If you like lemon pepper chicken with pasta then this recipe is for you. I’m always looking for ways to save time and money. There are two things that I hate spending money on and that’s gas and take-out food. I really can’t stand take-out food unless it’s a Friday night at 3am and I’m absolutely famished!
One-Pot Lemon-Pepper Chicken Pasta
- Prep45 Min
- Total50 Min
- Servings6
What’s better than lemon-pepper chicken pasta? A recipe for One-Pot Lemon-Pepper Chicken Pasta of course! Full of spaghetti, fresh baby spinach and lemon-pepper seasoned chicken, this recipe has bright flavors that are welcome any time of the year. Make it with Progress… More +
Ingredients
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (16 oz)
- 1teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/2teaspoon salt
- 1/4teaspoon black pepper
- 1tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1carton (32 oz) Progresso™ chicken broth
- 8oz spaghetti pasta, broken in half (from 16-oz box)
- 1/2cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2tablespoons butter
- 1tablespoon lemon juice and 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel from 1 large lemon
- 2bags (5 oz each) baby spinach
Steps
- 1In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with lemon pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook chicken in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken to plate; cover and keep warm.
- 2Add garlic to Dutch oven; cook 30 to 60 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned. Add chicken broth and spaghetti; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered 13 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente.
- 3Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the butter, lemon juice, lemon peel and cooked chicken. Remove from heat. Gradually add spinach; stir just until starting to wilt. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with remaining 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.
Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens
- tip 1Due to the bulkiness of the spinach, it’s helpful to add it to pasta in small batches.
- tip 2If you prefer more peppery flavor, increase black pepper from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon.
- tip 3Pesto is another great flavor to change up an ordinary chicken and pasta dish. Try our recipe for Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Tomatoes, ready to go in just 30 minutes.
- tip 4The family’s favorite Chicken Pot Pie recipe gets an easy twist with our One-Pot Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Pasta. Swap pasta for a pie crust, and you’ll have another classic ready to love.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta
This Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta makes a great, easy and inexpensive meal for the family; just perfect for weeknight dinners.
The juicy crispy lemon pepper chicken is served on a bed of lemon pasta, with enough pepper to make it interesting but mild enough for kids. It is quick to make, delicious to eat and is sure to be a hit!
Plus if served with a side salad or some roasted veg, then one chicken breast will be enough to serve a family of 4!
Everyone loves pasta and this lemon pepper pasta makes such a change from the tomato based dishes that often make it to the table. Don’t get me wrong I love a good Spaghetti Bolognese but I am a big fan of no tomato pasta dishes, like this Creamy Rosemary Chicken Pasta or my total fav my Roasted Cauliflower Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce (SOOO GOOD!)
This pasta dish is great if you are trying to avoid heavy cream, gettings it rich almost creamy flavor from olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, and some pasta cooking water.
Pasta Cooking Water?
Yes, the pasta cooking water is the key to almost all great pasta sauces. As the pasta cooks, it releases some starch into the water, meaning that pasta cooking water will naturally thicken sauces and really help them cling to the pasta. You’ll notice that most of my pasta dishes say to remove a couple of cups of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Often you only need a ¼ cup, but better to have removed too much than to have poured the valuable water down the drain.
How to make a no-cook lemon pepper sauce for pasta
Whilst the pasta is cooking, the sauce ingredients are mixed together in a bowl or measuring cup. Once the pasta is ready, some pasta cooking water is added and then the sauce is tossed through the hot pasta. This coats everything with a deliciously zesty yet creamy sauce. All ready for the crispy lemon pepper chicken breasts.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts
The recipe calls for one large chicken breast, which will be enough for a family of four. (Yes that is just one large chicken breast in the picture above!)
Although if you are serving four adults you may want to do double the amount of chicken. Also if you find you can only buy very small chicken breasts then you might want to use two. You can see the size of my chicken breast in the picture below. That was enough for the four of us, with the pasta and some roasted broccoli.
To make the most of the chicken breast and also ensure it cooks quickly, the breast is cut in half horizontally to make two chicken fillets. You can read more about filleting chicken breasts in this post for my Honey Pecan Chicken Breasts.
How to get enough lemon flavor into the chicken without making it taste sour.
The key here is lemon zest! It adds lemon flavor without the sourness you get from lemon juice. Plus it doesn’t dry out the chicken breast like lemon juice can do.
To ensure plenty of flavor, the chicken is coated with a lemon pepper rub, consisting of:
Lemon Zest
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Dried Parsley
These are all mixed together and then used to coat the chicken.
Once they have been rubbed into the chicken, it is coated in seasoned flour and fried in olive oil until crispy.
LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN WITH CREAM SAUCE
Skillet chicken cooked with lemon pepper seasonings and served with a cream sauce is a fantastic simple meal. There’s so many ways to serve this awesome dinner.
LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN
As you already know, we’re obsessed with citrus. It’s such a versatile fruit that fills our garden and kitchen all year round. From cocktails to sauces and cooking, we eat and drink citrus every day. This lemon pepper chicken is a result of our obsession, especially when we’re needing a simple dinner. All cooked in a skillet, this is a favorite weeknight meal that always hits the spot. The bright and amazing flavors of our lemon cream sauce is another awesome recipe in itself. You can use it on veggies, for dipping or eggs. Yes, this lemon pepper sauce is awesome on poached eggs, scrambled or anytime you need a breakfast or brunch sauce.
SERVE IT LOW CARB (KETO) OR WITH PASTA
When we’re really hungry, we’ll serve this lemon pepper chicken with pasta. It’s a fresh way to enjoy pasta and sauce with bright flavors of lemon juice. Sometimes we’ll have a few slices of grilled bread and just dip it into the sauce while eating the chicken. There’s lots of options to enjoy this as a low carb or hearty meal. Regardless of how you serve it, we guarantee it’ll be on your regular rotation. It’s too easy to not want to make and the flavors will make you crave more of the lemon pepper cream sauce. If you have a few lemons lying around that need to be used, make the sauce! It’s worth making an extra batch of to save for later. You won’t regret it.
Enjoy,