One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta

This One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta has me doing a happy dance, and I’m so excited to share the recipe with you. I can’t get over how tasty this is, and if you don’t want to take my word for it, when my husband tasted it he just said “wow.” This dish offers all the saucy, cheesy, meaty goodness you want in a one-pot pasta meal, and you’ll never believe it’s lightened up. The sauce has really rich depth of flavor. The garlic panko breadcrumbs smell like garlic bread (mmm…) and give the flavor and texture of chicken parmesan coating without having to bread the chicken.

I love hiding veggies in my pasta sauce and shredding a whole zucchini in here worked perfectly. If you have any picky eaters in your family, I’m fairly sure they won’t even notice. The whole recipe cooks in one pot for less dishes to wash, which is always a win in my book. This is one dinner I’m definitely going to make again and again. Plus, a satisfying 1 & 2/3 cups serving of this dish is just 417 calories or 9 WW Points on the current Weight Watchers plan! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Serving Size

This One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta serves six and has a generous and satisfying serving size of 1 & 2/3 cups each. If you want a smaller serving, you can alternatively split the dish into eight servings of 1 & ¼ cups each for 313 calories or 7 WW Points per serving.

Before topping with cheese and breadcrumbs!

Ingredient Notes

• Cheeses: This uses both freshly shredded Parmesan and shredded 2% milk Mozzarella cheese. I always shred the Parmesan myself because I think it tastes and melts better that way, but I am perfectly happy buying a bag of pre-shredded Mozzarella made with 2% milk.
• Breadcrumbs: I like to use panko here because it’s crunchier than some other breadcrumbs. You can use whole wheat panko if that’s what you have on hand. I highly recommend not skipping the step where you toast the breadcrumbs with the minced garlic. It smells like garlic bread while cooking and adds so much flavor and color to the dish.
• Pasta: I use penne in this dish and it works great – recommended! However, if you have a different medium-sized shape of pasta on hand I’m sure that will work fine as well. Rotini, ziti, radiatore, or medium shells should all work well.
• Sauce: This sauce uses canned tomato sauce and chicken broth as a base and seasons it with onion, garlic, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, and the sauce will thicken as the liquid is absorbed by the pasta. I honestly wouldn’t recommend skipping or changing a thing here, because I love the way this sauce turned out. It has great flavor!

More Tasty Lightened-Up One-Pot Meals

One-Pot meals are one of my favorite types of recipes. I love the ease and simplicity, and I really love not having to wash a pile of pots and pans. If you’re looking for more tasty One-Pot recipes like this One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta, check out my One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta, Chicken Taco Rice Skillet, One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese, Maple Dijon Chicken and Squash Skillet, One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta, One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta, One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Chicken Pot Pasta, Lemon Chicken Orzo, Beefy American Goulash, Rustic Sausage and Potato Skillet, and so many more in the One-Pot Meals category of my recipe index!

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5 from 4 votes

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One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Calories: 417kcal

This One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta has all the saucy, cheesy, meaty goodness you want in a one-pot meal, lightened up!

Yield: 6 (1 & 2/3 cups) servings

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
• ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 cups lower sodium chicken broth
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 12 oz penne or other medium-sized pasta
• 2 oz shredded 2% milk Mozzarella cheese
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly shredded (I use a box grater)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

• Lightly mist a 5 QT Dutch oven or a large pot with cooking spray and bring over medium-high heat. Add one teaspoon of the minced garlic and the ¼ cup of panko breadcrumbs to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Transfer this panko mixture to a side plate and return the pot to the stovetop.
• Add a tablespoon of the olive oil to the pot and bring over medium-high heat. Add the chicken chunks to the pot and stir to coat with the oil. Sprinkle the chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot and transfer it to a side dish. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil to keep it warm.
• Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and bring to medium heat. Add the chopped onion and shredded zucchini and stir together. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until the onions are softened. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tablespoon of tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for another minute, stirring a few times.
• Add the chicken broth, both cans (23 oz total) of tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir together. Add the pasta and stir again. Turn the heat up to med-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to med-low to simmer. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring the ingredients every few minutes to make sure the pasta gets rotated and doesn’t stick to the bottom.
• When the pasta is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed, remove the pot from heat. Stir in the reserved chicken you cooked in step two until well combined. Sprinkle the shredded Mozzarella over the top of the pasta, followed by the shredded Parmesan, and finally the toasted garlic breadcrumbs.
• Make sure you have an oven rack positioned in the top third of your oven and set your oven to broil. Once the broiler is heated, place the pot on the oven rack and broil for about 1-2 minutes until the cheeses are melted and the top is golden (all ovens are different, keep an eye on your topping while it’s under the broiler). Sprinkle the chopped basil over the top and serve.

Notes

WW Points per (1 & 2/3 cups) serving: 9 (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Nutrition Information per (1 & 2/3 cups) serving:
417 calories, 61 g carbs, 10 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 32 g protein, 5 g fiber, 975 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
11 per (1 & 2/3 cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)

Inspired by Eating Well

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: One-Pot Meals, Weight Watchers, WW Pasta, WW Points