So excited to share one of my all time favorite recipes with you. I can’t believe I haven’t passed it on until now. This is a one of the dishes my mom made for us growing up and I loved the way the house smelled each time she made it. The same holds true for my family. It’s super easy but has fantastic flavor and I love hearing every one in the house say, “That smells so good!” And you can make this gluten-free, too. Thanks to mom, here is the recipe for Spinach & Chicken Pasta.
Oven Temp: 400 degrees. Cooking Time: 45 mins. Serves: 5. Prep time: 15 minutes From: Sunset Magazine
ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp dry basil
- 3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 8 chicken thighs (I use boneless, skinless)
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach
- 8 oz linguine or spaghetti
- 1 C. grated parmesan cheese ( I skip this)
- salt to taste
- 1 small orange for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Thaw spinach under running water in a colander. Squeeze out the liquid. Set aside.
Melt butter in a 12 x 15 pan in a 400 degree oven. Mix onion, garlic, basil and red pepper with the melted butter. Lay chicken on top skin up (or skinless). Bake 45 minutes or until browned (may only take 35 if boneless, small thighs).
After chicken has cooked about 20 minutes, boil water to cook the pasta. Drain.
When chicken is done, lift it from the pan and place in a dish. Cover with foil to keep warm. Add spinach to the pan and scrape up any browned bits from the pan to incorporate into the spinach. Add pasta and parmesan (optional). Mix well using two forks to lift and combine repeatedly. Season with salt. It’s sooooo good!
Serve chicken atop pasta. Use an orange slice to garnish.
TIPS: Do not spray pan with anything prior to making this dish. You want the onions and garlic to brown. Be sure you use fresh chicken. Using thawed, frozen chicken only works if you make sure it’s 100% thawed otherwise the recipe will be watery.
GLUTEN FREE TIP: I made this with a gluten-free brown rice noodle from Trader Joes and it was delicious. No one knew the difference. And truth be told I thought I was buying whole wheat pasta but I wasn’t. So I inadvertently tested out the gluten-free version and it passed the taste test with flying colors!
This really does rank up there as one of my all time favorite dishes. Amazing comfort food. There is something about the aroma of this dish while it’s cooking. If you try it, please let me know!
More Scrumptious Dishes
Classic Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Chicken & Vegetable Lettuce Wraps
Meat and Cheese Platter {with how to video}
Courtney – I just made this dinner tonight. It was delicious! I plan to make this often. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe. 🙂
This looks fantastic! I love spinach in pasta. Found your post at Family Joy Link Party
I love every ingredient in this dish, yum! Pinning for later, thanks for sharing!
This looks awesome. Pasta is my favorite! Thanks for sharing at the Family Joy Blog Link Party this week!!
We will just love your Spinach, Chicken and Pasta dish it looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with us at Full Plate Thursday! Hope you are having a wonderful week and hope to see you soon!
Miz Helen
Just made this tonight and we all gobbled it up… even the 1 year old and 5 year old! Easy to prep and so yummy. I added a squish of lemon juice at the end. Delicious! Thank you!
Courtney,
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I used fresh spinach and just a touch of parmesan. It’s a keeper! Sunset has great recipes, thanks for sharing!