Herbed Chicken and Pasta Skillet with Blistered Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Spinach – This skillet dinner is packed with nourishing vegetables and chicken seasoned with a lemon and herb marinade. Delicious, colorful, and easy to make!
There are a lot of one-pan dinners out there in the world of internet recipes. And I love one-pan dinners. They’re usually easy to make and easy to clean up. But sometimes I’m in the mood for something that requires more than one pan. And that’s okay.
Take today’s recipe for instance. I’ve made this Herbed Chicken and Pasta Skillet a number of times over the past few weeks. I add cooked pasta at the end, and that requires another pan. I also add roasted red pepper which I make myself – another pan. The thing is, there are ways to make it simpler and quicker to put together for a weeknight meal.
We live in such a rush, rush world these days that it’s almost a rarity to make something a little more involved. Yet, when time allows, I find cooking to be relaxing and a place where I can create healthy meals and enjoy the fruits of my labor afterward. It’s satisfying and rewarding. It doesn’t have to be complicated either, even if it does take more than one pan.
Prep Tips:
- Cook the pasta ahead of time when you’re doing meal prep for the week.
- Use store-bought roasted red peppers.
- Cut your chicken ahead of time during your weekly meal prep.
- Be sure to use a large skillet with a lid.
Those are just a few things you can do to help save time and still create a nourishing chicken and pasta skillet dinner for your family, which is also delicious – even when you’re stretched for time.
This skillet recipe is now a favorite of mine. Pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs are bathed in a lemony, herbed marinade, and then browned and cooked in a stove top skillet. Grape tomatoes are added and cooked till soft and blistered. Fresh spinach, slightly wilted, gives it the finishing touch. I add a whole grain pasta, artichokes, and some shaved parmesan to round it out for a dish that’s colorful, delicious, and nutritious. You just can’t go wrong with that many vegetables for flavor, color, and nutrition – even if it is more than one pan.
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Herbed Chicken and Pasta Skillet with Blistered Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Spinach
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup lemon juice About one large lemon
- 2 Tbsp. dry white wine
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 3 small garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. dried parsley or 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs cut into bite size pieces
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 c. water
- 1 red pepper roasted and cut in strips (about 3/4 c. canned roasted red pepper)
- 2 c. whole grain penne pasta
- 3/4 c. canned quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 1/2 c. grape tomatoes
- 3 c. fresh spinach
- 1/2 can canned chickpeas
- 1/4 c. shaved parmesan
- fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
For the Marinade
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, white wine, olive oil, garlic, salt, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, lemon zest, and black pepper. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Reserve 1/4 c. of marinade for sauce. Refrigerate if making ahead of time.
For the Chicken
- Place bite size pieces of chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag and add cornstarch. Move chicken around so cornstarch covers all pieces of chicken. Pour all but 1/4 c. of the marinade onto the chicken. Remove air, seal bag, and make sure all pieces of chicken are coated with marinade. Let sit in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook pasta as directed on package while chicken is marinating.
To roast the red pepper
- If you’re not using canned roasted red pepper, you can do this at home. Heat oven to 450°F and line a small pan with foil. Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and stem. Place cut side down on foil-lined pan. Roast in 450° oven for about 20 minutes until the skin is soft, blistered, and somewhat charred.
- Remove from oven and carefully wrap the foil around the pepper, sealing it inside. Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from foil and peel skin from the pepper. Slice into thin strips.
Put it all together
- Heat large skillet to medium high and add about 1-2 tsp. olive oil. Place marinated chicken in hot skillet and cook 7 to 8 minutes until chicken is cooked and slightly browned, stirring frequently.
- Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and artichokes, cooking about 3 minutes more till tomatoes are soft and slightly blistered.
- Reduce heat to medium. Stir in roasted red pepper, cooked pasta, and reserved marinade/water mixture. Continue stirring and reduce heat to low.
- Gently fold in spinach, cover, and remove from heat. Let the covered skillet sit for 2 to 3 minutes till spinach is warm and slightly wilted.
- Uncover, top with shave parmesan and fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
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