A throw-it-all-in-the pan weeknight meal that ticks the meat/carb/vegetable boxes with minimal effort. It’s a nice light dinner, which gives this meal a bit of a Summery vibe ☀️☀️ Ready in 30 minutes!
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Easy one-pot pasta dinners are my favourite on busy weeknights.
I'm a bit of a creamy-cheesy sauce addict when it comes to sauces, but this is a lighter version that uses just a little Parmesan and some milk, rather than lots of heavy cream.
It means this dish feels nice and light, but still with plenty of flavour.
📋 What do we need?
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
👩🍳PRO TIP Be sure to simmer this on low to prevent the milk from splitting. If it does split DON'T WORRY! Add in an extra big splash of cold milk, stir together throughly and cook on very low for another minute or two and the sauce will come back together.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Fresh buttered Artisan bread or easy garlic bread
- A nice glass of white wine or a maybe even a summery cocktail!
Lovely lightly creamy tender pasta with juicy chicken and plenty of slightly-al dente broccoli (add the broccoli a few minutes earlier if you like it softer, but I like mine with a little bit of bite to it).
🍲 More fantastic Pasta recipes
- Spaghetti aglio e olio
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
- Creamy Sausage Pasta with Bacon
- Easy Pasta Salad With The Best Italian Dressing
- Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
- Chicken and Bacon Mac and Cheese
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One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion - peeled and chopped
- 3 chicken breasts - (this is about 525g/18.5oz), chopped into bite-size chunks
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic - peeled and crushed
- 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine - (optional – you can replace with water or stock)
- 600 ml (2 ½ cups) good quality chicken stock
- 180 ml (¾ cup) whole (full-fat) milk
- 300 g (10.5oz) dried pasta shapes
- 300 g 10.5oz) broccoli - stalk removed, chopped into small florets
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 50 g (½ packed cup) grated parmesan
To Serve:
- Freshly chopped parsley
- black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) on a medium-high heat.2 tbsp olive oil
- Add the chopped onion, chicken, salt and pepper and fry for 5-6 minutes, until the onions start to go translucent.1 small onion, 3 chicken breasts, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
- Add in the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds.3 cloves of garlic
- Add the wine and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add the stock and milk.60 ml (¼ cup) white wine, 600 ml (2 ½ cups) good quality chicken stock, 180 ml (¾ cup) whole (full-fat) milk
- Bring to the boil, then stir in the pasta. Bring back to a gentle bubble and place a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes.300 g (10.5oz) dried pasta shapes
- Add in broccoli, stir, place the lid back on and cook for another 5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender, and the pasta is cooked.300 g 10.5oz) broccoli
- Remove the lid, stir in the lemon juice and parmesan.1 tsp lemon juice, 50 g (½ packed cup) grated parmesan
- Serve, topped with a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley and black pepper.Freshly chopped parsley, black pepper
Video
✎ Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published October 2016. Updated June 2023 with new photos, video, housekeeping and a couple of recipe tweaks.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Patrick B says
I haven't made this but it is in the planned rotation. I just wanted to comment about the prep time. I've been cooking for 40 years, some professionally and most not, and I know I can't prep all of that in 5 minutes. I would consider prep time pulling ingredients out of the fridge and pantry, grabbing the cutting board and knife. And you'll need bowls to put that stuff in so there's that too. Starting from nothing on your counter, you can have all that ready to go in 5 minutes? Sure you can do some of that while other stuff is cooking but still.
I love your Youtube channel and I've watched it for quite some time now. I've made several of your dishes. I've purchased your book! So I hope you don't take this as picking on you. You are the best and I love what you do. This is just a pet peeve with me and a large number of recipe creators.
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Patrick - I appreciate you buying the book too 🙂
For me this is 5 mins of up-front prep (chopping the onion and chicken), then I do the rest while the chicken is cooking. Unfortunately there's no option in my recipe card template to to split out doing a couple of tasks up front and some while parts of the recipe is cooking.
The recipe card adds up the prep time and cooking time to give a total time.
I try to work it so the total time is how long the recipe actually takes from getting your first ingredient out to serving up the recipe, and sometimes this means adjusting the prep time a little so people don't think the whole recipe takes an hour.
Hopefully the recipe card developers will update the recipe card at some point to this can be reflected more accurately.
Amanda West says
Very nice. I added a tub of cream cheese to make it really creamy and it was delicious
Diane says
This was absolutely delicious - cooked it for a girls dinner party. It is so easy and you can have it ready to go so it doesn't interfere with the socialising. I am not a fan of fatty cream and the flavours certainly did not suffer for the lack of it. Thank you for sharing!
Ray Mok says
This is so good and easy. I intentionally reduce water to around 350 ml (as my pasta is 8 min al dente) but unlike many other one pot pasta recipes, your calculation for water is almost perfect.
White sauce pasta without fat cream. Broccoli and chicken breast. Perfect for leaning. Will definitely make it again! Next time I may add some Italian seasoning to add more different tastes!
Devyn Beaulieu says
This recipe is PHENOMENAL. It is so quick, easy, and accurate. The measurements and method are perfect - everything ends up cooked perfectly. I have made this twice now and it blows me (and my boyfriend) away every time. I am so thankful for this recipe. So often when I look up "one pot dinners", they're never ACTUALLY one pot dinners. But finally, I have found one!!! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Ann says
Easy and tasty. Beats Chicken Helper any day of the week.
Stephen says
So simple. So delicious.
Miroslav Klouda says
Excellent. I was in doubts until the end of my cooking but it turned out very delicious. And even better when reheated.
Lauren says
Absolutely delicious. Cooking late after decorating the living room, had chicken defrosted and broccoli in the fridge a quick google search came up with this recipe and 20mins later we were eating a dinner that I imagine we will crave again and again, very tasty!
Zoe says
Tried this recipe this evening as its one of the few i have found which doesn't have a white sauce, and being dairy intolerant this was fab! I swapped what little milk it called for with soya, and used vegetable stock instead of chicken, and it was lush. Definitely using this recipe again 🙂
Debbie says
Tasty and simple meal for those who can’t or have little time to cook. Will definitely be making again.
TC says
I could eat pasta for every meal and never get bored. This is one of my favourites and usually eat it at least once every two weeks.
Charlie @ The Kitchen Shed says
Induction hobs are an amazing invention when the kitchen is out of use. We just had our kitchen walls stripped down to the brick and re-plastered so I definitely feel your pain! Before you know it, it will all be over and you will LOVE your new space! This is definitely my kind of meal though, kitchen or no kitchen. Chicken, broccoli and pasta... in one pan? Perfect!
Caroline says
This looks delish! I sympathise with you on the dust, we knocked through from our kitchen to our dining room last year and I had to wash everything before and after every meal. It will be so worth it though.