Chicken Garlic Parmesan Pasta (Easy One-Pot Dinner)

Why Make This Chicken Garlic Parmesan Pasta

You will love this easy pasta recipe for several reasons:

• Firstly, this pasta with parmesan and garlic chicken is delicate, creamy and comforting, yet it takes only 7 ingredients to make.
• Secondly, this easy and quick meal is ideal as a mid-week dinner.
• You can easily scale it up or down, great for batch cooking and making ahead.
• And finally, it is a one-pot recipe, which saves you time washing up afterwards.

Key Ingredients

You will only need basic cooking ingredients for this recipe, plus some kitchen cupboard staples.

• Chicken thigh fillets are best for this recipe. They are a more budget-friendly part of chicken, full of flavour and juicier than chicken breast fillets, which makes them perfect for dicing and stir-frying. You can, however, use both parts of the chicken.
• The chicken will be fried in a small amount of rapeseed oil.
• Onion and garlic are added to create a delicious base for the creamy sauce. One onion is plenty, but you can use more garlic than the recipe says if you prefer a strong garlic taste!
• Chicken stock adds flavour to the sauce and provides moisture for cooking the pasta.
• Parmesan cheese thickens the sauce and makes it stick to the pasta.
• Light crème fraiche (reduced-fat version) is stirred into the cooked pasta and makes a wonderful creamy sauce, whilst being lower in calories than a traditional double (heavy) cream.
• Dried wholemeal pasta provides extra fiber to this dish. Use long or short pasta shapes – all of them will work (spaghetti, tagliatelle, fusilli, farfalle, penne etc).
• Season the sauce with salt and black pepper and add a small bunch of chopped fresh or dried parsley.
• Optional ingredients: white wine - adds more flavour and depth to the creamy sauce; slice of lemon for serving.

Exact measurements and cooking instructions are in the recipe card below this post.

Substitutes & Variations

Do not worry if you don’t have all of the above ingredients – here are some ideas and what items can be swapped in this chicken pasta recipe:

• Swap fresh garlic for garlic granules, garlic paste or garlic powder.
• Use leek instead of onion.
• Sunflower, vegetable or olive oil can be used in place of rapeseed oil.
• Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
• Grana Padano, cheddar or other hard cheese will work in this recipe too, you can even use blue cheese. The type of cheese will of course reflect in the taste of the sauce.
• Soured cream or double (heavy) cream will also work in this pasta recipe with chicken.
• Add regular (white) pasta from durum wheat to replace whole-wheat one.
• Basil or chives will also go well with this creamy sauce.
• A splash of white wine vinegar can be added instead of lemon juice when serving.

How To Make Chicken Garlic Parmesan Pasta

This chicken pasta with parmesan and garlic takes only 5 simple steps:

1. Sear the chicken from all sides.
2. Add onions, garlic and stir. Cook on low heat.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Throw in the pasta and grated cheese, and cook for a while.
4. Add crème fraiche and cook for a couple of minutes until the pasta has a slight bite to it.
5. Season and serve. Enjoy it on its own or with some homemade garlic bread.

Top Tips

Here are some tricks how to make this pasta meal delicious every time:

• Add salt towards the end – every stock has a different level of saltiness to it – do not let it ruin your dinner.
• Check on the pasta and stir it occasionally, to prevent burning from the bottom of the pan.
• If the sauce seems too dry, add a knob of butter or a splash of olive oil.
• Prepping this meal ahead? If you know you will be freezing it, undercook the pasta even more (1-2 minutes less than in the recipe below) this will help you cook it to a perfect texture when reheating later.

Storage & Reheating

You can make this pasta dish ahead of time. It will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it cool down and store it in an airtight container.

This chicken parmesan pasta can also be stored frozen. Once the dish has cooled down, transfer the meal into freezer bags or freezer-safe food containers.

Depending on the size of your food container, or your portion plan, you can freeze the whole dish together in one container or divided into double or single servings in multiple bags/containers. It will keep fresh in the freezer for up to 5 months.

Reheating From Chilled

This pasta with garlic chicken and parmesan can be reheated in a microwave or on a stove top.

• Microwave method: place a single portion of the dish on a microwavable plate, add 1 tablespoon of water and reheat for 4-7 minutes depending on the power of your microwave. Stir halfway through. Always ensure the food is very hot before serving. This option is great when reheating one or two servings.
• On a stove top: transfer the cooked dish into a saucepan or a large frying pan and set it on medium-high heat. When the sauce starts boiling, lower the heat to medium. Stir occasionally and add some more crème fraiche or chicken stock if the pasta dish dries out too quickly. Reheat for at least 5 minutes and serve warm.

Reheating From Frozen

Do not let the pasta thaw (to defrost) before cooking from frozen. This would ruin the texture of the noodles. Instead, reheat the dish straight from frozen on the stove:

Preheat a large non-stick pan on medium setting. Once hot, add the frozen parmesan garlic chicken pasta, add 2-3 tablespoons water, cover and leave to simmer until all of the contents are piping hot, stirring gently and only occasionally – ensuring the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Serve immediately and do not reheat again.

FAQs

More Easy Pasta Recipes

• Chorizo and shrimp spaghetti
• Tuna and pesto pasta
• Sun-dried tomato pasta salad
• Sausage pasta with chillies
• Pasta with roasted peppers