FridgeToTable

What to Make With Chicken and Pasta: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners

Pasta and chicken is the dinner that feels like you tried, even when the sauce is just garlic and the water the pasta cooked in. Cut the chicken small. A whole breast will not finish with a pot of noodles. These three are a lemon skillet, a one-pot tomato, and a broccoli-free garlic butter toss. All of them land inside 30 minutes. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.

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Quick picks: 3 dinners with chicken and pasta in 30 minutes or less

Fastest option: a 20-minute dinner

20 min

Garlic butter chicken and pasta

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

A short garlic-butter sauce, pasta, and cooked or quickly seared chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken
  • 12 oz pasta
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Cook the pasta in salted water. Cut the chicken small and sear it with the salt until just done.
  2. Add the butter and garlic to the skillet. Let the garlic smell sweet, not brown.
  3. Toss the pasta through with a spoon of pasta water.
  4. Taste. Butter without salt tastes flat. The pasta water may have done the job.

Keeps: Fridge for 2 days. The butter sauce firms up and still tastes good.

One-pan or sheet-pan option

28 min

One-pot chicken pasta

Total time, start to plate · One pot · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Bite-size chicken and dry pasta simmer in tomato in one pot.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken
  • 8 oz pasta
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cloves garlic

Steps

  1. Cut the chicken small so it cooks as fast as the pasta. Salt it and brown it in a pot.
  2. Add the garlic and tomatoes, then the water and dry pasta.
  3. Simmer until the pasta is tender and the chicken is opaque, stirring so nothing sticks.
  4. Rest 3 minutes. Taste for salt. Tomato and pasta both want it.

Keeps: Fridge for 3 days.

The other dinner

22 min

Lemon chicken pasta

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Small pieces of chicken, lemon, and garlic tossed with pasta.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken
  • 12 oz pasta
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Boil the pasta in salted water and save a cup of that water. Cut the chicken into small pieces and salt it.
  2. Sear the chicken in a skillet in one layer until just cooked. Scoop it out.
  3. Add the garlic and lemon juice to the pan with a splash of pasta water.
  4. Toss the pasta and chicken back in. The chicken should be juicy, not simmered to strings.

Keeps: Fridge for 3 days.

Make it with leftovers

Shredded cooked chicken belongs in the lemon skillet and the garlic toss at the end. Don't boil it in the one-pot for the whole pasta time or it dries. Leftover pasta can take the skillet sauces. The one-pot still wants dry pasta.

More dinners from leftovers

Pantry staples you'll need

  • Salt
  • Garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon
  • Tomato paste
  • Butter

No pasta: the lemon chicken is a bowl over rice. No chicken: the garlic pasta still feeds people, and sausage and pasta is the louder version.

When there is nothing in the fridge

Picky-eater and healthy tweaks

Butter, pasta, and plain chicken is the garlic card with the lemon served on the side. Tomato is the red bowl if that is what they trust. Skip chili.

A modest slick of butter or oil is enough if you salt the pasta water. You don't need a cup of cream. Add spinach at the end if the fridge has it.

More dinners in under 30 minutes

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Related dinners

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Questions

What can I make with chicken and pasta in 20 minutes?

Garlic butter chicken and pasta takes 20 minutes, start to plate. A short garlic-butter sauce, pasta, and cooked or quickly seared chicken.

What's the easiest dinner with chicken and pasta?

Lemon chicken pasta is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 22 minutes. Small pieces of chicken, lemon, and garlic tossed with pasta.

Can I make this with leftover or cooked chicken?

Shredded cooked chicken belongs in the lemon skillet and the garlic toss at the end. Don't boil it in the one-pot for the whole pasta time or it dries. Leftover pasta can take the skillet sauces. The one-pot still wants dry pasta.

What else can I add to chicken and pasta for a full meal?

The cards already use chicken, pasta, lemon. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.

Is chicken and pasta a healthy dinner?

A modest slick of butter or oil is enough if you salt the pasta water. You don't need a cup of cream. Add spinach at the end if the fridge has it.

How do I make chicken and pasta kid-friendly?

Butter, pasta, and plain chicken is the garlic card with the lemon served on the side. Tomato is the red bowl if that is what they trust. Skip chili.

Can I make chicken and pasta in one pan or a sheet pan?

One-pot chicken pasta uses one pot and takes 28 minutes. Bite-size chicken and dry pasta simmer in tomato in one pot.

What if I don't have pasta?

No pasta: the lemon chicken is a bowl over rice. No chicken: the garlic pasta still feeds people, and sausage and pasta is the louder version.