One-Pan Chicken Zucchini Pasta Recipe

My husband washes the dishes in our household, and I think nothing makes him happier than seeing only a few items in the sink after I cook. This is one of those recipes. I only used a chopping board, a knife, and a shallow pan to cook this one-pan chicken zucchini pasta dish.

This meal is a one-pan dish, but it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type. It might be a bit more difficult for beginners to do this especially on the first time as it requires a little bit of familiarity with how long ingredients take to cook, and adjusting to the recipe.

Print Recipe

One-Pan Chicken Zucchini Pasta

A quick and easy one-pan dish featuring chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, and pasta.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken

Servings: 2 people

Equipment

• 1 medium non-stick shallow pan

Ingredients

• 150 grams skinless chicken breast or thigh fillet sliced about ½ in thick, see notes
• 80 grams white onion (about 1/2 large onion) minced
• 150 grams dry spaghetti
• 40 grams fresh garlic (about 6 cloves) minced
• 200 grams mushrooms (1/2 small can) sliced, see notes
• 125 ml cream
• 3 grams kosher salt use only half for fine salt
• 0.5 grams italian seasoning (about ½ tsp)
• 475 ml water (about 2 cups)
• 7 grams unsalted butter (about ½ tbsp)
• 60 grams cherry tomatoes cut in half or quarters
• 14 grams rendered chicken fat (about 1 tbsp) or neutral oil, see notes
• ½ pc chicken or pork cube
• chili flakes to taste optional
• black pepper to taste freshly cracked
• grated parmesan for garnish optional
• 60 grams zucchini (about half a medium zucchini) sliced

Instructions

• Marinate your raw chicken in about 1 gram of kosher salt (use half for fine salt) for at least 15 minutes
• Heat your pan to medium-high heat and add the unsalted butter.
• Once melted, sear your chicken slices, about 1.5 to 2 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook, especially if using chicken breast as it will become dry. Remove and set aside.
• If using fresh shitake mushrooms, saute your mushrooms until cooked through, about 3 minutes. If using canned, continue on the next step.
• In the same pan without washing, add your rendered chicken fat or neutral oil and heat to medium heat. Saute your minced onions until translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Add in your minced garlic and saute until aromatic, about 1 to 2 minutes. Lower your heat as necessary and be careful not to burn.
• If using canned mushrooms, add your drained mushrooms to your aromatics and saute for about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 2 cups of water to your pan, followed by your ½ chicken or pork cube. Dissolve and let boil. Season with salt to taste.
• Add your dry pasta to the water and cook according to package instructions, minus about 1 minute. This is about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir pasta from time to time to prevent from sticking, and add water in increments of 100ml at a time if the water is being absorbed before the pasta cooks. I used about 300ml in total until the pasta was ready.
• Once your pasta is al dente, add in your zucchini and toss for about a inute. This will remove the raw taste but keep the texture.
• Add cherry tomatoes and toss right before serving to retain texture (or the residual heat from the rest of ingredients will cook it through)
• Top with grated parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper, and serve hot.

Notes

• Chicken – we use chicken breast but chicken thighs would be more juicy, flavorful, and more difficult to overcook
• Mushrooms – fresh shitake would be great, but canned buttom mushrooms would be okay
• Rendered chicken fat – we keep chicken skin and excess chicken fat in the freezer. Once we collect about 500 grams, we render by simply putting all of it in a cold pot on very low heat, until all the fat comes out and the skin becomes golden and crispy.

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