I came up with this recipe for chicken pasta casserole one evening on the way home from work in order to make use of the items I had on hand. For frigid winter evenings, it makes excellent comfort food!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups chopped mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 6 medium Roma tomatoes – peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped fresh spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese, or to taste
Instructions
- Spread chicken thighs on a clean work surface. Pat dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 of the Italian seasoning all over them.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs and brown for 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.
- Add onions to the same skillet and stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions just start to become tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and remaining Italian seasoning. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and return chicken thighs to the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken juices run clear, about 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove chicken to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Return chicken to the skillet and increase heat to medium. Add tomatoes and spinach. Cook and stir until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is tender, but still bright green, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream and balsamic vinegar; bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. If you prefer a creamier sauce, add more cream. Serve with shaved Parmesan cheese.
- You want 1 1/2 cups diced Roma tomatoes. You may need more than 6, or fewer, depending on size. After chopping your tomatoes, leave them in the strainer until ready to use.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 300 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 99 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 161 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Fairly easy to prepare. The flavors blend beautifully. Next time I’ll serve over rice so the delicious sauce isn’t wasted.
This recipe was very tasty!! Even my picky kids liked it. I wouldn’t change anything.
This was a tasty weeknight dinner. I doubled the protein by adding the same amount of chicken breasts to the thighs. Instead of cutting them after the cooking process I cubed the chicken and then pan fried them, in the beginning. Then followed the rest of the recipe. I loved the mushrooms in this dish. It added a beautiful earthiness. We ate this up so fast I forgot to take a picture.
Very enjoyable! Didn’t have spinach, so I substituted zucchini and broccoli. Served over pasta.
Easy and delicious! I didn’t have spinach so I used kale instead, came out great!