Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach
This garlic chicken pasta with spinach is packed with flavor, satisfying, and quick. Thirty minutes or less and you have dinner ready to go!
Light and healthful, as far as pasta dishes go, this recipe is packed with flavor and makes for a very satisfying meal.
A major plus with this meal is it is made start to finish in thirty minutes or less. Love that.
I have to mention here that I am also heartily in love with the garlic/lemon/basil combination. Delicious.
I served this with the garlic knots I praised earlier and it was a fantastic weeknight dinner.
Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach
Ingredients
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, this doesn’t add spiciness – just the right amount of flavor
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
- 6 tablespoons juice from 2 lemons
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes and oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and cut into bite-size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the garlic/red pepper oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat until oil is rippling. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
- Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to boiling water and cook until tender but still slightly firm (al dente). Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to the pot. Stir in chicken, spinach, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and remaining garlic mixture, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 653kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 71mg, Sodium: 333mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g
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Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Country
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The oil flavor is good and I liked cooking my meat in it as well as using it as the sauce for the pasta. It is not hot but just adds a nice fullness of flavor. It’s a great way to get spinach for non-spinach eaters. I should have added 1 more veggie, I.e. Cherry tomatoes or zucchini just to balance the amount of pasta to veggie ratio.
Super yummy and quick to put together. Whole family loved it.
My mom and I can’t stop making it. It’s our new favorite dish with garlic bread on the side! So so good!
Tried this out tonight. I used rotisserie chicken because I had some; otherwise followed the recipe. The first few bites were “okay but nothing speecial.” Then the flavors began to build, and we ended up liking it a lot! It was perhaps a little dry — next time I’ll increase the olive oil – garlic – red pepper flakes component.
Made it! Easy! Forgot about the pasta water and dumped it all out. Luckily, it wasn’t needed. Love it! Garlic, lemon, yum yum! ❤️
I am impressed at the number of comments that say kids love this dish … count me in too, the combination of flavours makes my tastebuds young again!
What was the point of making so much garlic oil if it’s not used in the dish?
It says to add it in the 3rd step
This recipe is such a keeper!! It is SO good. Reminds me of the aglio olio recipe but with other wonderful additions. Thank you!!
Loved this dish Mel! Made it last night and cannot wait to serve to my kids! thanks for sharing.
WOW! This recipe is delicious! I used rotisserie chicken and cut the recipe in half. It all worked and I’ll for sure be making it again and again. We love angel hair and that worked as well. Thanks!!
I know this is an older recipe, but just wanted to say that my family has been loving it for years! I’ve subbed in cooked mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, or any combo of these, and it always comes out great.
I love this one, too! And I really love your additions – yum!
Made this dish tonight then came across this recipe site/blog. My granddaughter just recently was diagnosed as being allergic to a protein found in milk so I had to “doctor” up the recipe to suit her new diet restrictions.
First I made a bechamel sauce with dairy free butter and unsweetened soy milk. Added minced garlic to the sauce and simmered until it just started to thicken. Added my 2 leftover chicken breasts (diced), my pasta (penne) and enough chicken stock to cover the pasta. When the pasta was tender and the sauce had thickened to where I wanted it I added my spinach. Was delicious the new way I prepared it (no leftovers!)
Just posting to let others know that most recipes can be adapted to a milk free way of living and still taste great. Looking for more of your recipes I can “doctor” up
Hi. I just started ww and am looking to make this for dinner. Can you please tell me how many servings this makes. Thank you.
Probably 6-8.
This is an extremely delicious pasta – loved it and so quick to prepare. Absolutely delicious! (Did I say that already?)
I love this pasta dish! It highly recommend this dish to anyone, especially someone who loves chicken breast and pasta like me lol
This is one of my family’s favorite meals. My husband says it tastes like it came from a restaurant, and my three boys all love it, too. My favorite way to make it is to grill extra of your delicious Island Chicken on the weekend, and use a couple of the chicken breasts in this recipe!
Oh my gosh! This was awesome! I had a rotisserie chicken so I used it instead of cooking raw breasts. I shredded it and sautéed it in 2 tbsps of the oil mixture to heat it back up. I then added the spinach to the chicken and covered it to wilt while I boiled the pasta. Once the pasta was done I added the chicken/spinach mixture and the rest of the ingredients – DELICIOUS!! I will definitely make this again and again. So easy with the rotisserie chicken. Thank you!
Oh this is good!!!! My four year old stopped eating it to announce, “I love this dinner!” That’s the best compliment ever in my book:) seriously Mel, thank you for what you do!!! These recipes have become part of our little family. Thanks for your help in my raising my kids as well as possible:)
This is so good. I made it with fettuccine because it was all I had on hand, and it was very delicious. Definitely going into the rotation!
Made this recipe and it was delicious!! Just re-posted the recipe with a few minor changes on my blog because it was SO good! Thanks for sharing!
Just looking up this recipe. Making it for about the 10th time- so yummy and easy! Thanks!
OH man this is good! I got so much spinach with my bountiful baskets and I’m a bit tired of eating so much salad. I was looking for a pasta recipe that had spinach AND with ingredients that I already had in my kitchen and this was perfect! Scott is such a picky eater lately and won’t eat anything flavored, and he actually really loved this dish. Thanks a bunch 🙂
I am making this tonight but instead of penne, I am using bow tie. I can’t wait to make this.