Life-Changing One-Pot Pasta

This pasta just might change your life. I know it's changed mine, specifically Friday nights, when the temptation to order in is great, but the long work day combined with Ben’s early football practices and an active pre-teen social life, means in reality it’s easier to cook something at home.

I can’t imagine any tasty meal coming together more quickly than this one. Dried pasta, diced chicken breast, frozen peas and sliced mushrooms are laid in a skillet and covered with chicken stock, olive oil, and flavourful seasonings like lemon zest, thyme, and pepper. When everything comes to a boil, you stir the pot, breaking up the pasta as it cooks. In eight or nine minutes, once the water has boiled away, the noodles are tender and infused with flavour, and slick with a light sauce that coats every strand.

This brilliancy of this formula will work for any combination of add-ins; in the original recipe my chicken, peas, mushrooms, and stock were nothing more than tomatoes, onions, basil, and water, a combination that would turn out the perfect late-summer dinner.

Life-Changing One-Pot Pasta

Adapted from Martha Stewart

• 1 - 12-14oz. package of spaghetti or linguine
• 2 cups diced boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen peas
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 5-6 cups chicken stock or water
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Place the pasta in your pot, along with the chicken, peas, and mushrooms. Cover with the stock, olive oil, lemon zest, and thyme; season with salt and pepper.

Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium high but still boiling, and cook, stirring and turning the pasta frequently with tongs to break it up and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the pasta is al dente and the stock is mostly evaporated about nine minutes.

Remove the pan from the stove and add the heavy cream, stirring to combine. Remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese before serving. 

Updated: The first time I made this dish my package of pasta weighed 14oz. The second time it weighed 12oz. I've adjusted the amount of stock needed as it depends on how much pasta you have. If you use less, and find the liquid is absorbed before the pasta is cooked, just add more. Also, feel free to replace some of the liquid with white wine if desired.  

Comments

[Jan Scott]

So happy to hear you like it, Nancy!!

[mom929]

With the one who hates mushrooms moved out to an apartment and summer job near campus and the one who hates veggies of all kinds away at camp I finally get a chance to try this tonight! Can't wait. And I love the tip in the comments that I can bake the leftovers into a casserole because it will certainly be more than the hubs and I can eat at once. Any tips for doing that? Can you freeze a cooked pasta casserole? Thanks.

[Erica]

Love it and Pinned it. My 5 yr old had two servings and said I was the best soup makerer in the world. I added a little more broth to make it more like a soup :)

[Jan Scott]

So glad it was a hit! Thanks for letting me know...:)

[Barbaravan der Monde]

Jan, we loved the pasta with chicken and mushrooms and I can t wait to try the tomato one too.
No longer will I panic when I can t think of what to cook....possibilities are endless. A BIG THANK YOU,
Barb

[Sam]

raw chicken takes a lot longer to cook than pasta. If you cook this dish until just the pasta is done, then I imagine that the chicken is still pink at its center. If you cook until the chicken is done, then the pasta is way overcooked.

[Kelly Lindley]

I've been using this recipe for a couple of years now -- and see that it's been on your page 7 years and still going strong. I LOVE this recipe. Love it. Thank you for continuing to share it!