Freezer Friendly One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

Pasta is always a family favorite dinner. And when you can cook a delicious pasta dinner in a single pot, that recipe is sure to become a go-to in your dinner rotation! This easy one pot chicken pasta features a creamy, cheesy sauce everyone in the family will love. But the best part about this dinner idea is that you can make it ahead of time and store the ingredients in your freezer until you’re ready to start cooking.

One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed in 1/2″ cubes
  
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
  
• 2 cloves garlic. minced
  
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 2 teaspoons parsley
  
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes, drained
  
• 3 cups chicken broth
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
  
• 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
  

For day of cooking:

• 2 1/2 cups penne pasta

Assembly Instructions:

1. Place the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese in a medium sized freezer bag and seal the bag closed. Set it aside.
2. In a large freezer bag, combine the cooked chicken, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, parsley, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Squeeze the ingredients together to mix. Remove excess air from the bag and seal to close the bag.
3. Staple the small bag with the cheese to the large bag above the zipper. Freeze the ingredients until you’re ready to prepare the pasta.

Cooking instructions:

1. Transfer the meal to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
2. Pour the contents of the bag into a large skillet. Bring the liquid to a boil, then add the penne pasta. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, which should take around 15 minutes.
3. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and allow the cheese to melt before serving.

How Do You Store Creamy Chicken Pasta?

If you have leftover pasta when dinner is over, it’s easy to store them to enjoy later. Just transfer the pasta to an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to reheat it. The pasta will stay good for up to four days.

To reheat your chicken pasta, you can cook it in the microwave. Or place the leftover pasta in a skillet and cook over low heat until the ingredients are warmed through.

One Pot Chicken Pasta Recipe Ideas

This amazing pasta dish is perfect for a busy weeknight because it can be prepared in under 30 minutes. And since this simple recipe is also easy to adjust, it’s a great way to feed your family – even if you’re short on time. Try these recipe ideas as you’re planning your weekly menu to create a delicious one-pot dinner this week.

• Mix in some bacon. Add tons of flavor to your pasta dinner with the addition of cooked bacon. After cooking your bacon, chop it into small pieces and add the small pieces of the bacon into the bag with the rest of the pasta ingredients.
• Add some veggies. You can easily make your pasta dinner a little healthier by adding a few vegetables to the dish. There are several vegetables that would pair well with the other ingredients in this one-pot dish, including broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, bell pepper, and zucchini.
• Use different types of pasta. Penne pasta is my favorite pasta to serve with this creamy sauce. But if you don’t have any penne on hand, you can use a variety of different pasta types with this recipe. This recipe would also taste great with bowtie pasta, elbow macaroni, rotini, angel hair, or fettucine. You can even swap the traditional pasta for whole wheat or gluten free varieties.

How Do I Thicken Creamy Pasta Sauce?

There’s nothing better than a creamy sauce on top of chicken and pasta! But nothing ruins a plate of pasta more than runny sauce. Luckily, it’s easy to thicken your creamy pasta sauce with just a few extra minutes of cooking.

• Simmer the sauce longer. The easiest way to thicken your pasta sauce is to let it continue cooking. Allowing the pasta sauce to simmer longer with give it more time to reduce, causing the sauce to thicken as it cooks.
• Add some cheese. If you’re tired of waiting for your sauce to reduce, you can also thicken the sauce with the help of cheese. Mixing in some parmesan or mozzarella cheese with the sauce will help make it a little creamier and a little less runny.
• Stir in some cornstarch. Another quick way to thicken your sauce is with the help of cornstarch. Start by stirring two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water. Then, pour the mixture into your pan and allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes. As the sauce cooks, the cornstarch will help it thicken.

What to Serve with Creamy Chicken Pasta?

Since this delicious recipe features chicken, tomatoes, and pasta, it’s the perfect one-pot meal. But if you want to add a few other options to the table for dinner, try serving your chicken pasta with one of these easy side dishes.

• Garlic bread
• Dinner rolls
• Side salad
• Corn on the cob
• Steamed or roasted vegetables
• Caesar salad