Main dish

Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Parmesan

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella cheese.

To recipe
This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe insights & TIPS

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

If my kids could name their favorite food, pasta would be in the top three. The boy adores any pasta with meatballs in a thick red sauce and my daughter will cover hers in Parmesan, even though she professes to hate cheese. Gasp! Who in the world hates cheese? Most chicken broccoli pasta I've seen is usually dowsed in melted cheese and alfredo sauce, almost to the point it's cheese-porn. This recipe is lighter and packed with crunchy broccoli. The flavor comes from the chicken that's been simmered in a white wine and garlic bath.

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

This isn't my recipe, I wish it had been! It's actually from a good friend and fellow blogger who you probably know already. Liz from The Lemon Bowl is going back to her roots and making stellar recipes. She married into an Italian family and we all know how much passion they have for their food. Liz has gathered her favorite family-style recipes from her husband's side and put them together in an Ebook, Food From Our Ancestors, The Ultimate Italian Sunday Dinner just for you. With 12 recipes to choose from I had a hard time trying to decide on which one to make. I'm really glad I went with this Chicken Broccoli Pasta with mozzarella and Parmesan though.

Making the pasta for your chicken and broccoli

Usually, when I make pasta I make too much, right don't we all? But I watched everyone grab seconds and boom! It was gone. The chicken is simmered in white wine and chicken stock eventually ending up as a thin sauce that gently melts the mozzarella as you toss them together. I can't explain how tasty this was, so chicken broccoli pasta needs to be on your shopping list asap!

What kind of pasta should I use?

I used penne but any tubular pasta would work and because there isn't any sauce, you don't need a spaghetti style pasta to old all of the sauce. Penne is light and doesn't fill you up too much.

Can I substitute broccoli for something else?

You could but broccoli is so tasty and really makes this dish pop. If you really don't like it, try using green beans, brussels sprouts or cauliflower.

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Liz kindly provided a copy of Food From Our Ancestors, The Ultimate Italian Sunday Dinner for me to review. You can purchase a copy here.

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Recipe

A simple pasta dish but loaded with flavor! This Chicken Broccoli Pasta is easy to make and perfect for a family style dinner, cooked in a white wine sauce and tossed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Course:
Main dish
COOKing TIME:
20 minutes
Total TIME:
45 minutes
CUISINE:
Italian
PREP TIME:
25 minutes
SERVINGS:
8

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 ounce six- boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups broccoli cut into bite-sized florets
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 pound ziti pasta or short cut pasta of choice

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Place the diced chicken into the pan and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced by half.
  6. Add the stock and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.
  7. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if desired.
  8. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
  9. Add your pasta and cook following the instructions given on the package.
  10. Just before the pasta is done, add the broccoli florets to the pasta and coo for another two minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, add to the chicken.
  11. Toss gently and add the mozzarella.
  12. Mix through and transfer to a large platter.
  13. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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