Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl
If you love light sauce over noodles and crisp peppers with mozzarella and feta, then you’ll love this balsamic chicken noodle bowl!
This delectable little noodle bowl has been part of our regular dinner rotation for over several years now.
It’s delicious and so, so simple. The key here is to use the best quality balsamic vinegar you can get since the flavor really shines through.
If you love light, silky sauces over tender noodles and crisp peppers with bits of creamy mozzarella and tangy feta nestled among the twists, then you’ll love this one.
It is definitely one of my favorite simple pasta dishes.
FAQs for Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl
I’ve used both – equally delicious (the fresh mozzarella is creamier) but in the pictures, it’s regular mozzarella not fresh.
Yes! I like a lot of noodles so this recipe calls for a lot of noodles, but if you like fewer noodles, simply cut it down to about 12 oz.
What to Serve With This
- Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Steamed broccoli or Buttery Peas with Thyme
- Green Salad
Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine
- 1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips
- 4 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil, can substitute 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 ½ cups shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until just tender according to package directions. Drain.
- In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. When combined, slowly whisk in the 1/3 cup olive oil until the dressing is completely combined.
- While the pasta is boiling, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the bell pepper. Cook briefly until crisp-tender. Add the cooked chicken and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until the chicken is heated through.
- When the noodles have been drained, add the hot noodles to the skillet with the red pepper and chicken and toss. Add the shredded or cubed mozzarella and the feta and toss quickly to combine before the cheese melts.
- Pour the dressing over the top and toss with tongs to coat all the ingredients with the dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from www.tastykitchen.com
I made it for the first time the other day. I used 8oz chickpea noodles instead of linguine, I added fresh baby spinach and a cut up roma tomato (no cheese – dairy free). I don’t know if the noodles made a difference but, as made, mine was a little dry. I added more oil and vinegar and it still didn’t do much. I still loved it and I will make it again but I’ll either try regular pasta or double the dressing.
Husband and I absolute love this recipe. It will be in regular rotation at our house from now on, Thanks Mel.
My family loves this recipe! I’ve made it many times and was wondering if you had an instant pot version of the recipe?
I don’t – sorry, Karen!
I’ve made this recipe many, many times and love it so much. I’ve made these two modifications: I chunk the cooked chicken instead of shredding it and use cubed, fresh mozzarella. I found that the shredded chicken absorbed too much of the balsamic. Also, I’m a huge fan of fresh mozzarella and prefer the texture in this dish.
Made it as written, had to add more balsamic. Love that stuff. And I added portobello mushrooms. Great dish! Easy too. Next time I’ll omit the chicken and add more portobello mushrooms. Thanks!
Take out the peppers, add tomatoes, red onions, and basil and call it awesome-squared!
I made this dish. My husband loved it, and so did I. I don’t know how to cook at all, and this was easy to make.
Quite possibly my favorite recipe from your blog! Eating it for lunch today 🙂
For the mozzarella cheese, do you mean fresh or like the kind you put on pizza? From the picture, it looks like the kind you use for pizza, just wanted to make sure.
I’ve used both – equally delicious (the fresh mozzarella is creamier) but in the pictures, it’s regular mozzarella not fresh.
Thanks! I went with regular this time, next time will try fresh. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me a few years ago, only she adapted it a little because she doesn’t eat meat or cheese. So I was surprised when I came to the source and realised I’ve been making it inadequately for years. The cheese and chicken made a yummy pasta irresistible!!
My neighbor gave me this recipe years ago and we have been making it at least once a month since then, and there can never be enough leftovers!
As is, the recipe is great! We really love balsamic vinegar so I probably come close to doubling the amount called for. I add an extra bell pepper and use rotisserie chicken to save time. I usually skip mixing in cheese until it’s plated and just top the bowl with feta. It’s my staple recipe when I want to impress someone or make them think I know what I’m doing in the kitchen!
I made this tonight and it was amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
This was fantastic! I’ve wanted to make this for quite a while but always seem to missing some ingredient or another. Anyway, it came together super quickly, even with cooking the chicken with the peppers. I also added a yellow onion to the saute. So so yummy! All my kids loved it and husband too. Thank you Mel! Congrats on the half marathon!!!
Hi Mel, can I use prepared balsamic glaze (trader joe’s brand) in place of balsamic vinegar?
I haven’t tried that, Nita – it might work but just watch for extra sweeteners/flavors in the prepared glaze that might affect the flavor of the overall dish.
Just made this tonight! Fantastic!! I used cotija cheese and made bruschetta to top it off! AMAZING!! We had it with garlic bread made from the chewy Italian rolls. It was insanely good!
I just discovered this recipe this week and it was fantastic! It is so customizable. I thought the dressing was delicious. I must confess I did not make it as written because I was using what I had in the fridge. I used a huge raw, diced zucchini and fresh basil and just added that (minus the pepper, chicken, and cheeses) to the whole wheat linguine/dressing. We all slurped it up. I served it with a teriyaki salmon burger. Next time I will plan ahead and make it as written as a yummy main course. Thanks, Mel!
Yummy!
I added 3 peppers, one red, one yellow, and one orange. But I also didn’t do chicken. It had been a long day and I didn’t feel like cooking chicken. Definitely going to keep this recipe! Might try it with bow tie pasta next time too!
I, too was a little afraid of the balsamic in this. We do love pasta with olive oil and garlic so we gave this a try. The balsamic was subtle and made for a great-tasting pasta. I added diced carrots to the suted vegetables in this dish. I think it is great as is, but certainly one of those recipes that can be tailored to what you have on hand.
My husband and I thought this was excellent and both loved it. I love balsamic but I was afraid it would be too strong and vinegary for my husband. But the balsamic was perfectly subtle and he enjoyed it as much as I. I didnt have olive oil on hand so I substituted browned butter, and sauteed the garlic in the butter just for a little bit at the end of the browning time. It was fantastic (If anyone does this, don’t add the vinegar to the butter until the butter is slightly cooled or it will cook the vinegar off). Thank you for a great recipe!
I love this recipe so, so much! I just made it a month or so ago for the first time. I don’t know how I had missed it! 🙂 The only thing I do different is use less noodles (maybe 10 oz.) and saute the garlic along with the red pepper. I love the leftovers of this, too! They’re good right out of the fridge!
I have made this at least a dozen times. We love, love, love it! It’s one of our favorite meals.
this was wonderful. small thing though. that was way to much oil. my plate was all greasy and the kids had grease all over their faces from slurping the noodles. i think it would be just fine with about half? but i shared your recipe with my cooking group (of course telling them i got it here and to check you out ) and everyone is excited to cook it for their hubbies. according to my bff “this dish is food like from a fancy restaurant! i’ve paid for dishes that didn’t taste as good!”
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was perfect! I found your site through Pinterest and I’m finding so many recipes I want to try. Thanks for sharing.