Chicken Pasta Primavera
An easy rotisserie chicken recipe with fresh ingredients.
Fresh zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions and tomatoes are combined with rotisserie chicken in this tomato-based pasta dish.
Although this chicken pasta recipe is hearty enough for the winter months, it's ideal for the summer when the garden is producing a bumper crop of zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, and you're running out of things to do with them.
The sauce for this pasta dish gets its flavor from fresh-from-the-garden ingredients, so if you don't have a garden, be sure to use the freshest vegetables you can find. Farmer's markets are a great place to shop in the warmer months.
Store-bought rotisserie chicken is a wonderful time-saver, and this recipe is an ideal way to use up the leftovers. But if you don't have rotisserie chicken on hand, you can use pre-cooked chicken strips (usually found in the meat section of your local supermarket) or leftover chicken breasts.
If you prefer to make a vegetarian version of this recipe, simply leave out the chicken. It'll taste just fine.
Chicken Pasta Primavera
- 8 oz. linguine (preferably whole wheat)
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced finely
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 8 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (whatever variety is in season or looks best at the market)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
- 1 cup rotisserie chicken, shredded
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Prepare linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add the red pepper, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook about 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and allow sauce to simmer 10 minutes or so until the vegetables become soft and all the flavors meld.
Add parsley and rotisserie chicken. Cook another 5 minutes until heated through. Taste and season again, if necessary. Serve over hot linguine and topped with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Serves 4-6.
Per serving (based on 4): 372 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 73 mg cholesterol, 51 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 21 g protein, 31% vitamin A, 137% vitamin C, 8% calcium, 22% iron
For more easy chicken recipes, see also:
- Fuji Apple Walnut Chicken Salad (like Panera's)
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Crock Pot Lemon Chicken with Rice
- Chicken Marsala
- Italian Chicken Saltimbocca
