Description
The whole family will love this EASY chicken parmesan pasta. All the delicious flavor of chicken parm, without all the work or fuss.
Ingredients
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- 1/2 white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb. chicken tenders (skinless, boneless)
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 16 oz. short pasta like cavatappi
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 cups high-quality marinara sauce (16 oz.)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- olive oil, flaky sea salt, red pepper flakes (to taste)
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients:
Dice onion.
Mince garlic.
Cut chicken into 1″ pieces and season with sea salt. (Using kitchen shears makes this quick!)
Start boiling pasta water. - Cook pasta to al dente in a large pot of salted water, according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, cook chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and chicken and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. (Turn down the heat to medium if things are browning.)
- While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add panko bread crumbs. Stir frequently and cook until golden brown, removing from heat and transferring to a bowl immediately to stop cooking.
- When the chicken is cooked through, stir in marinara sauce. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir mozzarella cheese into the cooked chicken mixture.
- Place a serving of pasta onto a plate and top with chicken mixture, toasted bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, flaky sea salt, and red pepper flakes to taste.
Notes
- Make it creamy. If you want a super creamy chicken parm, drizzle in a bit of heavy cream right when you take it off the heat, before stirring in the mozzarella cheese.
- Panko bread crumbs. Definitely use panko for this recipe and not regular breadcrumbs! They don’t toast up as well. You can find them in the breadcrumb or asian section.