Chicken Pasta Primavera combines juicy chicken, pasta, and a rainbow of veggies in a rich creamy sauce. This is high in protein, 30 minute one pot meal your family will love!
Other favorite spring pasta recipes are this lemon chicken pasta and chicken spinach pasta.
What Is Chicken Primavera?
Pasta primavera, or “spring pasta” in Italian, originated in New York and includes a medley of fresh seasonal vegetables, pasta, and a light creamy sauce. Add tender chicken chunks, and you’ve got chicken primavera.
Reality is that when spring rolls around in April and May, fresh produce is imported where I live. So, I grab whatever veggies shout “fresh” and “spring”, even if they’re frozen like peas, to make this vibrant dish.
It’s literally a one pot meal with chicken, pasta, and veggies, so easy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made in one pot: A quick 30 minute meal where everything cooks in same pot on your stove, even the chicken.
- Simple primavera sauce: My secret ingredient is a block of Boursin that eliminates the need for many spices.
- Highly versatile: Mix and match seasonal veggies from your kitchen or garden, and personalize with herbs and pasta of your choice.
- Everyone loves it: My kids loved this dish because the sauce is to-die-for and it has colorful presentation.
Ingredients for Chicken Pasta Primavera
This chicken pasta primavera recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients and stays delicious without a long list of spices and herbs.
- Chicken breasts: Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into 1.5 inch pieces. You can use chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Boursin cheese: Pick between garlic and herbs or shallot and chive Boursin cheese. They’re easy to find, melt easily, and replace heavy cream and extra spices.
- Chicken broth: Using low-sodium chicken broth to cook the pasta lends a flavorful base for the sauce and enhances the overall taste.
- Vegetables: This dish stands out as one of the most veggie-packed healthy dinner recipes. I added chopped bell peppers, zucchini, asparagus, grape tomatoes, and shredded carrots.
- Pasta: You’ll need 1 pound, or 16 ounces, of dry pasta in any short variety, I used bow tie pasta.
- Oil: We use a touch of olive oil for sauteing the chicken. Avocado oil works too.
- Spices: Salt and black pepper to taste.
- Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs: Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley or basil over the dish just before serving.
How to Make Chicken Pasta Primavera
Here’s a quick rundown on how to make a big pot of this dish. There is a full recipe card below.
- Saute chicken: Heat Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat then add oil to coat the bottom. Add chicken, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine ingredients: Mix in the Boursin cheese with the chicken until it melts. Then, add the chicken broth, bell pepper, zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, pasta, salt, and pepper.
- Let everything cook: Give it a good stir, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring once. Then, turn off the heat.
- Garnish and serve: Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley, give it a gentle mix to blend everything together, and serve chicken primavera hot.
Tips for Best Results
Here are 4 key tips to making the best pasta!
- Don’t overcook pasta: Perfect al dente pasta is important in any pasta dish, test often after 12-13 minutes of boiling by removing individual pasta onto a plate.
- If you like crisp veggies: I didn’t mind to add all veggies with pasta in this recipe because they infuse the sauce even more. But if you like bright green, crisp veggies add them after 10 minutes into cooking the pasta, then cook for an extra 5 minutes.
- To make dairy-free pasta: I actually saw dairy-free Boursin, so use it and omit Parmesan cheese.
- Using chicken thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs and no other recipe changes are necessary.
Variations
- Pasta options: Switch the farfalle for rotini, fusilli, cavatappi, or penne pasta. These short shapes are great for holding the sauce and are similar in size to the veggies. If you prefer long pasta, spaghetti or fettuccine can work too.
- Other vegetables: You can use almost any veggies that cook quickly. Mushrooms, yellow squash, onions, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach are all great options. Be sure to add spinach towards the end.
- Make it vegetarian: Use vegetable broth, skip the chicken, and load up on extra vegetables or add some fried tofu instead.
- Season to taste: Spice things up with a dash of paprika, cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes in the sauce, or give it a bright zing with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end.
- Protein swap: Start out by going veggie-style then stir in some tuna at the end, or saute some shrimp for 2-3 minutes instead of chicken first. You can also use up your leftover shredded chicken.
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Transfer leftover pasta to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. When reheating, you might have to tweak the consistency by adding a bit more broth or milk.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing in this case because both the pasta and vegetables will soften after being frozen.
FAQs
The best substitution for Boursin cheese is heavy cream with Italian seasoning or other dried herbs like basil, parsley, or rosemary. Chopped chives would also be great, and you’ll want to add some more salt to taste.
Yes. Just leave out the chicken, skip the salt and pepper for seasoning it and oil for sauteing. No other recipe changes are necessary, it’ll make for an even quicker meal!
More One Pot Pasta Recipes to Try
- Healthy Tuscan chicken pasta
- Healthy hamburger helper
- Instant Pot chicken pasta
- Ground turkey and broccoli pasta
- Zucchini ricotta pasta
Chicken Pasta Primavera
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 3 large chicken breasts cut into 1.5 inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil for frying
For the Pasta:
- 1 Boursin cheese garlic and herbs or shallot and chive
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1 large bell pepper coarsely chopped
- 1 small zucchini coarsely chopped
- 1 small bunch asparagus woody ends trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 2 cups grape tomatoes
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 pound pasta
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup parsley or basil finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat Dutch oven or large pot on medium-high heat and add oil to coat. Add chicken, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Add Boursin cheese and stir with chicken until melted. Then add chicken broth, bell pepper, zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, pasta, salt and pepper.
- Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente, stirring once. Turn off heat.
- Add Parmesan cheese and parsley, gently stir to combine and serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. You might have to adjust consistency with more broth or milk when reheating.
- Freeze: Pasta doesn’t freeze well, so I don’t recommend to do so.
- For more crispy veggies: If you prefer more crisp bright green veggies, add them after cooking pasta for 10 minutes and cook for 5 more minutes with pasta. I actually enjoy the flavor veggies add to the sauce and broth while cooked the whole time.
