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This one pot chicken and broccoli pasta recipe is a quick pantry meal, and you will love the creamy garlic sauce! It’s ready in 30 minutes for a lighter comfort food meal.
You may also enjoy this Cheesy Chicken Divan or Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake next.
Why you’ll love it
Chicken and broccoli are a classic combo, and they’re great in this one pot pasta. It’s not a fancy recipe, making it great for kids and picky eaters and for any time you’re craving a no-fuss meal fast. We’re talking everyday ingredients and a few simple seasonings!
One pot meals are good for obvious reasons (fewer dishes), but they’re also great because the way the starch from the pasta thickens up the garlic sauce here is kind of magical. That means you get a nice texture while using half-and-half, keeping this pasta a bit lighter.
What you’ll need
- Chicken – we’re cutting chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Garlic – add even more if you’re a garlic lover
- Italian seasoning – it’s an all-purpose blend of dried herbs that comes in one jar
- Red pepper flakes – they add a pop of color and gentle warmth, but you may want to skip it for the little ones
- Chicken broth – for more savory flavor
- Half-and-half – for my international readers, this is half milk/half heavy cream
- Pasta – we’re using fusilli (spiral) pasta
- Broccoli – for fresh goodness
Pro tip
This is designed to be a simple pantry meal with few ingredients, so be sure to add enough salt & pepper to bring out the flavors. If you want to add some pizzazz, season with Tony’s Chachere’s to add a little kick or seasoning salt instead of regular salt.
How to make chicken and broccoli pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a soup pot, sauté the chicken in the oil for a few minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the broccoli, salt & pepper, and parmesan (if using). Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring every so often.
Add in the broccoli, cover, and reduce the heat. Cook until the broccoli is tender to your liking. Season generously with salt & pepper (or other suggested seasonings in the post). Grate parmesan on top if desired.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Here’s the Dutch oven I use for this pasta.
- Effortlessly mince the garlic with this garlic press. No peeling necessary. Store remining cloves in this garlic keeper.
- I like storing uncooked pasta in one of these airtight containers rather than the box.
Substitutions and variations
- If you do want this to be a richer dish, feel free to use heavy cream instead.
- Grating a little bit of lemon zest on at the end would add a little brightness.
- For a stronger herb flavor, simply increase the amount of Italian seasoning you’re using or throw in some fresh herbs.
- As with any one pot pasta, swapping out the variety of pasta might require altering the liquid ratios and cooking time, so keep that in mind.
What to serve with chicken broccoli pasta
- If you want to indulge a little, my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread makes a great pairing. Otherwise, a slice of fresh crusty bread and olive oil/balsamic vinegar for dipping works great.
- For a salad, try spring mix with my Honey Mustard Dressing or this Strawberry Spinach Salad for something different.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover chicken broccoli pasta in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep in mind the pasta will soak up the sauce, so it’s best eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheat over low heat, and add a splash of half-and-half if needed to perk up the sauce.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one. The texture of both the pasta and sauce will change.
If you made this one pot broccoli and chicken pasta, please leave a star rating and review below! I’d love to hear from you. Or tag me on Instagram with your S&L creations!
One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts cut into bite-size strips/pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
- 2 cups broccoli florets cut small
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving, optional, to taste
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a Dutch oven or soup pot along with the olive oil. Give it a good stir and sauté over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, half-and-half, and pasta to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium (or medium-low if it is still bubbling a lot). Let it simmer for 8 minutes, giving it the occasional stir so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the broccoli to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Season the pasta generously with salt & pepper. If the broccoli is still too crisp, cook it for another couple of minutes. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
- This is a basic, kid-friendly recipe. If you want to jazz it up a bit, there’s some tips in the blog post, and be sure to add the crushed red pepper flakes.
- This recipe is accurate as tested on my stove. However, stoves and pots can vary, so if you notice the pasta is not yet cooked and there doesn’t seem to be enough liquid, I suggest using your best judgment and adding a bit more liquid as needed, a half cup at a time until the pasta is cooked.
- Some pastas absorb more liquid than others, so I suggest sticking to the type of pasta I recommend in this recipe or you may need to make some adjustments to liquid and/or cooking time.
- The broccoli is tender-crisp in this recipe. Be sure not to cut the florets too large unless you prefer it to be crisper.
- Using half-and-half makes the sauce a bit lighter than using heavy cream, but you could sub it for heavy cream if you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on February 19, 2018. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
It was good but the chicken was cooked too much and the broccoli not enough. By the time the broccoli cooked, the pasta was then too cooked as well.
I’d advise sautéing the chicken and then removing it from the heat. Cook the pasta and all for 5 minutes and then add the broccoli, cook for 7 minutes and then add the chicken back for an additional minute to be reheated.
I also added an additional 1/4 cup of stock
Fast, easy and delicious like all of your meals. I can always count on your recipes.
Aww thank you, Wanda! 😀 Let me know what else you try.
I’m sorry but this pasta was so bad. It was bland no matter how much seasoning I put in it and none of the ingredients (broccoli, chicken, pasta) cooked at the same time. So disappointing.
Yea, it needed waaaay more garlic than it called for. But I’ve found that’s most recipes. I also added an extra 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning.
Delicious recipe & fairly easy! Had already cooked chicken from the day before and that made it even simpler, just had to slice. Will definitely be making this again, thank you!
Thank you, Jody! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I’m always looking for a good one pot, one person pasta dish and this was great. I cheated a bit and used a rotisserie chicken and added it in at the end to mix in the creamy sauce. I probably have enough left for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re very welcome, Heather!
I made this tonight just as written and it was delicious! My husband raved about the creamy sauce and great flavor. It was a quick and easy meal and I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes.
You’re very welcome, Cathy! 😀
It’s fairly light but make sure you cook the chicken then read it later. It get too tough if you leave it in the whole time. I added extra seasoning because it can be a little bland but over all pretty good
Now that I’ve made it following the recipe, I’ll make some adjustments. I’ll season the chicken with an all purpose seasoning and use more chicken broth. I needed to add more to cook the pasta like the note mentioned. I’ll probably add slightly more red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. But overall it’s really yummy!!!
I made this recipe last night. I was looking for a quick one pot meal. The technique definitely worked! Everything cooked perfectly. Al dente pasta and slightly crisp broccoli. Unfortunately, it was super bland. I added a ton of extra seasoning at every step and it still lacked flavor. I am wondering if the starches from the pasta cooking in the sauce dull the flavors? Also if I were to try it again, I would remove the sautéed chicken after the first step and add it back in the last minute or two. It was tough from cooking with the pasta the whole time.
The best one pot recipe
Thank you!!