Pin I threw this together on a Tuesday when the fridge looked bare and I had exactly one lemon rolling around in the crisper drawer. The chicken had been thawing since morning, and I remembered a trick my neighbor mentioned about cooking pasta right in the broth with everything else. It sounded risky, but I was too tired to boil a separate pot. Turns out, that gamble became my most-requested weeknight dish.
The first time I made this for my kids, they actually asked for seconds without the usual negotiation. My youngest, who normally picks out anything green, ate the spinach because it was tangled up with cheesy pasta and she didnt notice until halfway through. I caught my husbands eye across the table and we both knew this recipe was staying in the rotation. Sometimes the best meals are the ones you stumble into when youre too hungry to overthink it.
Ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: I cut mine into uneven chunks because perfectly uniform pieces feel like extra work, and honestly, the variety in size means some bits get crispy while others stay tender.
- Penne or fusilli pasta: The ridges and tubes catch all that lemony sauce, uncooked when it goes in so it can drink up the broth as it cooks.
- Olive oil: Just enough to get the chicken golden and keep the garlic from burning, nothing fancy required.
- Garlic cloves: Minced small so they melt into the background and perfume everything without overpowering the lemon.
- Onion: Finely chopped because big chunks never cook down in time, and I learned that the hard way.
- Lemon: Both zest and juice, the zest adds a floral brightness that plain juice cant match.
- Cherry tomatoes: Halved so they burst open and bleed their sweetness into the sauce, balancing all that acid.
- Baby spinach: Wilts down to almost nothing, sneaking greens into the meal without anyone complaining.
- Fresh parsley and basil: Stirred in at the end so they stay vibrant and grassy, not sad and gray.
- Dried oregano and thyme: The backbone herbs that make this taste vaguely Mediterranean even on a rainy Wednesday.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: You need control over the salt, especially once the Parmesan goes in.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated, never the dusty kind from a can, it melts into silky strings and makes everything taste richer.
- Salt and black pepper: Taste as you go, every stove and every broth behaves differently.
Instructions
- Brown the chicken:
- Heat the olive oil until it shimmers, then add the chicken in a single layer and let it sit undisturbed for a minute before stirring. You want some golden color, but dont worry about cooking it through yet.
- Sauté the aromatics:
- Toss in the onion and garlic, stirring constantly so the garlic doesnt scorch. The smell will shift from raw to sweet in about two minutes.
- Add pasta and liquids:
- Pour in the uncooked pasta, broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, and thyme, then stir everything together. Bring it to a rolling boil before you turn it down.
- Simmer covered:
- Lower the heat, cover the pan, and let it bubble gently for eight minutes, stirring every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom. The pasta will look like its barely softening, trust the process.
- Finish with chicken and tomatoes:
- Slide the chicken back in along with the cherry tomatoes, leave the lid off, and cook until the pasta is just tender and most of the liquid has vanished. This takes another seven or eight minutes.
- Stir in greens and cheese:
- Add the spinach, parsley, basil, and Parmesan, stirring until the spinach collapses and the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or a squeeze of lemon if it needs brightness.
Pin I made this for a friend who had just had a baby, and she texted me later that night saying it was the first meal she actually tasted in weeks. She said the lemon woke her up, and the fact that she didnt have to clean a mountain of pots made her cry a little. Food can do that sometimes, show up right when someone needs it and remind them that simple things still matter.
What to Do with Leftovers
The pasta soaks up even more flavor overnight, so leftovers taste almost better the next day. I reheat individual portions in a skillet with a tablespoon of water to loosen everything up, and sometimes I crack an egg into the center and let it steam under a lid for a completely different breakfast situation. My husband eats it cold straight from the fridge, which I find questionable but he insists the lemon tastes sharper that way.
Swaps That Actually Work
I have used turkey breast, cubed firm tofu, and even leftover rotisserie chicken in place of raw chicken breasts. Gluten-free pasta works fine, just watch it closely because it can go from perfect to mushy faster than regular pasta. If you do not have fresh herbs, double the dried ones and add a handful of arugula or kale at the end, anything green and leafy will wilt down and taste right.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
This dish does not need much alongside it, but a simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness nicely. I have served it with garlic bread when I wanted to feel indulgent, and with roasted broccoli when I wanted to pretend I was being healthy. A cold Sauvignon Blanc is perfect if you are pouring wine, the acidity echoes the lemon and everything tastes brighter together.
- Toss in a handful of frozen peas during the last few minutes for extra color and sweetness.
- A pinch of red pepper flakes makes this just spicy enough to keep things interesting.
- Zest a little extra lemon over the top before serving, it looks pretty and smells amazing.
Pin This recipe taught me that the best dinners are not always the ones you plan, sometimes theyre the ones you throw together with what you have and a little bit of hope. I hope it becomes one of those meals you make without thinking, the kind that feels like home no matter where you are.