Chicken and pasta cooked in a garlic tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella & parmesan cheese cooked in just 15 minutes and will become your new favorite weeknight meal!
Today I’m going to share a quick and easy family recipe that’s cheesy and delicious. It’s perfect for the weeknights when you are looking for a “quick” meal to serve the family. It’s almost a skillet meal except for the part of boiling the pasta in another pot. Aside from that, it’s all in one pan.
Kids love this recipe because it doesn’t have any “veggies” and I love it because of it quick and easy. It’s loaded with a ton of cheese which is like my biggest weakness! I dare you to look at the cheese and not want to dig right in!
The trick to making the pasta in a jiffy is to put the water to boil first before doing anything else. This will cut cooking time significantly and allow the pasta to cook while you work on the rest of the recipe.
While the pasta is cooking, saute the chicken breasts with garlic and onion, and bell pepper. One thing I love about cooking with chicken breast is that they cook incredibly fast! 10 minutes max and you’re done!
After I sauteed the chicken for a good 5 minutes I added the pasta sauce and let it simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes, after that, I added the cooked pasta some cheese on top and watched it melt!
At this point, you can go ahead and eat the pasta as is or you can place your pan under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese until it’s bubbly and begins to turn golden.
Quick and Easy 15 minute Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, cut in strips
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH salt, pepper, & garlic powder
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, optional
- 3 cups cooked pasta, 1.5 cups dry pasta
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of salted water to boil, pour 1.5 cups of uncooked pasta and 1 tsp salt into the water. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut chicken breasts and, onion and bell peppers. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy-duty pan or pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and sautee 30 seconds or until lightly golden. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, & garlic powder and saute until the chicken is browned and almost cooked through.
- Add the marinara sauce and allow to simmer for 5 minutes while the pan is covered. After 5 minutes, drain the water from the pasta and pour pasta on the chicken mixture. Mix well, add the cheese and turn off. The cheese will melt from the heat of the pan. If desired, broil the cheese under the broiler in the oven until bubbly.
- Top with Parmesan and enjoy!
Video
Equipment
What can I substitute for bell peppers
You can just leave them out! 😉
Very tasty. I dIdn’t have peppers so I SAUTÉED sweet tomatoes, onions and garlic, a bit of red wine, pepper, basil, tyme, red pepper, pinch of cumin, salt and jarred sauce. I hade package of grilled chIcken prepared. Nice quick dinner.
Everyone said it was awesome and they were RIGHT!!!! I tried a new recipe recently and had to add all this extra stuff for flavor etc BUT, this was spot on!!!! My family loved it!!! This one is a keeper!
So glad you and your family enjoyed it!!
We loved this!
Looks great!
WOuld i have to do anything differently if i use shrimp?
Very good…a bit like goulash but with chicken
Going to try this tonight! I wonder how mushrooms would taste with it?
Awesome
Could i use tomatoes instead of peppers
Yes you can!
It felt like 30 mins
food is very good like food i do
It wasnt 15 minutes but the recipe is so good
Wow!! Looks so creamy and yummy. This will be my favourite weekday meal now. Thanks for the recipe
Why does it say to only cook 1.5 cups of pasta and not all of it!?
If you read the ingredients, it says 3 cups cooked pasta is 1.5 cups Uncooked!
Oh my goodness I made this last night it was delicious!!!! I used 4 chicken thigh though instead of the breast… tons of cayenne pepper my mouth is hit but I like spicy food. It’s my new go to meal
Looks great! I love cheese!
This was so delicious. I had gotten back in town from a 4 hour drive and needed something quick for my family. This hit the spot for everyone. I was so tired from the drive and fast food again was out of the question. This is quick, easy and delicious. They requested it again for dinner the next day. Pinned this! Definitely needed to share!
Dinner recipes in 15 minutes are fabulous! Love all the tips for new cooks to help them get dinner on the table faster. The perfect comfort food and weeknight meal! I’m with you on the cheese thing…my biggest weakness! Thanks for sharing, Layla. Pinning!
What a fabulous dish!! 🙂 I super heart quick delicious dinners like this!
Hurray for 15 minute recipes! Loving all that melty cheese. Yum!
What a great weeknight dinner recipe… and who doesn’t love cheesy pasta?!
Do you gotta use olive oil?
No, olive or avocado oils are healthy options but you can use whatever type of oil you like!
How many calories per serve and serving size please?
Wow dinner in 15 minutes? This looks too good to be true!! I have to try it 🙂
Wow, this looks divine Layla! Loving the fact it only takes 15 minutes to put together. Love quick, tasty pasta dishes.
Quick and east to make…quick and easy to eat! Looks delicious! 🙂 ela
Thank you!
This looks incredible Layla! Love all the gooey cheese and I am always a big fan of quick and easy meals that look this good 🙂
I can’t resist melted cheese! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
This looks and sounds delicious!
Thank you Lilli! 🙂
This looks delicious!! I love anything that has red peppers in it. Especially when it is quick!!
I also just love red peppers. Glad you liked this recipe! 🙂
That CHEESE! Swoon. This is the perfect dish for those busy weeknights – love that it’s quick! Looks delicious.
Thanks, Alyssa!
this looks super easy! thanks!
Pasta in 15 minutes and it looks this good? Oh wow. I now know what we’re having for dinner tonight ;–) So glad I have all of hte ingredients on hand!
Enjoy your Sunday! <3
Have a great weekend Consuelo!
Can you use Alfredo instead of marinara
Yes, it should work perfectly!
Such a great, clear, and easy recipe! Everyone loves it. Thank you for helping me find joy in cooking!