Easy One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta is the best healthy dinner! This One Pot Pasta Recipe is delicious, quick to make and loaded with flavor!
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Chicken parmesan pasta is everything you love about chicken parmesan but in a fraction of the time and effort!
Tender pasta, savory marinara, succulent chunks of chicken, and ooey gooey melty cheese, topped with crispy garlic panko. Trust me, your whole family will love this!
If you love chicken parm as much as we do, you have to also try our Baked Chicken Parmesan and Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan!
Why we love this Chicken Parmesan Pasta Recipe
There is a lot to love about this one pot chicken pasta recipe. It’s one of our favorite easy healthy dinners because it’s:
- Made in one pot – This means fewer dishes at the end of dinner, which everyone loves!
- Easy family friendly dinner – Your whole family will love this meal and even better, it comes together in just about 35 minutes!
- Low calorie while still being delicious – In every 1.5 cup serving, there are just over 500 calories, but this recipe is still loaded with flavor thanks to the savory spices.
Ingredients for Chicken Parmesan with Pasta
To make the panko topping:
To make the pasta:
- olive oil
- chicken breasts
- onion, garlic
- dried basil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes
- campanelle pasta
- marinara sauce
- water
- mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese
- fresh basil (optional)
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
How To Make One Pot Chicken Pasta
- In a large dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and panko, and a pinch of pepper. Toast panko, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Raise the heat to medium high. Saute chicken in oil until mostly cooked, about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, dried basil, oregano, and red pepper. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and onions are translucent.
- Add the pasta, jarred sauce & water to the pot. Stir together & cover.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on low and cook covered for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to your liking, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. Turn off heat when pasta is cooked.
- Stir in half of the mozzarella, all of the parmesan, and torn fresh basil if using. Top with the remaining mozzarella, place the lid on and allow it to melt for about 2 minutes. Serve right away, and top each bowl with a generous sprinkle of the toasted garlic panko topping.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR CHICKEN PARMESAN PASTA
Butter: You can substitute butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Panko Topping: If you don’t have panko breadcrumbs you can use regular breadcrumbs or skip the breadcrumb topping.
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. If you want a baked pasta dish with ground turkey, try our Healthy Baked Ziti!
Pasta: What kind of pasta can I use? If you can’t find campanelle, any short-cut pasta will work. Try rotini, cavatappi, ziti, or rotini.
Can I use gluten free pasta? We haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free pasta, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Gluten free pasta gets mushy very easily.
Marinara Sauce: We always make our own tomato sauce. It’s easy to make at home with this Healthy Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce recipe. This is our favorite jarred sauce. For a richer sauce, you can add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the pot with the onions and seasoning, then deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine before adding the pasta and sauce.
Dried Spices: If you don’t have dried basil and oregano, you can use 1 ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning. Fresh basil and oregano can also be used in place of dried herbs.
Mozzarella: Freshly grated mozzarella melts best, but the bagged kind can be used as well.
Water: You can also use no sodium chicken broth in place of water for added flavor.
Serve Chicken Parmesan One Pan Pasta With:
Chicken parmesan with pasta is a complete meal in itself so you don’t need to serve it with anything else.
We like to serve it with some garlic bread or extra veggies on the side. Here are some veggie side dishes we like:
- Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Green Beans Almondine
- Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
- Easy Kale Salad
- Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
How to Store Chicken Parm Pasta
Storing: This dish is best enjoyed right away, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe, it will get very mushy in the freezer!
Reheating: To reheat leftovers; add pasta to a saute pan with about ¼ cup water. Cook on medium low, stirring frequently until warmed through.
Parmesan Chicken Pasta FAQs
There is no difference between chicken parmesan and chicken parmigiana. They are the same thing.
Yes, you can make pasta in a pan. This is a one pot pasta recipe, so everything cooks together in one pan.
Yes, you can cook pasta without boiling water. This recipe uses tomato sauce and broth to cook the pasta.
We haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free pasta, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Gluten free pasta gets mushy very easily.
If you can’t find campanelle, any short-cut pasta will work. Try rotini, cavatappi, ziti, or rotini.
Other healthy one pot recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Ingredients
Panko Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1” chunks
- 1 cup yellow onion minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 3 cloes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 lb dried campanelle pasta see notes for other options
- 24 ounces marinara sauce low or no salt added
- 24 ounces water
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese freshly shredded
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- Torn fresh basil optional
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and panko, and a pinch of pepper. Toast panko, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside. Wipe any remaining crumbs out with a paper towel.
- Raise the heat to medium high. Pat chicken chunks dry with a paper towel. Once the pot is heated, add oil and chicken pieces to the pan.
- Saute chicken until mostly cooked, about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, dried basil, oregano, and red pepper. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and onions are translucent.
- Add the pasta jarred sauce & water to the pot. If the pasta is not submerged, add another couple ounces until it’s completely covered. Stir together & cover.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on low and cook covered for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to your liking, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. If the liquid is absorbing too quickly, add splashes of water as needed. Turn off heat when pasta is cooked.
- Stir in half of the mozzarella, all of the parmesan, and torn fresh basil if using. Top with the remaining mozzarella, place the lid on and allow it to melt for about 2 minutes. Serve right away, top each bowl with a generous sprinkle of the toasted garlic panko topping.
Michele says
So good and so easy!! And plenty of leftovers! Will definitely be adding to our weekly menu rotation.
Suzanne says
I am a married Mom of two small children. Everybody enjoying and eating the same dinner is a bit of a rainbow unicorn situation. So when my son walked by and told me how good it smelled as it was cooking, I was encouraged. To my surprise, this was a hit with ALL of us!! I pretty much stuck to the recipe, only substituting pasta and adding slightly more chicken and cheese. I would add even more chicken next time! I really recommend the fresh basil. I think that combined with the toasted/crunchy panko topping really makes this dish a little extra. I can’t imagine not making this again at some point!
Suzanne says
Sorry, 5 stars!
Crystal Burns says
This was so yummy and the kids really liked it as well.
Mary says
So delish. Kid friendly. 1 hour start to finish