Pasta with Chicken Breast and Tomato Sauce
Pasta with chicken breast is a tasty, quick breakfast and a nearly universal dish that takes no special effort to cook.
Pasta is the best-known thing in Italian cuisine. Together with pizza and risotto, it is an unfailing symbol of it. Among the incredible variety of pasta types, there is a huge number of shaped, often elaborate pieces of dough that give each pasta its name. In other words, Italian pasta changes its name depending on shape, length and size.
For example, the spirals shaped like an “Archimedes screw” are called fusilli, and small tubes cut at an angle are called penne. Long thin pasta is called spaghetti. It is a common misconception that pasta classification is impossible to remember. All of it, down to the details, maybe. But the general principles are easy to learn.
The most convenient to cook are the tubes of dough cut at an angle, about as long as a match. These are penne. For good quality pasta, special bronze dies are used on the press when it is made, which make the pasta rough, so it holds the sauce much better and gets coated by it. In addition, penne have lengthwise ridges on the surface, which hold even more sauce.
Penne go with any sauce, but, short on time, we usually make simple sauces with fish or chicken. Pasta with salmon is something we make quite often, if we remembered to thaw the salmon steak the day before. My favorite pasta carbonara recipeis simply a masterpiece. Or pasta with chicken breast: pieces of chicken breast fried until golden in tomato sauce. The basic recipe is pasta with chicken in a creamy sauce, and another variation is pasta with ground chicken.
Pasta with chicken breast in tomato sauce is made with short, shaped pasta that holds a liquid sauce. It is an easy breakfast dish.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Penne pasta 250 g
- Water for cooking the pasta 2.5 l
- Salt for the pasta water 7 g per 1 l of water
- Chicken breast 1
- Onion 1
- Tomatoes 2
- Parsley 4-5 sprigs
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Dried Mediterranean herbs (basil, oregano, mint) 1-2 pinches
- Black pepper to taste
- Nutmeg on the tip of a knife
- Sugar 0.5 tsp, optional
(2 g) - Garlic 1 clove, optional
Step-by-step recipe
Cooking the pasta
Pasta with chicken breast is an excellent breakfast, especially when you have no time to cook. It takes half an hour with no special effort.
Cook the pasta as usual in rapidly boiling salted water, 7 g of salt per 1 liter of water, with 1-2 pinches of dried Mediterranean herbs (basil, oregano, mint). Cook until al dente, that is, almost done but with just a hint of firmness. Do not overcook the pasta.
Chicken and onion
While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, make the sauce.
Wash the chicken breast and trim off any remaining fat and membranes.
Pound the breast lightly so that it looks like a chicken cutlet.
Season the breast with pepper, add just a little salt, and fry until done in a well-heated pan with 2 tbsp olive oil.
In the oil left after frying the chicken, fry the onion, cut into thick strips, until golden.
Cut the cooked breast into large pieces.
Fry the chicken pieces and onion together for 1-2 minutes.
Tomato sauce
Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the skin and remove the seeds.
Puree the tomato flesh in a blender with a pinch of salt and nutmeg on the tip of a knife. If you like, add 0.5 tsp sugar (2 g) and one peeled garlic clove.
Add the tomato puree to the onion and chicken and stir. If the puree is too thick, you can add 2-3 tbsp water.
Simmer the chicken with the tomato under a lid for 3-4 minutes.
Then remove the lid and let the excess liquid cook off. The sauce should be thick enough for the pasta to hold it on its surface.
Combine and serve
Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and let the water run off.
Put the pasta in a deep bowl, add the sauce and stir.
Divide the pasta with chicken breast and tomato among plates, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and serve.
Pasta with chicken breast makes a very tasty, filling breakfast that keeps you from feeling hungry until a late lunch.
Calories and macros
790 kcal
Serving ≈ 520 g
- Protein46 g25% of kcal
- Fat19 g23% of kcal
- Carbs98 g52% of kcal
100 g153 kcalProtein 9 gFat 3.7 gCarbs 19.1 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
To Get It Right
The main thing is a thick sauce
A thin sauce runs off the pasta to the bottom of the plate. That is why the tomatoes are first simmered under a lid and then without it, until the excess moisture cooks off. Add water to the tomato puree only if it is too thick.
Cut the chicken after frying
The breast is pounded and fried whole and cut into pieces only when cooked, so it cooks evenly and does not dry out.
With cheese
If you like, sprinkle the finished pasta with grated Parmesan along with the parsley.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Pull chopper for garlic and onionAliExpress
Oil sprayerAliExpress
Kitchen scale up to 5 kgAliExpress
Vegetable chopper with handleAliExpress
Measuring cups and spoonsAliExpress
Peeler with wooden handleAliExpressQuestions and answers
What pasta should I use for pasta with chicken in tomato sauce?
Short, shaped pasta that holds a liquid sauce. Penne is the most convenient: tubes cut at an angle with lengthwise ridges. Pasta made with bronze dies is better because it is rough and holds sauce better. Spaghetti is tasty too, but the sauce clings less well.
Can I make pasta with chicken using tomato paste instead of tomatoes?
Yes. Dilute 1-2 tbsp tomato paste (17–33 g) in 100-150 ml hot water and then simmer with the chicken and onion the same way as the tomato puree. Canned tomatoes in their own juice, pureed in a blender, work too.
How do I make a tomato cream sauce?
At the end of simmering, pour 50-100 ml cream into the tomato sauce and heat for 1-2 minutes without letting it boil hard. And the fully creamy version is pasta with chicken in a creamy sauce.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Yes, boneless skinless thigh meat. Fry it a little longer until done, then follow the recipe as written.
How long should I cook penne?
Until al dente, usually 1-2 minutes less than the package says. The pasta should keep just a hint of firmness, since it will heat through further with the sauce.