂
Connie says
My son and I were wanting something different for supper, and we found this recipe and I made it tonight. It got 5 stars all around the supper table tonight! Excellent! Very simple, quick and easy to make! Thanks for sharing this keeper! 🙂
Sorry for the double post…I forgot to rate it the 1st time.
Nikki says
I made it tonight and its delicious. So gooey! I made it with meatball flavored spaghetti sauce (busy week and no time to go grocery shopping). I added a little bit of sugar and unfortunately I didn’t have an onion but it still tasted great. It reminded me of one pasta sauce (tomato and cream) I was making in the past.
Joe says
Very easy and delicious. I added about a half pound more pasta and then a half jar more of marinara and it worked out well. Was thinking might uses Italian sausage next time.
Ren says
You nailed this recipe! Made it as is with an organic marinara sauce and some extra garlic….DELICIOUS!!!! Might even let the kids and hubby try some tonight 🙂 🙂