A sumptuous skillet pasta with chicken and veg built in.
This recipe begins by crisping chicken thighs in skillet, while waiting for noodles to boil. Once the skin is nicely browned the thighs are set aside and a creamy, cheesy sauce is made from the schmaltzy drippings left behind. Lemon and herbs are added to keep this rich, opulent sauce from becoming too heavy. The pasta and broccoli get coated in sauce and the chicken thighs are returned to the skillet. It then bakes together to meld and marry all the elements into one cohesive dish,
Creamy Baked Pasta with Broccoli and Crispy Skinned Chicken
This pasta–coated in creamy, cheesy sauce–may feel luxurious but with lemon for brightness, herbs for flavor, and broccoli for texture, it’s also a simple and well-balanced weeknight dinner. And you can never go wrong with a crispy, succulent chicken thigh to top it off.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 2 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 10 garlic cloves
- 8 oz short pasta such as campanelle or penne
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp thyme leaves
- 2 large sage leaves chopped
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 head (about 8 oz) broccoli cut into bite-sized florets
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta about a minute under the package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of pasta water then strain and return noodles to pot, toss with a splash of the pasta water to keep from drying out.
- While pasta is cooking heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a deep oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in the hot oil and allow to cook undisturbed for 10-12 minutes. Flip over and cook for 4 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add garlic to the remaining oil in the pan and cook, stirring frequently until browned, about 1-2 minutes. Remove to plate with a slotted spoon.
- Add flour to the remaining oil in the pan and whisk together for about 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk and then pasta water while whisking constantly. Increase heat to medium-high and continue whisking until it reaches a low boil then reduce heat to low and cook, still whisking, until sauce thickens to coat the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in cream cheese, Parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add the pasta, garlic, thyme, sage, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, and broccoli and mix together.
- Spread pasta into an even layer and place chicken thighs on top skin side up. Bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbling and chicken is cooked to 165°. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Any left-over pasta makes for a great lunch the next day.
