Looking for a new family favorite that’s rich in flavor, and is ready in under 20 minutes? Then this One Pan Spicy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Tomatoes is perfect for you!
I love one pan dishes because everything cooks up in one pan, so there’s very little clean up required. Our family doesn’t spend enough time together as it is, so anything that helps me get out of the kitchen quicker after dinner, is a real plus in my book!
Like most of my one pan meals, this dish cooks up in under twenty minutes! Lemon chicken has such a fresh flavor, and there is a nice kick of spice from crushed red pepper flakes. If you are serving to young children, or just really don’t like spicy dishes, they can be left out.
Ready to get started?
First, you’ll saute some onion in olive oil until it’s nice and soft, and becoming translucent. Then add some garlic and cook for about 30 seconds before adding some diced chicken. You’re going to just brown the chicken, meaning you won’t be cooking it all the way through, but just until it is no longer pink on the outside. This helps the chicken to stay nice and juicy as it continues to cook.
Next you’ll add the remaining ingredients – rotini pasta (any small pasta will do), grape or cherry tomatoes, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper, lemon juice, chicken broth, and water.
Stir, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Continue stirring the mixture often as it boils, for about nine or ten minutes or until the pasta is tender. Most of the liquid should have evaporated at this point, but there will likely still be some in the pan.
Sprinkle with a cup of Mozzerella cheese, and cover for ten minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Any additional liquid in the pan should thicken or be absorbed.
More One Pan Meals to Love
One Pan Spicy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 8 oz about 2 1/2 cups small, dry pasta
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Juice from one large or two small lemons
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup shredded Mozzerella
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and stir, cooking until soft and nearly translucent.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add chicken and cook until just browned.
- Stir in the pasta, tomatoes, chicken broth, lemon juice, water, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil and continue to stir often, uncovered, for about nine minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Remove from heat, sprinkle cheese on top, and cover for ten minutes or until cheese is melted and remaining liquid is absorbed.
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
How do you think this recipe would work out with whole canned tomatoes? Fresh tomatoes in Taipei are massively expensive and you usually can’t find small ones like this anyways.
I think you could swap them out. You would probably need to either drain them or reduce the other liquid.
We give this recipe a 9-10.Its a cold febuary night and this was the perfect way to warm up.The reason it is a 9 is because one of our tasters said it was too sweet. Other than that it was amazing.Keep up the good recipes. We used tri colored pasta which made it beautiful and tasty.This was prepared by a 8, 10, and 75 year old trio.
This recipe is just plain amazing. I discovered it on Pinterest a couple months ago and I have made it at least once every other week since!
So glad to hear, thank you!
I really loved this recipe – great lemon and spice flavor! When I added the tomatoes per the recipe, though, they pretty much disintegrated during the boiling process, and we were left with skins, not the beautiful red halves I see in the images. Were those added with the pasta and broth, or later in the cooking process? It was still delicious, but curious for the next time I make this (which will be soon!).
Yes that can happen. Next time I’d try maybe adding the tomatoes halfway through.