An incredibly Easy One Pot Chicken Parmesan & Pasta dinner for your busy weeknight. Melted mozzarella cheese, savory marinara sauce, chicken, gluten free pasta, and fresh basil, ready in less than 30 minutes!
I’m not afraid to admit that after a long day at work, cooking is one of the last things on my mind. But a girl’s gotta eat, right? Here is one of my go-to one pot pasta dishes for even the busiest weeknight.
Easy One Pot Chicken Parmesan & Pasta has all of the things you love about chicken parmesan: The chicken (of course), the ooey-gooey melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and that home-cooked-straight-out-of-the-oven-Italian-dinner feel, plus enough pasta to feed a hungry family.
All of this, ready in under 30 minutes!
Check Out This Recipe In A Video!
Just in case you wanted a visual, here’s how to make this recipe!
When life gets a little crazy, sometimes you need to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
And sometimes, the ride is just a little better when covered in melted mozzarella cheese.
I think that’s how that goes, right?
Either way, I’m enjoying a delicious bowl of this Easy One Pot Chicken Parmesan as I type this, and everything just seems right with the world.
Ahhh… delicious.
I hope your weekend was full of wonderful and exciting adventures. While mine may not have had any adventures, it was certainly exciting.
First, I made a super-amazing no-bake cherry cheesecake. We had a fantastic photo shoot, even managed to get a few bites in. Then, when going to put it away, Andrew accidentally dropped it on the floor.
…I’m not mad. Really, I’m not.
But, in some countries, that’s grounds for divorce.
So, to clean the cherry cheesecake out of his pants, Andrew set them to soak in the bathtub with some stain cleaner. While we were waiting, we did our usual routine of watching Game of Thrones, and eating the piece of cheesecake that made it out alive. It was really a very pleasant night.
Until we heard a knock on the door.
::suspenseful music::
It was the downstairs neighbor, kindly letting us know that it was raining from the ceiling. The bathtub was still running, and the great apartment flooding of 2016 had begun.
So, we spent the rest of our evening cleaning the flood that was in our bathroom/bedroom/hallway, apologizing to our neighbors (apparently we took several circuit breakers – oops!), and washing all of the once-clean towels.
It’s moments like these that you could really just use a cheesecake, amirite?
On the plus side, we accidentally flooded the neighbor that loves bass music. At 11pm. Every. Night.
On the down side, the water must have missed the subwoofer.
On the other plus side, the cherry cheesecake stain came out. Win!
Alright, enough about my week, let’s get back to what you’re really here for. The food!
Are you building up your one pot recipe repertoire yet? Because I promise you, this Easy One Pot Chicken Parmesan is going to be in it. If you’re a chicken parm fan, that is. One bite, and you’ll be hooked.
I used gluten free penne for this. The trick is to only cook until it’s just al dente. The pasta will finish cooking itself with the heat from the dish! If you take it too far, it’ll be sad and mushy. Al dente (just cooked) is just where you want it.
If you’re a fan of quick Italian one pot dinners, you’ll probably also like my One Pot Easy Chicken Alfredo! I’d also like to recommend my Easy Marinara Sauce for the purpose of this recipe. I’m also in love with these zucchini pizza bites!
This one is very similar, but less cheese sauce and more marinara. But still plenty of cheese. If that makes sense.
My favorite part about this dish, besides for the hot melty cheese and the fresh basil, is how FAST it is to make. Seriously. I get home from work around 6pm, and have this on the table by 6:30. The other best part about this meal? You’ll only have one dish to clean up.
Fast. Delicious. Easy Cleanup.
Now that’s my kind of recipe.
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup parmesan or romano cheese shredded or grated
- 1 box gluten free penne pasta 12oz
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 bunch fresh basil chopped (for garnish)
- In a dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil and butter.
- When butter melts, add chicken, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Stir occasionally until chicken is just done.
- Add penne, broth, and marinara sauce. Stir all ingredients together.
- Bring to a simmer, then lower heat slightly. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup mozzarella and all parmesan cheese.
- Use remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella to sprinkle on top.
- If desired, set dutch oven under broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is browned on top.
- Garnish with basil and serve.
I’m printing this one out! It looks sooo good.
Thanks mom! 🙂
Looks SO yummy. I’ll be making this one!
Thanks Lois! Let me know what you think 🙂
I made this for our dinner tonight and we loved it. My husband said, “thanks, that was really good” so it’s keeper.
Loved this! It took exactly 30 minutes from fridge to table, so it was perfect when I forgot to think about dinner before 6:00 one night. The sauce was a little thin at first, but I added some more cheese and let it sit for a few minutes, and it thickened right up. Delicious, and it made enough food for me to eat for a week.
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I actually veganized this recipe, and it turned out great! My 17 month old son loved it!
That’s awesome! What did you use? I love the Daiya cheese, it’s tasty.
I made this tonight and it was SO good! I didn’t have any fresh basil so I added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning with the other seasonings. This was a winner ??
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I saved this on Pinterest a month ago and FINALLY going to make it for dinner this week. Any suggestions on a gluten free pasta brand? I’ve had a few but I’m trying to find one that holds up well (plus I’m not planning to tell my boyfriend I’m using GF pasta) so taste wise always open to suggestions. Thanks!
Hey Ashlee, awesome! Let me know what you think. I use Barilla GF penne, personally I think it holds up the best. San Mills has a corn pasta that’s pretty good, too. Just make sure that you watch it when it’s cooking, and stop when it’s al dente. That should give you the right consistency 🙂
It was delicious! Thank you for the penne suggestions and tips!
Just made this and it was yummy! I took out the chicken after it was done cooking and let the pasta boil on its own. Didn’t want to go out to buy mozzarella or parmasran and ended up using muenster cheese since it was in the fridge. I’m very pleased with this recipe and would make this again! I added some Italian seasoning to give it a little more flavor.
This looks good. Can I make it with the regular pasta I have in the house?
The recipe will work with any pasta 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and it was soooo delicious! It makes a creamy delicious sauce and the pasta comes out perfectly cooked. I used Barilla whole wheat rotini and it turned out so good. Definitely making this again.