Get my Cookbooks! One Pot Chicken Mozzarella Pasta
This one pot mozzarella chicken pasta recipe takes just 30 minutes to make! The hint of creaminess in the marinara sauce really takes this easy dinner recipe to the next level!
Don’t forget a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Who doesn’t love a good one pot recipe? Especially when you can whip it up in 30 minutes or less!
I highly recommend using Rao’s Marinara Sauce for homemade pasta recipes. It’s worth the extra couple of bucks, I promise.
Ingredients
- Penne
- Olive Oil
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Garlic- Always mince your own at home (don’t use the jarred stuff), the flavor is much better!
- Marinara Sauce- Rao’s marinara sauce is by far the best I’ve ever had.
- Red Pepper Flakes- Optional
- Chicken Broth
- Cream Cheese
- Mozzarella
- Basil Leaves
- Salt/Pepper
Reheating Leftover Pasta
I always have the best luck reheating refrigerated pasta in my dutch oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The dutch oven conducts the heat so well that it almost tastes as good as if you just made it fresh! It’s worth the dirty dish for the end result, the flavor and texting is much better than microwaving.
Storing Leftover Pasta
This pasta is best if eaten within 3 days of refrigeration.
Best Pastas for This Meal
Thick, tube-shaped pasta is best with this meal as it holds onto the sauce the best. Penne, Ziti, and Rigatoni are all great options!
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One Pot Chicken Mozzarella Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. penne
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- Salt/Pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 25 oz. marinara sauce
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
- 12 basil leaves, chiffonade
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a high walled skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken and let it cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes to allow the first side to brown. Flip them to the other side and continue to cook until golden brown on both sides. Set the chicken aside.
- Add the chicken broth to the pan, scraping up any brown bits of chicken from the bottom. This will flavor the sauce. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the marinara sauce and stir in the cream cheese until combined. Add in the red pepper flakes and bring the sauce to a boil.
- Add the penne. Cover partially and let it cook through according to package instructions. Run a spatula along the bottom of the pot a few times to prevent the pasta from settling.
- Reduce heat to low. Add the cooked chicken and mozzarella to the pasta dish and stir gently until the mozzarella is warm and melted. Top with the finely cut basil leaves, and serve!
This is fabulous…..I used the basic recipe but kicked it up a notch…..made my own marinara and added a little more seasoning to the chicken…..I’ll be making this again 😋
Hi Cindy! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! I love that you made your own marinara, nothing beats homemade! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Hi. I made this last night and everyone loved it. How would you recommend reheating if you didn’t have a Dutch oven?
Thank you 😊
Hi Monica! I really like the double boiler method of reheating pasta as I find that is as close as you can get to getting it back to it’s original state! Other than that though, you can heat it over low heat in a regular pot or reheat in the microwave! 🙂
Thank you so much. I cannot wait to make all your other recipes.
Excellent recipe!!! One of my family’s new favorite meals and highly recommend!!!
If I’m being picky, the only change I might make is to use less chicken broth. The first time I made this, I realized I didn’t have enough chicken broth so I could only use 1/3 to 1/2 cup. I was worried bc I didn’t have enough, but the sauce actually turned out great and was the perfect amount of thick, creamy and cheesy. Everyone loved it!!!
Tonight I made this recipe again using the 1.5 cups of chicken broth and it was more watery/thin. So i would recommend using less chicken broth if you prefer a more creamy/thick sauce. Definitely one of my favorite recipes and I agree that the Raos marinara definitely makes this dish!!
Thanks for the awesome recipe! We loved it! ❤️
Hi Kat! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this wonderful review and to share the “accidental” improvement that you created! 🙂 I’ll have to give that a try sometime! Have a wonderful day and thank you again! -Stephanie
Delicious recipe easily ruined if you follow the instructions.
On step 4, it says to add the pasta to the sauce mixture and *boil* for 14 minutes. Dont do this! If you have the heat high enough to boil that mixture, the bottom layer would solidify and burn followed by the majority of the sauce being evaporated all within a few minutes. Instead I reduced heat to a simmer and covered the skillet. Other than that simple mistake in the instructions, this dish is great and easy.
Hi DJ! My apologies, it was supposed to say “bubble” instead of boil. Regardless, I updated the instructions to be more clear, thank you for catching that and I’m glad that you enjoyed the recipe! -Stephanie
Just made this for tea and my husband said it was the best pasta meal I’ve ever cooked 👍 was delicious! Thank you
Hey Joan! That is SO wonderful, isn’t it the BEST when you get the husband’s full approval? So glad that to hear that, thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a review! -Stephanie
We absolutely love this recipe, it’s SO easy- I almost have it memorized. My whole family loves it, thanks for an easy repeat dinner Stephanie!
So you cook the pasta in the sauce? Not in boiling water? Thanks!
Exactly!!!!! 🙂 Easy-Peasy!
As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter what you make…if it’s a one pot meal, it’s good year round. This pasta looks scrumptious! I’m not hungry, but if you put a plate of this pasta in front of me right now, I can make room for the whole thing! Your daughter should get some use out of the pool before the really cool weather settles in. I just had a depressing revelation when I looked out of my kitchen window last night at 8:00pm and it was already dark 🙁
Prepared this main dish for dinner today. It is was delicious. My sons and husband said to definitely save this recipe. So so simple but power packed flavor. Thank you ever so much for sharing your recipe and blogging talents with us.
Hi Kate! I read this comment while I was giving my toddler a bath this evening, (yes, multi tasking!) and I almost couldn’t wait for her to go to sleep (that sounds awful) so that I could respond to your fabulous feedback. Thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know how your family enjoyed it. It really means so much to me!!!
I LOVE your posts!! I believe they always bring a smile – you have a great outlook!!
Beverly, you’re too kind, you just are! And you made my whole day 🙂 THANK YOU!!!! I’m glad that you like to read my jibber-jabber 😉