One-Pot Pappardelle Pasta with Chicken Thighs
Published 2/26/2023
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This one-pot pappardelle pasta with chicken thighs makes for the most delicious dinner. The chicken and pappardelle pasta are cooked in a creamy, rich sauce of onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes and topped with shaved parmesan cheese.
The Most Flavorful Pasta Dish
One-pot pasta dishes are our favorite here on Fit Foodie Finds. They make cooking more convenient, less messy, and are the perfect easy option for a weeknight dinner.
This chicken pappardelle pasta checks off all the boxes. It’s got simple steps, has lots of flavor, and is appetizing for the whole family! It’ll honestly be your new favorite thing.
Serve this one-pot pappardelle pasta with your favorite salad, or dip some buttered bread in the dreamy sauce. You’ll want it doused on everything!
Pappardelle is egg pasta with long, flat, and wide ribbons. It’s originally from Tuscany, Italy, where rich, meaty sauces are their specialty — just like this recipe!
Pasta with a large surface area and rough texture, like pappardelle, is the perfect match for hearty sauces and ragu as they are great at holding all the great flavors of the sauce.
Why you’ll love it!
It’s a one-pot recipe, making for less mess and cleanup.
The flavors are out of this world!
Makes for delicious leftovers — especially the sauce!
The chicken is SO tender and juicy.
Featured Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: we used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, but boneless chicken thighs would work, too.
- Spices: you’ll need garlic powder, dried thyme, and salt & pepper to season the chicken.
- Chicken broth: the chicken broth is the base of the sauce and adds so much flavor to this dish.
- Red wine: we used a cabernet sauvignon for this pasta, but any dry red wine will do!
- Veggies: this pasta calls for white onion, bella mushrooms, and garlic for lots of tasty flavor.
- All the tomatoes: for this one-pot pappardelle pasta, we used cherry tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- Anchovy paste: this chicken pappardelle pasta only calls for a teaspoon of anchovy paste, but that goes a long way!
- Balsamic vinegar: balsamic vinegar adds sweetness and a rich depth of flavor that sugar just can’t match.
- Pappardelle pasta: any egg noodle variety will do, but pappardelle is a perfect pairing for this pasta dish.
- Thyme: you’ll need a bundle of thyme for this recipe. This herb tastes superb with the pasta sauce.
- Heavy cream: heavy cream will give the pasta just the right amount of fat it needs to be creamy and dreamy.
- Parmesan cheese: make sure to buy grated parmesan cheese as this will melt in the sauce the easiest. You can also buy block parmesan and finely grate it yourself.
How to Make One-Pot Pappardelle Pasta with Chicken Thighs
SEASON CHICKEN
Mix the garlic powder, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, and then season the thighs with the garlic mixture.
Massage the spices into the chicken thighs with your hands, and be sure they are fully coated. Then let the chicken thighs sit for 10 minutes.
COOK CHICKEN
Next, heat 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet (with sides and a cover) over medium-high heat. When the olive oil is hot and fragrant, add the chicken thighs to the pan, skin side down. Brown the chicken thighs for 4 minutes and gently move them a few times to be sure they aren’t sticking to the pan.
Then, flip the chicken over and add the butter and 2 tablespoons of the broth to the pan to deglaze. Turn the heat to medium and cover the chicken, letting the thighs cook covered for 5 minutes.
SAUTE ONION + MUSHROOMS
Remove the thighs from the skillet and check the internal temperature. The internal temperature should be between 145ºF and 155ºF. They will cook longer later.
Deglaze the skillet with ¼ cup red wine and scrape the bits of chicken and spices from the bottom of the pan. Add the onions to the skillet and saute them for 1 minute. Then add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon more salt and saute for an additional 4 minutes.
MAKE THE TOMATO SAUCE
Add the garlic and cherry tomatoes to the skillet and cover. Turn the heat to low and allow the tomatoes to cook and burst for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, anchovy paste, balsamic vinegar, and the rest of the broth to the skillet and whisk until the tomato and anchovy paste are whisked into the rest of the sauce. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.
COOK PASTA
Next, submerge the pappardelle into the sauce along with the bundle of thyme. Set the chicken thighs on top of the pappardelle and cover the skillet. Then turn the heat to low and cook the skillet for 15 minutes, stirring the pasta every 5 minutes.
Uncover the skillet, add the heavy cream to the pasta, and stir. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes over low heat.
SERVE + ENJOY!
If the pasta is cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. If the pasta still isn’t cooked, remove the chicken from the skillet, add ¼ cup more broth, and cover the skillet, letting the pasta simmer for 3 minutes more.
Top the pasta with shaved parmesan, serve, and enjoy!
Latest Pasta Recipes
Tips for One-Pot Pappardelle Pasta
You can’t use any ‘regular’ pasta for this recipe as it doesn’t have the same cook time as egg noodles. Any egg noodle variety will work, but pappardelle is best.
We tested this recipe with bone-in and skin on chicken thighs. If you choose to use boneless chicken thighs, note that the cooking time will significantly be less.
If your pasta isn’t all the way cooked at the end of the recipe, that means it needs more moisture to absorb and cook. Add more broth, mix, and cover until the pasta is cooked through. We suggest removing the chicken thighs from the skillet, so the chicken does not overcook.
Be sure that the pasta isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Otherwise, you may get burnt pieces.
Serving Suggestions for Chicken Pappardelle Pasta
Looking for a salad to serve with this chicken pappardelle pasta? We recommend any of the following:
Can you Freeze Pappardelle Pasta?
While you can absolutely freeze the pasta sauce itself, we recommend waiting to pair it with the pasta until it’s thawed and ready to serve. Otherwise, the pasta can get mushy when frozen and thawed.
Freezer instructions: Let the one-pot pappardelle pasta sauce cool completely before placing it in an airtight and freezer-safe container. Freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.
Storage
It is important to let your pappardelle pasta cool completely before transferring it into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
To reheat: place your pasta in an oven-safe container in the oven at 350°F for 10-30 minutes. Make sure you check your pasta every 5-10 minutes to ensure it doesn’t get overcooked or dried out.
One-Pot Pappardelle Pasta with Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. bone-in skin-on chicken thighs , boneless chicken thighs would work, too
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, separated
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups chicken broth, separated (+more if needed)
- ¼ cup red wine
- ½ large white onion, minced
- 8 oz. sliced Bella mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz. cherry tomatoes
- 15 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 8 oz. pappardelle pasta
- Bundle of time
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Mix the garlic powder, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a bowl.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and then season the thighs with the garlic mixture. Massage the spices into the chicken thighs with your hands and be sure they are fully coated. Let the chicken thighs sit for 10 minutes.
- Heat 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet (with sides and a cover) over medium/high heat. When the olive oil is hot and fragrant add the chicken thighs to the pan, skin side down. Brown the chicken thighs for 4 minutes skin side down and gently move the chicken thighs a few times to be sure they are not sticking to the pan.
- Flip the chicken over and add the butter and 2 tablespoons of the broth to the pan to deglaze. Turn the heat to medium and cover the chicken. Let the thighs cook covered for 5 minutes.
- Remove the thighs from the skillet and check the internal temperature. The internal temperature should be between 145ºF and 155ºF. They will cook longer later.
- Deglaze the skillet with ¼ cup red wine and scrape the bits of chicken and spices from the bottom of the pan. Add the onions to the skillet and saute them for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon more of salt and saute for an additional 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cherry tomatoes of time to the skillet and cover. Turn the heat to low and allow the tomatoes to cook and burst for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, anchovy paste, balsamic vinegar, and the rest of the broth to the skillet and whisk until the tomato and anchovy paste are whisked into the rest of the sauce. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.
- Submerge the pappardelle into the sauce along with the bundle of thyme. Set the chicken thighs on top of the pappardelle and cover the skillet.
- Turn the heat to low and cook the skillet for 15 minutes, stirring the pasta every 5 minutes.
- Uncover the skillet and add the heavy cream to the pasta and stir. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes over low heat.
- If the pasta is cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. If the pasta still isn’t cooked, remove the chicken from the skillet, add ¼ cup more of broth and cover the skillet and let the pasta simmer for 3 minutes more.
- Top the pasta with shaved parmesan.
Tips & Notes
- You can not use any ‘regular’ pasta for this recipe. Any egg noodle variety will work, but pappardelle is best.
- We tested this recipe with bone-in and skin on chicken thighs. If you choose to use boneless chicken thighs, the cook time will be significantly less.
- If your pasta isn’t all the way cooked at the end of the recipe that means it needs more moisture to absorb and cook, add more broth, mix, and cover until the pasta is cooked through. We suggest removing the chicken thighs from the skillet so the chicken does not overcook.
- Be sure that the pasta isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pa
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
Was a very easy dinner to prepare and it was excellent. I will certainly make it again but using boneless chicken thighs. The sauce was delicious.