Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

It’s no wonder that busy home cooks love this dish. It combines three perennial favorites—chicken, broccoli, and pasta—and brings them together with a bright, zesty sauce made with garlic, white wine, and lemon juice. It’s like making chicken picatta and serving it with broccoli and pasta, except that you only need one pan (and your pasta pot).

While some cooks who make this dish use the “hack” of cooking their broccoli directly in the pasta water (along with the noodles), I’ve found that it’s just as fast to cook both the chicken and broccoli separately—and it gives you a far better flavor, because you can brown the ingredients to get a little maillard reaction going (the chemical process that gives deeply browned foods their rich, savory flavor). 

Plus, since you can cook both of these ingredients in about the time it takes the pasta pot to boil, it won’t add any additional cooking time. Once the pasta is boiling, you can cook the garlic, white wine, and lemon juice in the same pot you cooked the meat and veg in, then add everything into the pot together. The finished dish will be on the table in just 40 minutes.

Unlike breasts, the thighs don’t dry out as they cook. In fact (as barbecue fanatics will tell you), they become more tender as they get hotter. This means you don’t have to worry about over-cooking them. Besides, darker meat naturally has more flavor, so the thighs will add more flavor to the overall dish. 

Types of Pasta to Use

You can really use any style of pasta you like for this recipe, but I find that shorter pastas work best here, because you can get a noodle (or two) on a fork along with a piece of chicken or broccoli. Tube-shaped pastas (or other shapes with nooks in them) also hold onto the sauce well, which will give you more flavor with each bite. I’ve used penne here, but other pastas of similar length, like rigatoni, ziti, or even fusilli or gemelli, also work well.

Don’t Ignore the Broccoli Stems

While florets get all the attention, broccoli stems are just as delicious—and sometimes more versatile, since they soften more slowly and don’t absorb liquid. (When my kid was first starting to eat solid foods, she hated the texture of broccoli florets but happily ate the smooth, tender stems.) In this recipe, I’ve used both the stems and the florets.

But the general form of this recipe will work well with a variety of other proteins and vegetables, if you pair them well. 

You could try it with shrimp and asparagus for another classic combination, or bacon and broccoli rabe for a slightly more sophisticated approach. Pork and zucchini also work well. 

Whatever combination you choose, you’ll want to be careful about how long you cook the vegetables; some (like the broccoli rabe) will need more steaming time, and some (like zucchini) can just be browned in the pan without any water. 

And if you want to add more vegetables, try throwing a handful of cherry tomatoes in with the broccoli, after it’s done steaming. The tomatoes will brown and burst, adding a bright, tangy flavor to the sauce once all of the ingredients are combined. 

Don’t Skip the White Wine

The one thing you don’t want to swap out is the white wine. While it might not seem like a key ingredient here, the wine forms the base of the sauce and gives it a rich but subtle flavor. Without it, the garlic and lemon will taste too acidic and sharp.

The key is to remove the water just before the pasta is done cooking; that’s when it has the most flavor. To do this, you can ladle some water into a bowl, but my favorite trick is to grab a liquid measuring cup (the kind made out of Pyrex, with a convenient handle) and dip that straight into the pot.

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

More Weeknight Pastas

• Easy Pasta With Winter Greens
• Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta
• Angel Hair With Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce
• Creamy Mushroom Miso Pasta
• Tuna Pasta With Tomato and Olives

Ingredients

Method

Add the broccoli, and season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Add 1/4 cup of water, then cover the pot and let the broccoli steam in the liquid, stirring occasionally (then re-covering the pot) until thickest parts of the stems are just barely tender, about 4-8 minutes.

Remove the lid, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and the chile flakes (if using), and cook the broccoli, stirring occasionally but letting it sit on the bottom and sides of the pot undisturbed for about 1 minute at a time, so that it browns nicely, until all of the pieces have browned a bit, another 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove the broccoli from the pot, and set it aside in a large bowl, covered. Rinse the pot.

Put the pot back on the stove over high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, and let it heat for 30 seconds, then add the chicken, spreading it out in an even layer; season it with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Stir the chicken, and let it continue to cook until it is cooked through, for another 2 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat under the pan and remove the chicken to the bowl with the broccoli, but do not rinse the pan. (The browned bits will help flavor the sauce.)

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

When the water comes to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt, and then boil the pasta until it is just barely al dente (about 8 minutes, for penne).

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Add the butter to the pot with the chicken drippings and let it melt over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until it no longer smells raw, about 1 minute. Add the wine and lemon juice to the pot, and bring it to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat to high, and let the sauce boil for 1 minute, to reduce it slightly (and cook off the alcohol in the wine).

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

When the pasta is done, scoop 1 cup of pasta water out of the pot and reserve. Drain the pasta, then add it to the pan along with 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Cook for 1 minute; the sauce should thicken slightly but there should still be plenty around the noodles. (Add a bit more of the pasta water if necessary). Add the broccoli and chicken to the pot, stir to coat them in the sauce, and cook until they’re just warmed through, about 30 seconds. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Divide the pasta into 4 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon of the grated parmesan. 

Refrigerate leftovers, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

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Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

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