Chicken Marinara Pasta
This Chicken Marinara Pasta recipe is fast, delicious, and family-friendly, with a simple from-scratch sauce, tender pan-fried chicken breasts, and plenty of basil and Italian seasonings. It’s a delightfully fresh take on comfort food!
Easy Chicken Marinara Pasta
We’re going strong with all the ways to use homemade marinara sauce, and this pasta marinara with chicken might be my favorite yet. It’s a simple skillet meal loaded with al dente pasta, flavorful tomato sauce, and tender seasoned chicken breasts. This is a great family-friendly dinner, and I love serving it to company, as well. It always elicits requests for seconds!
You’ll love that this is:
- Packed with flavor. Working from scratch means you can use high-quality ingredients and season to taste. Literally no chance of weak sauce!
- Wholesome. No preservatives or added sugars need apply.
- Easy to make. Nothing fussy about this recipe, and not too much prep or washing up, either.
- All-in-one. You’ve got your carb and your protein. Add a salad or simple veggie and a complete meal is done.
Prefer a meatless meal? This breezy pasta marinara recipe is just what you need.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions. Full amounts are noted in the printer-friendly recipe card below.
- Chicken Breasts. You’ll want boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced. You can buy “thin-sliced” breasts at most grocery stores, but it’s also easy to just cut thicker breasts in half through the middle so each piece becomes two. This ensures they cook quickly and do not dry out.
- Pasta: Use penne pasta, as shown here, or swap in bowties, rotini, or rigatoni for a simple and classic option.
- (High quality!) canned crushed tomatoes: With so few ingredients, the quality of each makes a real difference in the finished flavor. San Marzano tomatoes are generally considered top notch; my favorite commonly-available brands include Mutti, DeLallo, and Muir Glen.
- Fresh basil. For flavor and looks! You can also toss in fresh oregano, thyme, parsley, or other fresh herbs if desired.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: A light, fresh olive oil is perfection.
- Minced fresh garlic: So much flavor, pound for pound.
- Dried oregano and red pepper flakes. The red pepper adds only a touch of flavor, and not much heat until you significantly increase the amount. You can always pass more at the table if some people prefer more punch.
What is marinara sauce?
With so many delicious types of pasta sauce out there, you can be forgiven for mixing them occasionally. Marinara is a light and simple tomato-based sauce used often with pizza, pasta, or as a dipping sauce. Unlike spaghetti or vodka sauce, marinara does not traditionally contain meat, cream, or many other complex ingredients. A great marinara is all about beautiful simplicity.
Marinara with canned whole tomatoes?
Canned whole tomatoes can make a great marinara sauce. Substitute a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes for the crushed tomatoes here, and include all juices from the can. Either crush the tomatoes by hand as you add them to the skillet, smash them with a wooden spoon as they cook, or blend them with a traditional or immersion blender before adding the pasta and chicken.
Should you add sugar to homemade marinara sauce?
You can add sugar to any homemade tomato sauce to counter the tomatoes’ natural acidity, but it’s not typically necessary if you’ve begun with pretty good quality tomatoes. If you do prefer the extra sweetness, start with just 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and add more to taste.
How To Make Chicken Marinara Pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full instructions with timing & temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Step One: Season and sauté chicken breasts in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Step Two: Start water to boil and cook pasta. Do this while the chicken is cooking, and be sure to cook the pasta shy of al dente. It should have some bite!
Step Three: Make sauce in the same skillet used for the chicken. This ensures maximum flavor, and minimal clean-up!
Step Four: Put it all together, adding the cut-up chicken breasts and cooked pasta straight into the skillet with the sauce.
Of course you can also leave off the chicken and serve it separately, if you prefer for any reason. There’s no wrong way to go here!
Variations
- Add veggies for a more nutritious one-pot meal. You can add spinach or arugula to the sauce along with the drained pasta. Have some shredded carrots, minced onion, or finely-chopped bell pepper or zucchini? Add those to the sauce along with the tomatoes and let them simmer in there right along with everything else.
- Swap the protein. Shrimp, other seafood, or Italian sausage are all great choices. These can be cooked in the skillet, then added back into the sauce just as explained for the chicken, or simmered in the sauce at the end. You can also substitute pre-cooked meatballs, and just allow time for them to simmer in the sauce once it is made.
- Use gluten-free or specialty protein pasta. No other changes needed to make this a high-protein or gluten-free meal that still satisfies your pasta cravings.
- Add gooey mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle some on top of the chicken, then cover the skillet briefly with a lid, or place the entire pan in the oven on the broiler setting for 1-2 minutes for melted goodness on top.
Serving Suggestions
Marinara pasta with chicken is pretty much the quintessential Italian comfort food, and it pairs perfectly with everything you’d expect: an Italian salad, spinach salad, or a simple mix of arugula and pine nuts complements these flavors beautifully. We also love it with roasted garlic green beans, broccolini, or simple steamed peas for the kids.
Breadsticks or a loaf of crusty garlic bread never hurts!
Garnish with more basil and black pepper if you love it. Pass the red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese at the table to double down on the family-style fun!
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers? Lucky you! This keeps well and makes a great meal prep to stash for easy, balanced lunches.
- Storage: This will keep very well for 3-4 days. Store leftovers in any airtight container in the refrigerator. (These are our favorite meal-sized fridge storage boxes!)
- Reheating: Warm in the microwave or over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Add a splash of broth or water to help loosen the sauce and minimize sticking, only if needed. If warming in the microwave, I recommend using 50% power to reduce the odds of the chicken drying out.
- Freezing: Yes, chicken marinara pasta freezes well! Package in tightly-sealed containers and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost and reheat in the microwave as desired.
More Easy Pasta Recipes with Chicken
Chicken and pasta are such a widely popular combination, and all the better when they’re together in one simple dish! Try my recipes for lemon chicken pasta, chicken pesto pasta salad, or our beloved chicken Parmesan pasta bake for new takes on this great pairing.
We love this easy marinara chicken for a family dinner, and serve it often for company, too! A great pasta dish always hits the spot, right? I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
If you try this Chicken Marinara Pasta, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Chicken Marinara Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 thin-sliced chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2-3 sprigs fresh basil plus more for serving
- 8 ounces pasta uncooked
Instructions
- Season chicken on both sides with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Melt butter and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- While the chicken is cooking, boil a large pot of water and add a generous pinch of salt. Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions state for al dente.
- After removing the chicken, reduce the skillet heat to low. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil, followed by the garlic. As soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, stir in the tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Nestle in the sprigs of fresh basil. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits, then let the sauce simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- While the pasta cooks and the sauce simmers, cut chicken into strips, if desired.
- After the sauce has simmered for about 15 minutes, remove the basil sprigs and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce and give everything a good stir. (If the timing works out, I like to transfer the pasta directly from its cooking pot into the sauce using a slotted spoon. It’s OK if a little cooking water comes with it.) Add chicken, stir, and let everything warm through for 1-2 minutes. Serve right away with more chopped or torn basil leaves.
Notes
- Using high-quality tomatoes is important. With so few ingredients, the flavor will really make a difference. San Marzano tomatoes are generally considered top notch; my favorite brands include Mutti, DeLallo, and Muir Glen, which are organic and come in BPA-free cans.
- You can use whole canned tomatoes in place of crushed. Include all juices from the can. Either crush the tomatoes by hand as you add them to the skillet, or blend them with a traditional or immersion blender before adding the chicken and pasta.
- Toss veggies straight into this pasta for more of a healthy one-pot meal. Craving greens? Add spinach or arugula to the sauce along with the drained pasta. Have some shredded carrots, minced onion, or finely-chopped bell pepper or zucchini? Add those to the sauce along with the tomatoes and let them simmer in there right along with everything else.
Oh my, this pasta dish looks incredibly yummy! Plus it’s so easy to prepare and cook! I may say, we can never go wrong with pasta! Loved it!
This was a great recipe! I used some leftover chicken that was already seasoned and cooked. Very quick and easy!
We are a family that loves pasta so much! I made it for tonight and they really love it!
I made this pasta for dinner last night and my whole family loved it!
I actually switched the chicken for veggies sausage and it was so good! Could eat this every day.
I made this the other night and everyone gobbled it up – so delicious, and the leftovers were great for lunch!
I feel so lucky! I just happen to have all these ingredients handy in the fridge/pantry and I grow all my own fresh basil. Dinner dilemma is solved for tonight!