Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 pound (1/2 box) of any short pasta noodles, preferably some whole-wheat version
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt (for the pasta water)
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (mine were thin, boneless and skinless but even thighs would work)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
- zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4–1 cup chopped spinach (we use frozen, but fresh would work as would any other veggie)
- parmesan cheese for garnish
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put a large pot of water on to boil, add salt then once it’s boiling add pasta. Cook according to instructions MINUS 2 minutes. Drain.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper then add oil to a large saute pan. Cook on each side about 4 minutes. Pour chicken and juices out of pan, onto a plate. Turn burner off. (Store half the chicken for another dinner, dice the chicken you plan to use now.)
- In the same pan, zest the lemon then squeeze the juice of both lemons. Add butter and flour and turn heat back on. Cook on medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add milk. It’ll be all crumbly and weird initially but keep stirring and it’ll come together.
- Add chopped chicken, spinach and pasta to pan and stir until creamy. Season with salt and pepper and top with parmesan cheese.