Chicken Broccoli Ziti Recipe
Creamy pasta tossed with tender broccoli and thinly sliced chicken. It's a full meal with everything you need. That's what I love about it. Veggies, protein, carbs all in one bowl.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/4 inch thick strips
- 1 bunch 12 ounces broccoli, cut into small florets
- 12 ounces ziti
- 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 medium yellow or white onion chopped
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil (salty like the sea). Add ziti and cook al dente. In the last 3 minutes, add broccoli and boil for 2-3 minutes. Strain together and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a large pan or cast-iron skillet. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and fully cook. About 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken and transfer to a bowl, leaving juices behind in the pan. Cover chicken with foil to keep warm.
- Melt the remaining butter and add onion to the skillet. Simmer until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes (keep them moving to prevent burning). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (1 minute). Add chicken broth, flour, cream, and red pepper flakes. Whisk and bring to a boil and simmer for about 7 minutes until slightly reduced and thickened (whisk occasionally).
- Add parmesan cheese and stir/whisk until incorporated. If the sauce is still too thin, whisk in an additional tablespoon of flour, it should thicken in less than one minute.
- Return pasta and broccoli to the skillet and toss in the creamy sauce. Add chicken and continue to toss until everything is well-coated.
- Serve with crushed red pepper flakes and additional parmesan cheese!
Notes
If the sauce gets too thick, you can easily thin it back out with extra cream.
Heavy cream works best in this recipe because it can be simmered/boiled without separating or breaking due to its fat content.
Corn starch can be used to thicken the sauce if you don't have flour. It works very similarly. Make a tincture of 1 tablespoon cold water and 1 tablespoon corn starch and stir it into the sauce.
If you don't have enough chicken broth, you can also supplement it with white wine. It adds fantastic flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 | Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 47.9g | Protein: 34.8g | Fat: 15.8g | Saturated Fat: 7.2g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 465mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 3.7g