An easy, one pot chicken pasta recipe that feels a little bit rustic-fancy thanks to a swirl of whipped ricotta and smattering of sun dried tomato. Pro tip: use the oil from the sun dried tomato to sauté the chicken. Free flavour!
A one pot chicken pasta that’s a little bit (rustic) fancy
Whipped ricotta is a recent revelation for me. I’d seen it around for years, but assumed “whipped” meant dragging out the stand mixer – aka, too much effort for a Tuesday night.
Until my brother rolled his eyes and said, “It’s just ricotta, milk, and parmesan whisked by hand.” And just like that, in 10 seconds, lumpy ricotta turns into something creamy and dreamy – like savoury whipped cream, which then melts when dolloped on hot pasta.
Think of it as a lower fat version of cream. Swirl it through your midweek pasta and all of a sudden, it goes from “yum” to “are we in a trendy trattoria??!”. Definitely moves a quick one-pot pasta recipe into guest-worthy territory!
Actually, whipped ricotta had a starring role in my second cookbook, Tonight, as an easy way to elevate virtually any roasted vegetable to event-worthy (see the handy How to Roast Any Vegetable chart on page 218). I boldly said it would be your “new favourite sauce to create a statement veg side”. I stand by that! 🙂
Here it is with blistered cherry tomatoes in Tonight. Exceptional with roasted carrots, asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, mushrooms – pretty much any roasted vegetable!
Ingredients for Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta
While I’m providing commentary and substitution tips, there’s no need to get too pedantic about the ingredients for this recipe because it’s a reliable, fairly flexible midweeker. If the exactness of ingredients matter for a recipe, you will know! I will harp on and on about it!!
The whipped ricotta
Just ricotta, milk and parmesan for a savoury flavour boost (though I would absolutely make this without).
Ricotta – The ones sold in tubs at grocery stores aren’t great, then tend to be a little powdery. For better quality, buy it over the deli counter or get the vacuum-sealed ricotta sold in baskets. My go-to is Paesanella brand which is a widely available these days, even over the deli counter at grocery stores.
Milk – Any fat % is fine here.
Parmesan – For a flavour boost. Also, because the whipped ricotta is used here in place of the obligatory parmesan sprinkle that is typically used for pastas, so I like to build it in.
FOR THE ONE POT CHICKEN PASTA
Here’s what you need for the pasta. The sun dried tomato adds fabulous flavour pops, plus we use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. Free flavour – and free oil!
Chicken – I like to use boneless thighs as they stay juicier than breast in this form of cooking, where the chicken pieces are cooked with the pasta. But breast or tenderloin will work just fine in this recipe.
Sun dried tomato – Get the strips in oil. As noted above, we use the oil to cook the chicken – honestly, it adds lovely tomatoey flavour! If you accidentally got whole or tomato halves, have fun chopping….oily…slimy! Been there, done that! I’d still make this recipe if I didn’t have sun dried tomato but I’d add something to compensate. Something briny like chopped olives, capers, chargrilled capsicum or any anti-pasto type thing.
Canned tomato – I use crushed as it’s already semi broken down so it makes a nicer sauce. Though diced is fine too.
Tomato paste – For extra tomato flavour boost. I’d still make this if I was out.
Pasta – I used fusilli (spirals) but anything short and not too big will work. Think, penne, ziti, macaroni, small shells, farfalle (bow ties), casarecce, orecchiette. But not as small as risoni/orzo or as large as rigatoni.
Garlic and onion – Essential flavour base! Goes a long way with these one-pot pasta recipes.
Wine – Adds extra depth of flavour into an otherwise simple, quick-cook sauce. Preferably a dry white wine though I don’t hesitate to use leftover flat champagne, rose, red wine. Non alcoholic is an acceptable substitute though don’t go out of your way to get it.
Chicken stock/broth – The cooking liquid. Better than water. Though, water is actually pretty good too (we tried), just add a tad more salt. I always use low sodium stocks because I like to control the amount of salt myself.
How to make Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta
Is it technically a one pot recipe if I ask you to use a separate bowl to make the whipped ricotta?? Forgive me! (But it’s worth it, I promise).
Make whipped ricotta – Just mix the ricotta, parmesan and milk together using a hand whisk. At first, it will seem lumpy and thoroughly unimpressive, but after about 10 seconds of vigorous whisking it will loosen and transform into a soft creamy mixture almost like softly whipped cream. Adjustment note: Different brands of ricotta have different consistencies, so add a touch of extra milk if needed.
Sun dried tomato oil – Pour oil straight out of the jar into the pot and heat over high.
Seal chicken – Put the chicken into the pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the surface is sealed, but the inside is still raw, then take it out. It won’t brown, that’s ok. It’s still got flavour on it and it will absorb a stack more flavour in the next steps.
Saute – Leave the residual fat in the pan (some from the chicken, some sun dried tomato oil). Then sauté the onion and garlic first until the onion is translucent (about 3 minutes). Then cook the sun dried tomato and tomato paste for 1 minute. This will cook out the raw sour flavour in the tomato paste and bring out the flavours in the sun dried tomatoes.
Liquids and raw pasta – Add the wine and let it simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until mostly evaporated, stirring the base of the pot. This will cook out the alcohol (making it kid friendly) and loosen the gold bits stuck on the base of the pot (it’s called fond) which is free flavour that will make your sauce taster.
Then stir in the cooked chicken (plus any juices accumulated in the bowl) and raw pasta – get it nicely coated in all that flavour – before adding the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper.
Cook – Bring the liquid to a boil then lower the heat to about medium high so it’s simmering energetically but not wildly boiling. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes at first then every minute for the last 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t catch on the base of the pot. You might find you need to lower the heat towards the end if it is getting stuck to the pot.
How to tell it’s ready – When the liquid has been mostly absorbed by the pasta – but it will still seem a little too soupy – the pasta should be just done, ie al dente. This means it’s not overly soft but there is no hard raw uncooked pasta inside.
A little too soupy is good. Pasta absorbs liquid at a shockingly high rate. So a little too liquidy when it comes off the stove is good because it means the pasta will be perfectly slippery and saucy rather than dry and stodgy by the time you take the first bite.
Swirl with whipped ricotta – Just before serving, stir the basil through the pasta, then either transfer all the pasta into a large serving bowl or indvidual bowls. Then dollop large scoops of the ricotta across the surface of the pasta and randomly smear it (or let people do that part themselves). There are no rules here! You could just put one big dollop in the middle of the pasta. Then it’s time to dig in!
Sneaking in extra vegetables
My mother did an excellent job brain washing me as a kid so I have it drilled in my head that it’s not a proper meal without a sufficient amount of vegetables.
I feel like this recipe is a wee bit short. The canned tomatoes and onion count, but it’s not very much per person.
If you want a quick addition of extra vegetables, feel free to stir in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach or add a grated zucchini and carrot at the same time you sauté the onion.
Else, make up a quick leafy side salad or steam some broccoli and toss with a simple salad dressing. It’s all you need – the pasta is juicy and bold on flavour, so you can keep the side dish simple.
Love to know what you think if you give this a go!
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