This easy creamy one pot chicken broccoli pasta is a simple creamy pasta dish you can make on busy weeknights. Creamy bites of curly pasta tossed with cubed chicken and fresh broccoli florets make up a satisfying and complete meal in just a couple of minutes.
Seasoned chicken tenderloins cook in just minutes and get tossed in the same pot with short pasta, lightly steamed nutritious broccoli, and a quick creamy pasta sauce that holds everything together.
Make simple one pot meals like this on busy nights when you want an easy and satisfying pasta dinner recipe that has it all: bites of juicy tender chicken, pasta, and vibrant broccoli greens. It’s quite similar to a chicken broccoli alfredo with a fuss-free short type of pasta instead of long flat fettuccine pasta.
You can also make this easy one-skillet meal when you need to use up extra leftover pasta in the fridge. Just make the sauce, toss in the pasta, and add the greens + chicken. Dinner is served!
Put this quick broccoli pasta recipe together in minutes with a handful of everyday ingredients.
Ingredients To Make An Easy Creamy One Pot Pasta
- Your favorite cooked short pasta – such as curly rotini pasta or even penne pasta prepared in advance by dropping into a boiling pot of water and cooking until just al dente. Drain, cover, and set aside.
- Chicken tenders – a one pound pack of chicken tenderloin pieces.
- Fresh broccoli florets – to lightly steam and toss in with pasta and chicken.
- Coarse salt and cracked pepper
- Olive oil
- Fresh garlic cloves – minced
- Butter
- Red chopped onion or shallot – fine diced
- All purpose flour
- Whole milk or half & half cream
- Softened cream cheese – such as Philadelphia cream cheese
- Fresh ground parmesan cheese
Make Easy Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Creamy Sauce
Make a Creamy garlic Parmesan Sauce with Cream Cheese
One Pot Pasta Variations and Ideas:
- You can serve this easy creamy pasta dinner meatless (or vegetarian) by preparing the dish with just the pasta, the sauce, and adding the lightly steamed broccoli on top.
- This easy recipe is a great way to use up leftover cooked pasta too. Just toss it in, heat through, and serve.
- If you have already cooked chicken such as rotisserie chicken, or leftover cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, you can cube it and use as ready-made ingredients to finish the dish. All you need to do is cook the sauce and add the greens.
- If desired, you can grill the chicken tenderloins on a greased grill grate for 3 to 4 minutes on each side (or until cooked through). It adds a delicious grilled smoky flavor to the finished pasta dish.
- Use your favorite greens. I like the texture and flavor of broccoli with this cream cheese alfredo type sauce, but you can choose your favorite! You can swap the broccoli in this recipe for fresh spinach. Just toss fresh spinach leaves in at the end. Let them wilt into the warm sauce and pasta by stirring in.
- Add in gently blanched asparagus spears ​and toss in to coat.
- Add frozen green peas and let heat through until tender. One and a half cup of frozen peas can be added and tossed in to heat through and coat for a few minutes with the heat on low. The combination of both asparagus spears and peas go nicely together with the creamy pasta sauce.
An Easy One Pot Chicken Broccoli Pasta for quick bites on busy nites!
A few simple ingredients like fresh garlic, diced onion, parmesan cheese, and a hint of cream cheese will add loads of flavor to this simple sauce. You’ll get a quick creamy pasta sauce with rich flavor in minutes. Use it to coat your pasta, veggies, and chicken. You can tie everything together into a quick weeknight dinner that has it all!
If you love easy broccoli dinner recipes, try this easy smoky broccoli chicken pasta, this easy grilled shrimp with broccoli, or a simple roasted broccoli and green apple sausage sheet pan dinner! Keep those healthy greens coming when you whip up a quick one pot chicken spinach pasta dinner, too!
One Pot Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Cream Cheese and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3½ cups Cooked Short Pasta - I'm using curly rotini pasta
- 1 lb Chicken Tenderloin Pieces
- 4 cups Fresh Broccoli Florets - lightly steamed for 3 minutes
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic - minced
- ¼ cup Red Onion - fine diced
- 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Whole Milk or Half and Half
- 1 tbsp Cream Cheese - softened – such as Philadelphia cream cheese
- 2 tbsp Ground Parmesan
- ½ tsp Coarse Salt
- ½ tsp Cracked Ground Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil - plus more for pan as needed while cooking chicken
Instructions
- Add your favorite cooked short pasta to a bowl and set aside. If not prepared, drop into a pot of boiling water and prepare 'al dente' according to package directions.
- Steam broccoli florets on medium high heat for 3 minutes then transfer to a bowl and set aside.Â
- Season and coat chicken tenderloin pieces with a 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and a 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper plus 1 tbsp of good fruity olive oil.
- Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the bottom of a large skillet. Cook chicken tenderloin pieces over medium-high heat for about four minutes on each side (flipping once in between). When cooking time is up, remove cooked chicken from the pan, transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with foil.
- In the same pan you used to cook the chicken, toss in the butter and melt butter in pan on low (so as not to let the garlic burn).  Toss in minced garlic plus 1/4 cup of fine diced red onion.  Cook on gentle heat until onion is golden, translucent, and caramelized, and garlic is fragrant and tender, about another 2 to 5 minutes.
- Switch to a whisk and sprinkle in all purpose flour whisking it in until it forms a golden brown paste. Cook for 1 to 2 more minutes until nutty smell from the flour is gone.
- Splash in the whole milk or half n half cream. Whisk it in constantly as you pour and let come to a light simmer whisking until just lightly thickened to coat a spoon.Â
- Melt in the softened cream cheese plus the ground Parmesan cheese and whisk to combine. Immediately turn off the heat (as the sauce will continue to thicken with added heat). If too thick, thin out by adding a splash more cream or milk and whisk in.  Taste and check seasoning.  If needed, season to desired taste with pinches of coarse salt/cracked pepper.
- Cut cooked chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces and toss into the pan with creamy white cheese sauce.
- Toss in cooked short pasta plus prepared broccoli florets and stir all ingredients together in the same wide pan to combine.  Sprinkle with additional ground parmesan and minced parsley.  Serve hot.
