One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta

One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta is perfect when you need a family-friendly dinner fast! Everything you love about a caprese salad turned into a main dish meal with the addition of whole wheat pasta and chicken breasts! 

Thanks to my friends at Just BARE Chicken for sponsoring this post. As always all opinions are my own.

All of the warm sunny weather in Colorado has given me the itch to get my vegetable garden going again. I know it’s still too soon because it’s not uncommon for us to get snow in May (crazy, I know), but I’m just so excited to have fresh homegrown vegetables again!

The vegetable I always have an abundance of in my garden are tomatoes. Since I’m not able to start planting until late in May I get the bulk of them just before fall. It seems like everyone else’s season is ending and I’m still pulling pounds of tomatoes off my plants. Sometimes it’s a struggle to use them all before they go bad, but one way I’ll be enjoying them this year is in this One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta!

Chicken breasts are the number one most eaten protein in our house. The number of ways you can use chicken breasts is endless! Since we eat them 3-4 times a week, it’s important to me that I’m using high quality chicken. Just BARE Organic Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts have quickly become one of my favorite brands to buy.

I love that Just BARE’s organic chickens are raised without antibiotics and are fed a vegetable and grain diet with no added hormones or artificial ingredients. Another thing that really caught my eye is that their organic chickens have access to outdoors. This is something that is incredibly important to me.

The idea for this One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta comes from my love of caprese chicken, one pot/pan meals and my husband’s love of pasta and cheese. I decided this is would be the perfect easy dinner to make both of us happy.

All of the flavors that you expect to find in caprese chicken can be found in this pasta. Plenty of tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and of course, mozzarella cheese. Instead of using a block of mozzarella cheese like I normally do, I bought mini balls of fresh mozzarella. If you’ve never had fresh mozzarella it’s magical and you have to try it! I finished the pasta off by stirring in plain Greek yogurt for creaminess. It’s optional, but I highly recommend it.

Like the name suggests, everything is cooked in one pot and dinner can be on the table in just over 30 minutes without leaving your kitchen looking like a war zone. This One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta is perfect for weeknights because it comes together so quickly and it’s fancy enough that you could even make it for a stress-free special occasion dinner!

One Pot Caprese Chicken Pasta

Yield: 4-5 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 pound (1 package) Just BARE Organic Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 10 ounces whole wheat pasta, I used orecchiette
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup mini fresh mozzarella balls, halved
• 1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a 12 inch lidded pan or skillet over medium high heat.
2. Season the cut up pieces of chicken breast with kosher salt and black pepper, then add to the pan.
3. Sauté the chicken until it's cooked all the way through, approximately 5-7 minutes, then pour the chicken out of the skillet and onto a plate.
4. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the pan, then add in the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add in the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds then pour in the chicken broth, water and balsamic vinegar.
6. Use a wooden spoon to scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pan, season with more salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.
7. Once boiling add in the pasta and stir.
8. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, cover the pan with a lid and boil until fairly tender. Stir occasionally, cooking the pasta for about 8 - 9 minutes.
9. Add the chicken, tomatoes and basil evenly over top of the pasta without stirring, then cover with the lid and allow to boil 4 - 5 minutes longer until the tomatoes have softened and the pasta is tender. There should be a little liquid left after it's finished cooking, this will become part of the sauce. If needed, add more broth.
10. Top the pasta with the mozzarella cheese and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Cover pan with the lid and remove from heat.
11. Let the pasta rest for several minutes allowing the mozzarella to melt and sauce to thicken.
12. If desired mix in 1/4 cup of plain non-fat Greek yogurt to make the pasta creamy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 481 Total Fat: 15g Saturated Fat: 5g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 117mg Sodium: 442mg Carbohydrates: 33g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 7g Protein: 54g

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