Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

by Ree on February 24, 2014

• 286

This delicious pasta really is the total package: Hearty, easy, full of cheese, and bursting with carbs! All the qualities I look for in a friend.

That made no sense. What a great (and fitting) way for me to kick off Monday morning!

Anyway, you really will love this pasta, as you get a bunch of deliciousness without a whole lot of effort. It’s a great presentation if you’re having company over (Does anyone have company over anymore? Do people still call guests ‘company?’ Or is that just another old term I’ve hung onto through the years, along with ‘television set?’ and ‘fella?’) or just makes a perfect weeknight meal.

Here’s how to make it!

 
 
Grab one of them onion things.

 
 
 
Peel it, cut it in half, then make vertical slices…

 
 
 
Horizontal slices…

 
 
 
And then dice it up!

 
 
 
And hey! Mince up some garlic while you’re at it!

Sorry to shout!

Oops, I did it again!

This could go on all day!

 
 
 
Next, grab a couple of chicken breasts…

 
 
 
And to cut it into small bites, slice it across the middle like this…

 
 
 
(Now you have two equal halves)…

 
 
 
Then slices the stacked halved into strips…

 
 
 
And cut the strips into small chunks…

 
 
 
Until you have a great bit pile of really grody looking chicken.

But it won’t be grody for long!

 
Heat a big ol’ skillet over medium-high heat, add a little olive oil, and throw in the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and let it sit in the pan, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes or so.

 
 
 
After that, you can stir/cook it around for a couple of minutes. Basically, you just want to get it slightly golden on the outside and cook it most of the way (it will finish cooking in the sauce later.)

 
 
 
Remove it to a plate and set it aside, and when your daughter comes into the kitchen and asks if the food is ready yet, answer “Yes. It will be ready shortly.”

Then, when she says, “Wait. Is the answer ‘yes’ or is the answer ‘it will be ready shortly?'” just look at her, smile, and say, “You do?” It will completely confuse her and she’ll run from the kitchen in fear.

I employ this effective parenting technique at least once a week in our house, and my children have never been more well-adjusted.

Or more confused.

 
 
 
As soon as your daughter leaves the room and the chicken is out of the skillet, throw in the onions and garlic…

 
 
 
And quickly stir/cook it around for a couple of minutes, until the onions are nice and deep golden brown.

Now, at this point in your life, you can add wine, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, and spices and spend a really long time cooking your own sauce until it’s perfect.

 
 
 
Or, if you need to move this along a little quicker, you can reach for a jar of good quality marinara sauce and call it a day!

I would never, ever judge you for it.

 
 
 
To give the sauce a nice kick (and you’ll really like it in the finished dish) add a nice amount of red pepper flakes.

Also, somewhere along the way, splash in 1/2 cup of water to make the sauce…well, saucy.

 
 
 
Add the chicken back in the pan…

 
 
 
And stir it all to combine.

 
 
 
Mince up some fresh parsley…

 
 
 
And add it into the sauce. Stir it in and cook the sauce for a good 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Give it a taste and add more red pepper flakes or water if it needs a little thinning.

 
 
 
Then grab a ball of fresh mozzarella…

(Side note: I made a little more than the recipe below specifies, so don’t be thrown off by my quantities.)

 
 
 
Slice it up…

 
 
 
And cut it into cubes.

NOTE: If you can’t get fresh mozzarella, you can absolutely use the regular mozzarella sold in supermarkets! I’ve used it in this dish before, and it’s delicious, too. Just melts a little differently.

 
 
 
Meanwhile, drain the pasta that you’ve been cooking this whole time…

 
 
 
And pour it onto a purty platter.

Alliteration alert!

(And again, don’t be thrown off by my amount of pasta, which is a little more than the recipe below. I was hungry, man.)

 
 
 
Drizzle a little olive oil all over the pasta, because this is a free country and you can.

 
 
 
Then, because nothing has changed on the free country front, sprinkle some Parmesan shavings all over the pasta.

 
 
 
The pasta’s ready…now let’s finish off the sauce!

 
 
 
Give the sauce a stir and make sure it’s super-duper hot. This is essential.

 
 
 
Then throw in the chunks of mozzarella!

You heard me.

I mean you read me.

I mean…

Oh, never mind.

 
 
 
Gently stir the mozzarella into the sauce, then let it sit for just a couple of minutes.

 
 
 
When you notice the mozzarella is starting to soften (but is still in nice big chunks), spoon it all over the pasta!

 
 
 
Ohhhh, baby. How good does this look?

 
 
 
The key here is for both the pasta and the sauce to be incredibly hot. You want that mozzarella super soft.

 
 
 
Then, for a finishing touch, grab some basil leaves…

 
 
 
Roll ’em up…

 
 
 
Cut ’em up…

 
 
 
And sprinkle the basil all over the top along with some more Parmesan shavings.

 
 
 
And…wow. Look at the pasta! Look at the sauce! Look at the soft chunks of mozzarella!

 
 
 
Look at me eat it!

You will absolutely love this. It’s ridiculously simple, but oh so good.

Here’s the handy dandy printable.

Happy Monday, everyone!

RECIPE

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

February 23, 2014 280

PREP TIME:

10 Minutes

DIFFICULTY:

Easy

COOK TIME:

15 Minutes

SERVINGS:

6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound Penne Or Rigatoni
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Plus More For Drizzling
• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Small Bite-sized Pieces
• Salt And Pepper
• 1 whole Large Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 jar (25 Ounce) Good Quality Marinara Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
• 1/2 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
• 8 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella, Cut Into Medium Cubes
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Shavings
• Extra Parmesan, For Serving
• 12 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow to cook without stirring for 2 minutes, or until golden. Stir chicken around to brown on all sides. Remove to a plate.

In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the onions and garlic and stir immediately to start cooking. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden. 

Reduce the heat to low and pour in the marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, and the water. Stir until the onions and garlic are mixed in, then add the chicken back into the pan. Add the parsley, stir to combine, then allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 7-8 minutes. 

Make sure the sauce is bubbly and very hot, then gently stir in the mozzarella. Let it sit, undisturbed, for 2 to 3 minutes, until you can see that the mozzarella is very soft. 

Drain the pasta and pour it onto a platter. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Immediately sprinkle on 1/4 cup Parmesan shavings (or grated Parmesan.) Pour on the sauce, sprinkle with extra Parmesan and the chiffonade of Basil, and serve immediately!

* NOTE: The mozzarella should be very soft but should still be in visible chunks rather than distributed throughout the sauce. It's better for the chunks to be on the firm side than the falling-apart side! You can always heat it a little more to get the cheese to the consistency you want.