One Pan Chicken, Cheese, and Olive Pasta

One Pan Pasta is an easy idea for dinner any night of the week. My family enjoys this recipe for One Pan Chicken, Cheese, and Olive Pasta.

With a baby two weeks new and a toddler in preschool, I’ve been planning how I will manage dinner around my family’s hectic schedule. Since my husband works late and I am usually exhausted by the evening, we need a dinner routine we can stick to.

One solution is a focus on meals that require little prep/clean-up, but make our tummies happy. If I spend less time cooking, then I can take care of my newborn, toddler, house, and even prepare lunches for the next day.

If you love pasta, but it’s a pain to cook, try One Pan Pasta.

My husband and I are big fans of pasta dishes. One of our favorite pastas is chicken, cheese, and olive penne pasta. But there are so many components to the dish, I rarely make it. In comes the one pan pasta technique.

My sister-in-law taught me all about cooking pasta in one pan. I have to thank her for this convenient way to make my favorite pasta dishes without all the fuss and mess.

When it comes to pasta, Barilla is an authentic Italian food brand I trust. I recently discovered Barilla Pronto Pasta, which makes one pan pasta even easier than I ever thought it could be. It is available in a variety of versatile cuts, including half-cut spaghetti. Barilla Pronto Pasta was chosen for the Better Homes & Gardens Best New Product Award for 2016.

How do you made this dish?

I’ve cooked one pan pasta before with regular boxed pasta and I hate having to drain the pasta before mixing the ingredients together. However, with Barilla Pronto Pasta that does not need to be boiled or drained, I make everything in the same pan and use 60% less energy and less water than regular pasta.

Barilla makes an amazing jarred tomato sauce that tastes delicious and saves me time from standing in front of a sauce pan all day stirring. The sauce is 100% All Natural and made with a variety of authentic Italian flavors. I also buy pre-cooked chicken strips, shredded cheese, and pre-chopped black olives.

We could eat this pasta every night and sometimes it’s fun to elevate the meal by adding another ingredient. I love to toss in sun-dried tomatoes, but my 2 and a half-year-old daughter isn’t a huge fan. Since they don’t need to be cooked, I add them into the pan after I serve her dinner.

One pan pasta is so easy. Here is how I make our favorite Chicken, Cheese, and Olive Penne Pasta.

1 (12oz) package Barilla Pronto Penne
1 (24oz) jar Barilla Traditional (Tomato) Sauce
3 cups cold water
2 cups cooked chicken breast strips (sold in the packaged meat section)
1 (4.5oz) can chopped black olives (or whole)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup julienned sundried tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sautè pan covered with nonstick spray, heat the chicken strips until warm over low heat. If you have large pieces of chicken, transfer to a cutting board and chop the chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces. I always use a wooden spoon to cut my chicken right in the pan – it saves time!

In that same pan, over medium heat, add the uncooked penne and 3 cups of cold water. Make sure that the water covers the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.