My love for one pot meals has no bounds! This one is a creamy spaghetti dish, bulked up with asparagus and tender chunks of chicken breast. An all-in-one meal that the entire family can enjoy. The best part: only one pot to clean once the meal is over. Ready in under half an hour, this spaghetti is creamy, filling, delicious, and surprisingly lightened-up. If you are looking for a delicious way to add veggies to your day, make this one pot creamy spaghetti with asparagus and chicken.
What you will need to make one pot creamy spaghetti with asparagus and chicken
Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make this recipe:
- chicken breast
- This recipe uses raw chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces. It cooks partially, and then continues cooking as it simmers with the pasta and asparagus later on.
- Italian seasoning
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- kosher salt
- oregano
- fresh parsley
- fresh basil
- spaghetti
- I used Barilla Plus Protein Spaghetti, as a way to get more protein into this dish; you can use any variety of pasta you prefer. Just make sure to update your nutritional information accordingly.
- asparagus
- This recipe uses 2 bunches of asparagus, which yielded about 5 cups of asparagus.
- shallots
- garlic
- chicken broth
- unsweetened cashew milk
- I like using cashew milk because it is thick and creamy; you can also use almond milk or skim milk.
- reduced fat cream cheese
- I use this 1/3 reduced fat Philadelphia cream cheese.
- Pecorino Romano cheese
How to make this one pot chicken and pasta dish
Cooking the chicken
This recipe is made completely in one pot, which is the key to building flavor in this pasta. To start the dish, preheat a Dutch Oven or large pot over medium high heat, and add olive oil spray. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, and toss it with the spice blend (garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, kosher salt).
Cook the chicken in two batches; this is key to getting a golden brown color on the outside of the chicken pieces, and it prevents the chicken from over crowding and steaming. Steaming chicken while over crowding your pan results in that gray-colored chicken, with a not-so-desirable texture.
Cook the chicken for about 2-3 minutes per side, and then remove it from the pot and repeat this process for the remaining chicken. The chicken will not be cooked through at this point, but will continue cooking later on as it simmers in the liquid with the pasta and asparagus.
Cooking the pasta and asparagus
Once the chicken is cooked and removed from the pot, add more olive oil spray, followed by the sliced shallots. Cook the shallots for 5 minutes or until tender. Then, add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Add the chicken broth and milk to the pot, followed by the zest and juice of a lemon. Bring this mixture to a boil. Chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces, and add the partially-cooked chicken, asparagus, and uncooked pasta to the pot. Stir to submerge the pasta in the liquid.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cook the pasta for 12-15 minutes, or until tender.
Stir in the cream cheese, pecorino romano, additional spices, and fresh herbs. Taste for seasoning.
This recipe makes 6 servings at a huge portion size of 2 cups each. It is filling and delicious.
One Pot Creamy Spaghetti with Asparagus and Chicken
Equipment
- dutch oven or large pot
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lbs chicken breast, raw; cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Pasta
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
- 14.5 oz protein spaghetti, used: Barilla Plus Spaghetti (one box)
- 5 cups asparagus, raw, cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 bunches
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup parsley, fresh
- 1/4 cup basil, fresh
Instructions
- Combine the spices for the chicken.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes, and toss in the spice blend.
- Preheat a Dutch Oven or large pot over medium high heat, and spray with olive oil spray.
- Cook the chicken in two batches, careful not to overcrowd the pot (this steams the chicken). Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
- The chicken will not be cooked through at this point; remove the chicken from the pot and set aside, and repeat with the remaining pieces.
- Slice the shallots and mince the garlic.
- Add more olive oil spray to the pot, and add the shallots. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender.
- Chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add the broth and milk to the pot, along with the zest and juice of the lemon.
- Bring this liquid to a boil, and then add the chicken back to the pot, along with the uncooked pasta and the asparagus.
- Reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the asparagus is tender and the pasta is cooked.
- Stir in the cream cheese, romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, and salt.
- Stir in the fresh herbs. Taste for seasoning.
Nutrition
You might also enjoy these one pot dishes:
One Pot Healthy Chicken Parm Pasta
Healthy One Pot Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
One Pot Lighter Cheesy Chicken Rice and Broccoli
One Pot Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Sausage
Judy says
I was thinking of swapping the chicken for shrimp. Should I just put them in raw???
Christy Jordan Allen says
It was amazing!! I will definitely be doing this again!!
Mary says
I really love the flavor of this recipe. I think I may have cooked it too long bc it reheated really dry but its still really tasty. I will make adjustments next time but overall it’s really great!
Krista says
Another amazing filling flavorful one pot recipe!
amy says
Made this tonight! It was delicious and who doesn’t love a one pot meal?!
Julia says
This recipe is really good!! Will definitely be making it again!
Brittany says
It was really tasty the day I made it but it was kind of dry reheating it. It also makes a lot! If I had more people in my family that enjoyed asparagus I would make it again 🙂
Fii M. says
Wow! This dish came out really good! I thought I messed it up but trusted the process and continued cooking. The lemon really helps the cream pop! My husband loved this dish, I will be making it again. And again. And again! I would also like to try this with shrimp next time, I think it will come out equally delicious!
Melissa says
Love this dish! I added mushrooms and broccoli for some extra veg/bulk since I try to watch my carbs and it was amazing.
Brandy says
We LOVE this recipe!! Definitely a family favorite already. I love a one pot meal & this one is comforting yet healthy & so yummy.
Jo says
Amazing! I threw in some hearts of palm pasta to add more veggies and you couldn’t taste a difference. So creamy and filling!
Coleen says
This is soooo good! A very good filling meal. Will be making this a lot!
Erica says
I’m obsessed with all Steph’s recipes but this one missed the mark. It was expensive to make and in the end had little flavor. It did make a huge amount, which I sadly threw away.
Chicken $10
Cream cheese $5
Romano cheese $5
Chicken broth $4
Asparagus $8
Protein pasta $4
Lemon $2
I had the milk and spices. I did not add the fresh basil as I did not want to spend one more penny for this $38+ meal.
Meghan says
Came together so easily and I love a one pot meal! I used skim milk because it’s what I had and it came out perfectly. Happy with how much it makes too— Plenty of leftovers.