Hey guys! Sorry it’s been a minute since I posted a new recipe, but I went through a few days of creative block (I think the unusual below freezing temperatures in New Orleans also froze my brain!). After a couple recipe flops this weekend, I decided to go with something a little bit more simple. This Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce is just about as simple (and delicious) as it gets.
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Simple but AH-MAZ-ING.
You really can’t go wrong with pasta, chicken, and broccoli, but what makes this dish spectacular is the lemon cream sauce. Lemon cream sauce is another one of those, “Woah! How do so few ingredients make something that tastes SO good?” recipes.
Once you learn how to make this lemon cream sauce, you might find yourself making it for everything. …But be careful, because you must use heavy cream for this sauce. If you use a lower fat dairy product it will curdle. Heavy cream probably isn’t t he type of thing you want to eat every day (I mean for health reasons, not flavor reasons), so just make it once in a while and enjoy every delicious drop when you do. ;)
What Type of Pasta Should I Use for My Chicken and Broccoli Pasta?
I used whole wheat pasta for this so I could feel a little better about the heavy cream business, but regular pasta would work just as well. I like rotini because the spirals do an awesome job of catching all the delicious cream sauce, but I think bowties would also be pretty good.
Buy More to Save More on Heavy Cream
And lastly, heavy cream can be quite a bit more expensive in pint-sized containers than it is in quart-sized containers, so consider buying more and freezing your extra cream. Yep, it freezes great! And make sure to use some of it to make a batch of 5 Ingredient Freezer Biscuits. You won’t be sorry.
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets ($0.85)
- 1/2 lb. rotini pasta ($1.30)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2/3 lb. total) ($1.97)
- 1 pinch salt and peppers ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.59)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
- 1 cup heavy cream ($1.80)
Instructions
- Take the broccoli florets out of the freezer and allow them to thaw. When they are soft enough to cut, chop them into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Set the broccoli aside to fully thaw until you are ready to use them.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the water for the pasta is heating, season both sides of the chicken thighs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a deep skillet over medium flame, then add the olive oil. Tilt the skillet to coat the surface in oil, then add the chicken thighs. Cook the thighs on both sides until golden brown and cooked through (about 5 minutes each side). Remove the thighs to a cutting board and let rest.
- While the chicken is cooking, zest the lemon using a zester or small-holed cheese grater and mince the garlic. Once the chicken has been removed from the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for 1-2 minutes, or just until it is soft and fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Add the heavy cream, about 1 tsp of the lemon zest, and 2 Tbsp of the lemon’s juice. Stir to combine, and allow the cream to come up to a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes, or until it thickens slightly. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon if needed. Season the sauce liberally so the flavors are not diluted once combined with the pasta, broccoli, and chicken.
- Chop the cooked chicken into small pieces, then add it to the cream sauce in the skillet along with the drained pasta and chopped broccoli florets. Stir to combine and coat everything in sauce. Allow the chicken, broccoli, and pasta to heat through, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Dinner doesn’t have to be complicated!
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Start by taking 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets out of the freezer to thaw. Once they’ve softened a bit, chop them into smaller, bite-sized pieces and set them aside to fully thaw. Also bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook 1/2 lb. of pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander.
While the pasta water is heating, start on the chicken thighs. Season both sides of two boneless, skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper (this is about 2/3 lb. total).
Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and tilt the skillet to coat the surface. Add the chicken thighs and cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through (about 5 minutes each side). Make sure to let the chicken brown, as the browned bits help flavor the sauce. Remove the chicken thighs from the skillet to a cutting board. Turn the heat under the skillet down to medium-low.
While the chicken is cooking, zest the lemon so it’s ready to go when you need it. Also mince two cloves of garlic.
After removing the chicken from the skillet and turning the heat down to medium-low, add the minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve all the browned bits off the surface.
Add one cup heavy cream to the skillet, along with about 1 tsp of the lemon zest and 2 Tbsp of the lemon’s juice.
Let the sauce come up to a gentle simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes, or until it thickens slightly. Season the sauce liberally with salt, pepper, and more lemon, if needed.
Chop the cooked chicken into smaller pieces…
Then add the pasta, chicken, and broccoli to the skillet with the lemon cream sauce.
Stir until everything is combined and coated in sauce. Let the pasta, broccoli, and chicken heat through, then serve.
NOM!
THANK YOU for this recipe!! My whole family loves it and that is rare. Plus it really is budget friendly! I use leftover chicken and fresh broccoli that I steam before adding. Thanks again for a recipe that we all love.
Made this last night and it was not bad. My kids thought it was good – I had to use whole milk with butter because I didn’t have heavy cream. And our frozen broccoli (that had been thawed completely) didn’t soften up very much during the short time it had in the pan per the recipe. Next time, I might let the broccoli simmer in the sauce a bit to see if it would soften up before adding the chicken and pasta to “warm through.” All in all it was a good dinner that didn’t take a ton of time or effort to make. Will make again.
This is such an easy and delicious dish. My family are super picky eaters and to find something we all enjoy is like pulling teeth but not with this recipe. One thing I will do is add a touch more lemon as it a as really subtle. Making it again tonight…i do like how one user stated they added parm to top it off….i don’t have any but that i believe would be a lovely addition!
I think this is my favorite recipe on this site!! I’ve made it numerous times and it is always super delicious. The combination of lemon with cream in the sauce is perfect and compliments the chicken and broccoli so well. Thank you for this recipe!
Made this tonight. So yummy! I used fresh broccoli and cooked it in the half cup of chicken broth for about 5 min with the cover on. Then took it out and added about. Quarter cup more water. Then added cream, lemon stuff until thickened. Then added everything. We wilted some spinach at the d end and served with grated Parmesan cheese. Easy and delicious. A yummy summer meal.
Delicious! I’m so happy that this uses ingredients you can easily get in Japan to make a meal that tastes like something you’d get at an American restaurant. And so easy! A++!
Made it for the first time today. Definitely adding this one to the dinner rotation — easy enough to make and uses ingredients that I keep handy almost all the time anyway. Plus it’s incredibly tasty. Thanks!!
This was awesome! I already have plans to remake it.
Substituted with pulled rotisserie chicken meat. I still cooked pulled chicken meat in skillet to heat up a bit, but it added lots of flavor and reduced cooking time. I buy pre-pulled rotisserie chicken packs, which makes things even easier.
This was so delicious! I used more chicken than was called for, just because I love my meals to be a but meatier, and used yellow pepper instead of broccoli. I feel like this is something you could totally just throw in any vegetable you want in substitute for the broccoli, and you’ll have a delicious dish every time, because the flavor resides in the sauce. That sauce just makes this dish, it’s amazing. I will definitely be making this again!
So yummy! I made with penne noodles instead of rotini, shelf-stable whole milk instead of cream, no lemon zest, and fresh broccoli instead of frozen. I would’ve used cream, but unfortunately it’s not available in southern China – still turned out delicious, although I imagine the sauce would be much thicker and more decadent in the original recipe. To avoid the curdling effect warned about in the note, I simply added the lemon juice after turning off the heat (after simmering the sauce).
This totally fits in the “will is skillet” category!
Has anyone tried substituting Coconut Whipping Cream? Would the Coconut give the sauce a weird flavor?
The only problem is that this recipe isn’t on the app.
I meant to rate higher.
Just wondering what the nutritional facts are for this recipe?
This recipe was DELICIOUS. I’ll definitely be making it for guests sometime in the future, as the lemon cream sauce elevates the simple chicken and broccoli combination to an impress-your-friends level.
One caveat for this dish: I found that the leftovers were rather bland. I ate half of this dish for dinner right after cooking it, and it was scrumptious. I saved the leftovers for lunch the next day. When I reheated the leftovers in the microwave at work, I found the dish to have lost the mouth-watering flavor from the lemon cream sauce. The dish wasn’t BAD, but it certainly didn’t have the oomph and flavor that it had right out of the pan. It just tasted like I’d poured some heavy cream over pasta.
With that in mind, I will save this dish for occasions when it can be finished in one sitting. Nothing wrong with the dish itself (as I’ve said, it’s incredibly tasty), but I thought this would be good info for folks like me who usually have dinner leftovers for lunch the next day.
Tried this tonight for dinner. My sauce didn’t thicken as much as I had hoped but still super delicious! Loved that it was simple to make and I already had all of the ingredients on hand. We will be making again for sure.
I did substitute chicken breasts. I had those on hand and figured there was no need to run to the store for it’s sibling. I also used fresh broccoli. Just added it to the pasta the last five minutes it was cooking. Thanks for a great meal!
Hi Jesseca. Like you, my sauce did not thicken over the heat. However, I found that the sauce thickened up after I turned the heat off and let it sit for a while. I ate my first plate of this fantastic dish and left the rest in the pan, and by the time I had finished that plate and returned to the pan to put away the leftovers, the sauce had thickened up nicely. With that in mind, if I were making this for guests, I’d probably make it just before they arrived and let it cool a bit before serving.
PS – Thanks for your tip on how to incorporate fresh broccoli. I also used broccoli and chicken breasts, and I followed your method of tossing the broccoli in with the pasta. It turned out great!
PPS – Beth, this recipe was WONDERFUL. I’ve never tasted such a flavorful lemon cream sauce. The fact that it was so easy to make means that this recipe will definitely make another appearance in my rotation! ^_^
Does heavy cream mean whipping cream at 35% or table cream at 18%?
Heavy cream is 35-38% butter fat.
Would substituting almond milk for the cream work? I can’t have dairy.
No, unfortunately almond milk is not nearly creamy enough.
This came out FABULOUS! I substituted stock for broth, breast for thighs, and fresh broccoli for frozen just because of what I had on hand already, and garnished the dish with some of the extra zest. I couldn’t stop telling people in online chats how great this was while I was eating it! Will definitely make again. :)
Can u freeze this one?
I think this one might dry out a bit when frozen because the sauce isn’t very thick. I haven’t tried it, though.
I made this tonight and it was so tasty and so convenient because I already had some of the ingredients. This recipe is worth revisiting in the future. I also have your Louisiana red beans and rice recipe in rotation. You’re awesome! Thank you!
Do you think I could do this in the crockpot?
No, I don’t think this one would work in a crock pot, unfortunately.
This looks amazing, but I can’t do dairy. Do you think a can of coconut milk would be alright in this?
Hmmm, without having tried it my guess is that it just wouldn’t quite be right.
Made this completely vegetarian with veggie broth and meatless chicken and it was amazing!!!! Thank you!
Wow. This was an incredible dish. Really incredible. Super high-calorie, though, so I substituted shrimp for chicken to take it down to a 522-calorie lunch. Still high-calorie, but more doable.
Very cool recipe. Thanks for the consistent content.
I will be sharing this one on my own site: economicalchef.com. I will let you know when the article goes live!
I know I will benefit from reading and learning from your blog, so thanks again.
-Kevin
Really terrific meal. We used one boneless, skinless chicken breast. The lemon zest and lemon really make this dish pop.
Is there a way to make this with fresh broccoli? Have some in the fridge that I’d like to use up.
Yep, you can just chop it up and add it to the boiling pasta water towards the end so it cooks a little, then drain right along with the pasta.
I just put a lid on the whole skillet once everything was combined, and let the steam from everything cook the broccoli! It came out just fine with that. :)
I meant to ask – how do you freeze heavy cream? Ice cubes? Some other way? I have some that I want to store for later!
I suspect you can freeze it in cubes. That’s what I would do. Beth has instructiions for freezing buttermilk in cubes in the how tos in this site. I’m sure you would do cream the same way.
Yes, I think an ice cube tray is the best method so that you can thaw small amounts at a time. :)
I know what’s for dinner tonight! It looks fantastic! And thanks for the tip about freezing the cream-I just bought a quart sized carton last night because it was cheaper. I knew I could use it up pretty easily, but knowing I don’t HAVE to makes me feel better.
Hi Beth! Happy New Year! This looks delicious. The steps/process reminds me of your chicken with pesto and bowties recipe (which I make a lot, because my family loves it!). I was wondering if you think this recipe might work with cream cheese/neufchatel instead of the heavy cream (and increase the liquid accordingly) – although I’m not sure how much healthier it would be?
I forgot about that recipe! Yes, I think you could easily swap a quick cream cheese based sauce for the cream sauce here. The tanginess of the cream cheese might compete a bit with the lemon, but I think it would still be awesome.
Hmm… think this would work with any other veggies? My husband hates broccoli but this sounds so good!
I subbed in green peppers and it worked well!
Sure! I would just stay away from really watery vegetables because the texture might not be as great and they may water down the sauce some.
This looks delicious!
Had last night! One of our faves!
i made this tonight and since i only had milk and half and half, i just squeezed lemon over it at the end! grated some parm to help thicken a little. Worked well and was delicious. thanks! :)
The Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce looks absolutely delicious!!! I will have to make this recipe soon!!! :-)
This looks absolutely DREAMY. I’ll bet it’s delicious, as is, and my mind is reeling over the other things that could be done with that sauce! WOW. Good to know that heavy cream will work with lemon, but not half and half. Where do you get these sensational Ideas? I’ve never had real Hollandaise sauce but, judging from the ingredients, your sauce looks like it could be a relative.
Will yogurt curdle? I’ve used nonfat Greek yogurt for lemon pasta in the past and haven’t noticed curdling.
Probably not since the proteins in yogurt are already denatured (that’s what curdling is, and also what makes yogurt solidify). That being said, I don’t think the flavor would be right with yogurt.