Chicken Marinara Pasta
Fast, delicious, and family-friendly, this chicken marinara pasta has a simple from-scratch sauce and plenty of basil and Italian seasonings.
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.
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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.
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 434 kcal, Carbohydrates: 59 g, Protein: 23 g, Fat: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g, Trans Fat: 0.1 g, Cholesterol: 44 mg, Sodium: 355 mg, Potassium: 948 mg, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 10 g, Vitamin A: 540 IU, Vitamin C: 19 mg, Calcium: 95 mg, Iron: 4 mg