All the great chicken parmesan flavors, combined in one easy one pot pasta dish that’s ready in 30 minutes! Less dishes, but a meal with maximum flavor!
Do you love chicken parmesan, but don’t love all the dishes that come with it? Then this is the dish for you! One pot, 30 minutes! The pasta cooks in the pot with all the sauce and chicken, making it super flavorful!
You guys… have you tried one pot pasta dishes before? They. Are. AMAZING!! No waiting for a big pot of water to boil, no draining, no extra pot to wash… just one pot of pure comfort food. I have been dreaming up and testing all kinds of one pot pasta dishes for you all, and I think you’ll be excited with all the options over the next month or so!
I love chicken parmesan… SO much. But I definitely don’t love the tedious breading process, so many dishes to wash, and how long it can take to make it! I dreamt up this dish a while ago, then found out The Cookie Rookie had already made a great version… so I headed over to her page and made some tweaks based on what I had on hand. This version is made with everyday ingredients, and is incredibly flavorful!
BUT, WHERE’S THE BREADING??
I opted to omit the breading here… to save calories, recipe steps, and to keep the ultra creamy consistency. If you really need that breading crunch, you could add some toasted Italian panko breadcrumbs to the top of the dish. Of course, you could always bread some chicken tenders and cook them before laying them on top of the pasta, but that defeats the whole “one pot” idea 😉
You can make this one pot chicken parmesan pasta in any large skillet or pot, but I always make it in my enameled dutch oven. When I’m stirring the pasta as it cooks, I don’t want to be worried about the liquid slopping up and over the sides. I’m a messy cook, but no one likes to clean up burn on sauces from their stovetop! If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use a deep sided skillet, or a stock pot… but I highly recommend picking up a dutch oven, they have so many uses!!
To go alongside this pasta, I like to serve either my homemade cheesy garlic bread, cheesy garlic crescent rolls, or no knead artisan bread. Add a nice green salad and it makes the perfect trio!
In case your family isn’t licking the pot clean by the time dinner is over, this pasta reheats well for lunch the next day!
As the weeknights get busier and busier, do yourself a favor and whip up this 30 minute one pot chicken parmesan pasta!
Things you may need for this recipe: (these are affiliate links – see my disclosure page for more details)
- Dutch oven – I own several Le Creuset’s that I love too, but this is a much more affordable option, and it’s been a workhorse in my kitchen!
- Box grater – I like to grate my own cheeses… they get extra gooey and melty this way
- Marinara – This is the brand of marinara sauce that I like to use
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz dried short-cut pasta (I used rigatoni)
- 24 oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Newman's Own)
- water to fill empty marinara sauce jar
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- additional dried Italian seasoning, optional
- fresh parsley and/or basil, minced for garnish
Instructions
- To a large pot or skillet (I used my dutch oven), add a drizzle of olive oil and heat over MED-HIGH heat. Add chicken, season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Cook about 5 minutes, until chicken is most of the way cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook about 2-3 minutes, until soft. Pour in marinara sauce, fill up empty sauce jar with water and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a strong simmer.
- Add chicken and pasta, stir, then cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is cooked to your liking. Stir in parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
- Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese on top of the dish and cook another 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and gooey.
- Sprinkle with additional Italian seasoning if desired, and garnish with parsley or basil.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Lesa says
Was excellent. Added some yellow pepper and mushrooms to it. Upped the veggies and they needed to be used. So nice to cook pasta in the same pot and way less dishes to clean up. Thank you
Monica says
This didn’t work as a one pot recipe for me. There wasn’t enough water in the recipe and the chicken got dry while cooking the pasta. It’s essentially just pasta with jar sauce and cheese.. but somehow worse.
Luna says
This was super good! I made it for my family and everyone loved it. I had to add some more water in because the noodles weren’t cooked all the way through so it did take a little longer but it wasn’t an issue. Definitely making it again
KB says
It was awesome and easy to make.
Sharon says
Delicious! Easy and fun to make, my kind of recipe!
Ben says
Can this be frozen?
The Chunky Chef says
I’m not entirely certain, as I haven’t tested freezing this recipe. I would suspect that you could though.
Cathy J Wilhoite says
This was only okay. I did not cook my pasta in the pan. Never had success doing that. I added red pepper flakes as we like a little punch. It was just way too acidic. It’s a good base recipe. I wish I had added cream to cut the acid. I have many other better recipes I’ll stick with.
Cook says
This is completely bs. Because I followed each step to the T and it turned out gross. Should separately boil the noodles. Add your cooked chicken to the marinara, stir, add cooked noodles, stir. Then add a LIGHT helping of cheese ONLY PARM last stir and serve.
The Chunky Chef says
Well I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you. We all have different tastes and preferences.
Pariza Apponen says
My 16 yr old loved it the first time and asked for it again. That’s all I need to know that this was a hit. Very tasty!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Hard to please a picky teen!
Deb MS says
This is a very good and easy recipe. I make my own marinara sauce so it took a few more minutes, but it is easy to keep this recipe low sodium, and other adjustments as you like. We will make this again!
Lisa says
Making this as I type. I did not use Rigatoni as suggested. Had to adjust sauce and water to cook the 16oz of Pennette pasta. Although my bad for not reading through the recipe. Taking longer than I anticipated 🙁
Darren says
I was looking for a pasta dish with meat in it (chicken, pork or beef) and I came across this recipe. I made it and it turned out great. it was really good. The first time I made pasta and didn’t have to drain the water. I would recommend this recipe. We used rigatoni as my daughter really likes that pasta. Tasty.
Jen says
This was super easy and delicious! It does make a lot though and I don’t think we’ll get through the leftovers. Is freezing the extra an option?
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you loved it! 🙂 I haven’t tested freezing this recipe, but I think it would work well.
Geri says
Has anyone ever made this adding alfredo sauce to the marinara for creaminess?
Tiffany Marrara says
Added spaghetti squash and used rice pasta to make it gf! Also didn’t have a jar of sauce so I used to small cans of tomato sauce and a large one of crush tomato! Yum!
Abigail Berthold says
4 of our 4 kids ate this at our home. I will make it again! Thanks
Kirsten says
I never leave reviews, but this is AWESOME. Followed the recipe exactly except for two things:
1) we added frozen peas to cook along with the pasta and chicken
2) we added some buttered bread crumbs on top and broiled to make it crispy.
Really does capture the flavors of chicken parm, and it’s SO much easier. (1 pot!!) Rave reviews at my house! Thanks so much for this recipe.
Ashley says
Could you use Rotisserie chicken?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using rotisserie chicken, but I would probably add it towards the end of the pasta cooking.
Dr Dave Oshansky says
I love your simple but delicious recipe !! I don’t have too much time to cook so I used the rotisserie chicken idea from our deli section of our local supermarket. It turned out great…I also used the rotisserie chicken to make homemade chicken noodle soup. Making the broth is the time consuming part..takes a better part of the day–then I just pick the chicken off and just drop it into the bowl add heated noodles and pour hot broth on top give it a minute..and serve. =)
Cindy says
I made the Parmesan pasta for me and my grandson for dinner. It was so easy to make and was so delicious.
Julia says
I have made this a few times now – and each time I have added 1/2 can of canned chopped tomatoes with italian seasoning when I add the tomato sauce. I also chop up almost a full bunch of fresh spinach and add it to the mix towards the end of the noodles cooking – with enough time for it to wilt. Just trying to bump up the veggie quotient! I didn’t have any parmesan cheese this time… so I guess its not true chicken parmesean pasta but no one seemed to mind. I like the one pot!
Christine Westerman says
I like the changes you made!!! I wish I would have seen your comment before I got the ingredients… I’ll remember for next time!