This zesty pizza-inspired chicken penne pasta is ready in just 30 minutes, making it a perfect dish to alternate with other favorite weeknight favorites.
When a stir-fry recipe meets Italian ingredients, you get a delicious chicken penne pasta that everyone at the table will love. Recipe contributor Janeen Longfellow of Wolcottville, Indiana, pulled together pantry staples, fresh vegetables and chicken for one of the easiest weeknight dinners, and it’s been a big hit with her family ever since.
Quickly cook sliced chicken, bell pepper, and aromatics in a wok or nonstick skillet, then add penne pasta, tomatoes, jarred sauce, mushrooms and seasonings. Oozy mozzarella cheese melted on top completes the tasty combination. This effortless meal reheats easily, making it an excellent recipe for work lunches or leftovers during the week.
Ingredients for Chicken Penne Pasta
- Chicken breast: Slice boneless skinless chicken breasts into quick-cooking strips for this speedy recipe. You can use chicken thighs, but they’ll take longer to cook.
- Penne pasta: A tube-shaped pasta like penne holds the sauce well. Cook the pasta the right way, with plenty of water and salt, before adding it to this dish, and save some of the water for thinning out the sauce later, if needed.
- Pizza sauce: Keep things easy by using a top-pick store-bought pizza sauce. Or, if you have more time, make your own zesty pizza sauce.
- Vegetables: Thinly sliced bell peppers, onions and minced garlic are cooked with the chicken before adding cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Here’s how to cut peppers so that the seeds are easy to remove. The best types of fresh mushrooms for this type of pasta include cremini or white button mushrooms.
- Olive oil: Use one of the best olive oil brands for everyday cooking. Save the good extra virgin olive oils for drizzling or dressings.
- Italian seasoning: Italian seasoning, which usually includes dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram, helps amplify the flavors of the pizza sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese: The finishing touch on the chicken penne pasta is a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese that melts right on top.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the pasta
Cook the penne pasta according to the package directions and then drain.
Editor’s Tip: Save about 1 cup of pasta water for thinning the sauce, if needed.
Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients
In a nonstick wok, stir-fry the chicken, pepper, mushrooms, onion and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink.
Add the cooked pasta, tomatoes, sauce and seasonings, and heat through.
Step 3: Finish with cheese
Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle with cheese, and let stand until the cheese melts.
Chicken Penne Pasta Variations
- Use frozen vegetables: Look for bagged stir-fry vegetable blends of bell peppers and onions to help save prep time.
- Add a little spice: Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or sliced jarred Italian hot peppers to give this dish a spicy kick.
- Use a different meat: Replace the sliced chicken with sliced cooked sausage, or cook ground beef, sausage, turkey or chicken before adding the sauce and other ingredients.
How to Store Chicken Penne Pasta
Once the chicken and penne pasta recipe has cooled, transfer it to tightly sealed food storage containers to protect the flavor and quality. Store the pasta dish in the refrigerator for up to four days.
How should you reheat chicken penne pasta?
Chicken and penne pasta recipes are easy to reheat for dinner or a late-night snack. Reheat it on the stovetop in a wok or large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until heated through. You can also spoon some of the pasta into a heat-proof dish and microwave it in 45-second bursts, stirring after each one, until it’s hot.
Chicken Penne Pasta Tips
Can you make this with a different type of pasta?
Yes, you can make chicken and penne pasta recipes with other short pasta shapes. Try rotini, cavatappi, ziti or medium shells.
What can you serve with chicken penne pasta?
This is a quick-cooking dinner, so keep the sides simple as well. Serve chicken penne pasta with buttery garlic bread, or pull some homemade crescent rolls from the freezer to warm up. Or, true to their name, no-fuss rolls are an easy way to enjoy fresh-baked bread spread with butter alongside this dish.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small green pepper, julienned
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions
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1Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a nonstick wok, stir-fry the chicken, pepper, onion and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, sauce and seasoning; heat through. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand until melted.
