Recipe and photographs by Julie of Redhead Can Decorate.
My family would happily eat pasta night after night, and this is one of the dishes I make with ingredients I usually have around. Spaghetti, chicken, spinach, tomatoes, and garlic come together in a skillet with a little tomato sauce and broth.
Ingredients
Serves 2–3.
- ½ pound spaghetti
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast, in chunks or whole breasts; cooked leftover chicken also works
- ½ cup leftover or jarred tomato sauce; I have also used V8 juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Olive oil, about 2–3 swirls around the pan
- About ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water
- 2 cups, or a large handful, cleaned fresh spinach
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped with their skins on
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Parmesan and fresh or dried basil, for serving
- Fresh sliced mushrooms, optional
Cook the chicken and spaghetti
- If starting with raw chicken, cook it in salted water until it reaches 165°F in the thickest part, then drain and cut into chunks if needed. My original version used frozen chicken pieces; follow any cooking directions on the package. The FDA’s safe-food-handling guidance gives 165°F as the minimum for poultry.
- While the chicken cooks, boil the spaghetti in salted water until al dente. I like using a large skillet for this dish, though you can cook the pasta in a pot.
- Reserve about ½ cup pasta water before draining. Put the pasta and reserved water into the skillet.
Bring everything together in the skillet
Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, olive oil, spinach, chopped tomatoes, garlic, and cooked chicken. Fold everything together over medium heat until thoroughly heated. If using leftover chicken, reheat the finished dish to 165°F.
Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into pasta bowls and finish with Parmesan and basil. I like crusty bread alongside it.
For another dinner from Julie, try her shrimp and sausage boil.
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