Warning: you have stumbled upon a J+N reader fave recipe. If you’ve tried my one pan pasta with tomatoes and garlic, you know how easy it is to cook pasta right in the sauce. This chicken bow tie pasta joins a collection of super easy one pan recipes and is loaded with a garlicky lemon sauce that the bow tie pasta soaks up in the very best way.
And the fact that the recipe can be made in 30 minutes? Even better!
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Key ingredients
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- Chicken breasts. You have two options:
- You can use what is, in my humble opinion, the best method for cooking chicken breasts to cook the chicken breasts. Bonus: use the broth from the chicken to make the sauce for the pasta.
- Use two store bought cooked rotisserie chicken breasts or the shredded chicken from Costco.
- Chicken broth. If you use method #1 above, you’ll need extra chicken broth to make 1 3/4 cups.
- I love these small 8 oz. containers of chicken broth because you don’t have to open a big one that will eventually go bad in the fridge.
Pro Tip
Divide up a 32 oz. container of chicken broth into smaller 1/2 cup freezer safe containers or bags and freeze to use as needed.
Step by step instructions
Serve with a healthy dose of parmesan (feta cheese is so good too). Sprinkle in a bit of crushed red pepper if you’re feeling spicy!
Recipe notes
#1 Texture. The cooking times for this one pan pasta makes the bow tie pasta al dente so it might end up a little firmer than you like. Have some extra broth on hand (up to 1/2 cup) to add near the end if more cooking time is needed. Feel free to cook the pasta to your personal taste!
#2 Pan Size. If you have a deeper pan that is smaller in diameter, you’ll need to take that into account. You might have to raise the heat a bit to achieve the cooking time in the recipe or just know that the dish might take a little longer.
#3 Seasoning. Adjust the seasoning to your preference. The onions aren’t salted as the broth can be salty from cooking the chicken.
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One Pan Lemon Chicken Bowtie Pasta
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Ingredients
To Prepare Chicken
- 2 cooked chicken breast halves, prepared using Foolproof Chicken method, directions below
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil, if preparing chicken
- salt and pepper, to season chicken
For Pasta
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ onion chopped
- ¼ teaspon thyme or oregano, optional
- 1 tsp garlic
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth , reserved from cooking chicken
- 2 cups bow tie pasta, equivalent to 1/2 lb
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 lemon , zested and halved
- pat of butter
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
- crushed red pepper, optional
Instructions
Prepare chicken breasts using the foolproof chicken method
- Using a meat tenderizer, pound chicken breasts between two sheets (or one long sheet folded over) of parchment paper until the chicken is even on all sides. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.2 cooked chicken breast halves, salt and pepper
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken breasts in the skillet (don't crowd the pan or have them touch if possible) and sear for one minute.1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Using tongs, gently flip the chicken to the other side (if there is any resistance, let the chicken be for another 30 seconds-1 minute). Cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID!
- After 10 minutes have passed and, without removing the lid, turn off the burner. Rest the chicken for 10 more minutes. Leave until ready to use.
For the pasta
- Add a drizzle of olive oil to the bottom of heated large skillet (12 inch skillet)over medium high heat. Saute the diced onion in the oil for about 5 minutes until translucent with thyme or oregano if using. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds until you can smell it.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 onion chopped, ¼ teaspon thyme or oregano, 1 tsp garlic
- To the onions, add the white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth (reserved cooking broth plus extra needed to equal 1 ¾ cups).¼ cup dry white wine, 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- Add the pasta, salt and pepper. Cover the skillet with a lid that fits well and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 9 minutes.2 cups bow tie pasta, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- After the time has passed, check the pasta for tenderness. If it needs a little more cooking time (or broth), add a little more as needed as this depends on your stove, pan and heat conduction. Stir the pasta.
- Shred or cube the chicken and add to the skillet along with the spinach, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add a pat of butter for some velvety texture.2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, 1 lemon, pat of butter
- Serve with a healthy sprinkling of fresh parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper if using.freshly grated parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper
Needed a last minute dinner idea and had been wanting to try this one. So delicious and couldn’t have been easier!! Next time I may add extra spinach because it just melts away. Yum.
Yay Sheila! So glad you liked it…and I totally agree on the spinach…you can practically use a whole bag!
Very good! I used a shallot diced with the onion. Otherwise, followed as written. It’s now on my regular rotation.
Christy, I am always here for all things shallot…such a great substitution! And so glad you enjoyed it…it’s one of our fav one pan pastas for sure 😊 Thank you for trying it!
Hi Lori, This recipe sounds so good. My husband needs saucy pasta, how can I make it saucier?
Hi Marna (love your name btw 😊)! The recipe is one of our favs! If your husband loves “saucy”, you could take this a few different ways. One way would be to increase the white wine and chicken broth (in the initial cook and at the end for the broth). For the white wine, increase up to 1/2 cup total and still cook off the alcohol for the 2 minutes and then for the chicken broth, maybe increase by another 1/2 cup. I’d also increase the herbs and garlic.
The second way (and only if you like a creamy pasta sauce) would be to add some cream at the end and then adjust seasoning. As the pasta absorbs a lot of sauce, I suggest adding more broth at the end in the original recipe. You could do cream instead or a combo of both. But for all the methods, I’d keep the pasta amount the same. Let me know if both of those make sense…I might try it here this week and I’ll let you know! Thanks for taking the time to ask Marna!
This is the second time I have made this recipe. It is so good!! I took your suggestion and made extra chicken, so I could snack on while making this recipe and have leftover for another dinner. Even received compliments from my husband!
Thank you Eileen! Extra chicken is always a necessity…and so good with salad or lunch the next day! Glad you loved it!
Made this tonight!! So good! You were right about the chicken. Next time I will make extra chicken because as I was shredding, I was eating a piece of chicken here and there. Also, added oregano & didn’t feel like opening a bottle of wine, so just used chicken broth. Will definitely make this again.
So so happy you liked it Eileen and also using chicken broth is a great idea when you don’t have an open bottle of wine😊!