Description
A delightful one-pot meal featuring chicken, asparagus, artichokes, and pasta in a creamy cheese sauce, perfect for spring weeknights or dinner parties.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup fat free milk
- 1/3 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/3 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- Olive oil spray
- Kosher salt to taste
- Fresh pepper to taste
- 6 ounces fresh thin asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces bow tie pasta
- 2 medium leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered if necessary
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- In a small blender, combine milk, grated cheese, and cream cheese and set aside.
- Season chicken with cajun seasoning.
- Heat a large pot over high heat, spray with oil, and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper, cook until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- Add a splash of broth to the pot to scrape browned bits, then add remaining broth, cream cheese mixture, pasta, and leeks. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Check for doneness of pasta and adjust cooking time if necessary.
- When pasta is ready, add asparagus and artichokes, stir gently, cover, and cook until asparagus is crisp-tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.
- Uncover, add chicken and its juices, and peas, stir to combine, and cook for about 30 seconds to warm peas.
- Remove from heat and stir in basil. Serve with more parmesan cheese.
Notes
This dish offers fantastic flexibility; try it with a variety of vegetables or spices to customize to your taste. Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: One-pot cooking
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 generous bowl
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 34g
- Cholesterol: 85mg