Tomato, Basil and Chicken Pasta
Spaghetti tossed in a quick and easy tomato sauce with fragrant basil and tender chicken breast. These simple but classic ingredients come together to make a dish that is fresh and indulgent. Perfect any night of the week.
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 592kcal
Equipment
- Frying pan or skillet I use my Always Pan
- Spatula or wooden spoon
- large pot for cooking pasta
- Kitchen tongs
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast
- 400 gram tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp dried basil
- small bunch fresh basil chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- grated parmesan to garnish
- 180 grams spaghetti or pasta of your choice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a deep pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions with a ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for about 5 minutes until beginning to soften.
- Stir in the chopped garlic, dried basil, tomato puree and a pinch of black pepper (about 1/8 tsp - you can add more or less to taste). Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Meanwhile, slice the chicken breast in half lengthways to create two thinner cutlets - this will help the chicken cook quickly and evenly. Season each cutlet lightly with salt and pepper.
- Add the tin of chopped tomatoes to the pan, then refill the tin halfway with water. Swirl around to pick up any tomato bit left in the tin, then pour the tomato water into the pan as well.
- Give everything a good stir, then bring to a slow bubbling boil.
- Add the chicken breast cutlets to the pan. They should hopefully be fully submerged in the tomato sauce mixture, but if you are using a wider pan and the chicken is slightly exposed spoon some of the sauce over the chicken pieces, and make sure to flip them over halfway through cooking.
- Turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente - usually about 1-2 minutes under the packet cooking times. Drain, making sure to reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and use two forks to shred. Stir the shredded chicken breast back into the tomato sauce, along with the chopped fresh basil.
- Stir in the pasta, along with two tablespoons of pasta cooking water. Use tongs to stir everything well to combine, and add more pasta water if needed to get your desired consistency of sauce.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan and additional fresh basil.
Nutrition
Calories: 592kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 428mg | Potassium: 1141mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 314IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 4mg