Today’s beauty of
a meal is fast. It’s a start-to-finish one-skillet meal (I
won’t even bore you with how much I love skillet meals since
I’ve gushed more times than I can count).
It’s light and
refreshing and creamy without being loaded with heavy cream…and,
it’s really just a perfect weeknight meal to make you feel like
you can go ahead and pin that gold star on your apron for one more
dinner knocked right out of the park.
The flavors are crazy
delicious. And if you ask me, lemon, broccoli and chicken are a match
made in skillet heaven. I’ve included a few notes in the recipe
about different pasta brands and the consistency of the sauce so be
sure you don’t skim over that part.
Who can resist a meal
that is healthy, flavorful and only requires one measly skillet for
cooking? Clearly, I can’t, since at the risk of being
completely one-dimensional, I think I have a bazillion one-skillet
meals on this blog.
Skillet Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Broccoli
Yield: Serves 6
The brand of penne you
use will define how much liquid to add total. When I use the
Creamette (green package) brand of penne that cooks to al dente
in 7 or so minutes, I use the amounts stated in the recipe. But I've
also made this with Barilla penne, which is slightly thicker and
needs 10-11 minutes to cook until al dente.
When using pasta like
that (thicker with more cooking time needed), keep your eye on the
liquid amount. If the liquid is mostly absorbed but the pasta isn't
close to being tender yet, add another 1/2 cup liquid to the skillet
(and possibly another minute or so of cooking time).
If you want to give a
burst of fresh lemon flavor, squeeze an additional 1 tablespoon of
fresh lemon juice into the skillet pasta right before serving.
Also, if you don't have
a large 12-inch skillet, you could totally make this in a large pot.
Finally, if you like your sauce a bit thicker, use a little extra
cornstarch (maybe another 1/2 tablespoon?) or cover the skillet off
the heat and let the pasta sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cubed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Zest of two lemons, about 1 tablespoon
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 lemons, use the same ones you just zested)
12 ounces penne pasta (see note)
2-3 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Pat the chicken dry with a paper
towel and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large,
12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot and
rippling. Add the chicken and sauté, stirring frequently,
until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken
to a plate, keeping as much oil/liquid in the skillet as possible.
Keep the skillet on medium heat
and add another teaspoon of oil if needed (I usually don't but
you'll want to keep an especially close eye on the garlic). Add the
garlic and basil and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Add the
water, broth, lemon juice and pasta. Stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and
cook, stirring occasionally just to keep the pasta from sticking,
for 10-12 minutes until the pasta is tender — it will cook for
a few more minutes in the next step. There will be a bit of liquid
left in the skillet; that's ok.
Add the broccoli and lemon zest.
Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until the broccoli is bright green
and tender. While the broccoli is cooking, whisk together the milk
and cornstarch.
Uncover the skillet and stir in
the milk mixture along with the Parmesan cheese and reserved
chicken. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened slightly,
1-2 minutes.
Season with additional salt and
pepper (this is really important — don't skip this step!) and
serve.
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.