Easy Smoky Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Crispy Bacon
This quick tossed chicken broccoli pasta recipe is an easy meal made in a flash with just a few simple ingredients. Short orecchiette pasta is tossed up in the pan with chicken, a little love from smoky diced bacon, and vibrant green broccolini for a simple and satisfying weeknight pasta.
Equipment
1 Small plate
1 Large Pot For Cooking Pasta
1 Large Wide Skillet For Tossing Pasta
1 Medium Pot For Cooking Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Tenderloins - seasoned w/ salt + pepper and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 5 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon - cut into small pieces
- 1/2 White Onion - diced
- 2 to 3 cloves Fresh Garlic - minced
- 1 lb Baby Broccoli or Broccolini
- 1 box Orecchiette or Short Pasta - prepared according to package directions
- 1 cup Reserved Pasta Water
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Fruity Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper
- Fresh Lemon or Lemon Juice - for topping at end
- Parmesan Cheese - for topping at the end
- Red Pepper Flakes - optional for topping at end
Instructions
- Prepare the baby broccoli by dropping into a pot of boiling water. Cook until they turn bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately after, shock them by dropping in an ice water bath. Drain out any excess water and slice the broccoli on a diagonal into about 1-inch pieces, leaving the tops whole. Set aside in a large bowl.
- If you don’t already have leftover/prepared pasta available, put on a large pot of water to cook your orecchiette (or favorite short pasta). Cook pasta according to package instructions (preferably on the al dente side). Drain, reserving about a cup of the pasta water. Set aside.
- In a wide large skillet over medium-high heat, brown and render the diced bacon pieces. Toss them with a wooden spoon until darkened in color and crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a small flat plate to drain on a paper towel.
- In the same pan with the juices left over from the bacon, toss in the seasoned pieces of chicken, working in batches, if necessary. Cook pieces until golden, lightly browned on all sides, and cooked through inside, 6-8 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and add to a medium or large bowl and set aside.
- Now bring the pan to medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter to the same pan. Toss in the diced onion. Toss and cook diced onion in the butter until softened through and lightly caramelized, about 3 or 4 minutes. Now add in the minced garlic cloves. Toss these together and cook through another minute until garlic is fragrant and combined with the onion (but not burned).
- Add the cooked chicken and broccoli back to the same pot with onion and garlic. Add the cooked orecchiette (or favorite short pasta) and bacon pieces back to the pan. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water (or vegetable/chicken broth if using instead) and drizzle in some nice full-flavored fruity olive oil.
- Toss everything together, seasoning along the way with salt and pepper to taste. Top off with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and a little lemon zest. If desired, squeeze in a dash of lemon juice for brightness at the end. Garnish with red pepper flakes and serve hot.
Notes
Available Cuts of Chicken:
I used chicken tenderloin pieces which are thinner and easy to slice/cook up into small pieces. If this isn’t available, boneless chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces works too.
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