Use fresh or frozen vegetables to make this delicate, slurp-able angel hair pasta dinner with chicken. Angel hair pasta truly shines in this recipe, tangling around cubed chicken breast and vegetables for easy, satisfying bites.
This is a quick, customizable, chicken and pasta recipe perfect for beginner home cooks, busy college students, and it makes great leftovers, too.
The flavors in my angel hair pasta with chicken recipe come mostly from the chicken and vegetables. They get some help from the addition of dried basil and a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese, which thickens to create a light, cheesy sauce that coats the noodles.
For other simple chicken breast pasta recipes, check out my one-skillet cacio e pepe rigatoni and garlic parmesan chicken pasta!
This recipe arrived in my life with the mail, about two decades ago in a plastic-wrapped stack of simple recipe cards. I don't know who sent them (probably some brand hoping to sell its particular pasta or cheese). All I know is I pulled out recipes I wanted my mom to make.
This simple angel hair pasta with chicken and vegetables recipe is the only one that my whole family liked. We liked it so much that when my mom put together a binder of family recipes for me to bring to college, this quick pasta dish with chicken made the cut... twice (it's in the chicken section and in the pasta section — just in case!).
I didn't cook often in college. But when I knew I was about to be pulling a weekend of all-nighters and needed to be able to quickly grab leftovers from the fridge, this chicken breast pasta recipe was one of the recipes I'd turn to. Divided up into containers, it was the perfect grab-and-go meal that works great for meal prep too.
Given my fairly limited cooking skills back then, I liked (and still like!) the ease and steady pacing of the recipe. Like many of my pasta dishes for dinner, you'll never feel rushed while making it.
And I like that I can skip or add veggies based on what I have in the fridge, and use frozen vegetables if I want to.
Angel hair pasta cooks quickly, in just about the time the chicken and vegetables need to simmer once the chicken is added back into the pan. So I never end up in that awkward bit of kitchen downtime waiting for the pasta to finish cooking while hoping the stuff in my skillet doesn't overcook.
You can definitely sub in or add other veggies, or even use frozen veggies, too. This recipe works great with one of those frozen vegetable medleys (carrots, peas, green beans, corn, etc.).
Okay, I know angel hair might be a divisive pasta shape, but I like the way it wraps and tangles around the veggies, making them easy to scoop, slurp, and twist onto a fork. I've tried this with thicker pasta noodles, and it's just not the same.
For chicken broth, I like to use a low-sodium or salt-free chicken broth so I can adjust the seasoning to taste. If I don't have chicken broth, I sub in 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste and 1 cup water.
The three vegetables I always use are broccoli, carrots, and peas. I've made this with sliced baby carrots, matchstick carrots, and sliced large carrots. All work just fine.
Growing up, I made this pasta dinner with the powdered shelf-stable parmesan in the big plastic jar, and while it tasted ok, it tended to get clumpy as it melted. These days I always use freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese to make the best silky smooth sauce with no lumps!
How to Make Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta
Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. You don't need to add the pasta to it yet, you just want to make sure the water is boiling when you're ready. Add salt once it starts bubbling, then reduce the heat to maintain an active simmer.
In a separate pan, heat oil over medium heat, then add the chicken to the skillet in an even layer. Cook until lightly browned on the outside; the chicken pieces might stick at first but will release from the skillet when ready.
The chicken will continue cooking as it rests and will be added back to the skillet later, so if you overcook the chicken pieces in the first step... they'll be really overcooked by time you're done. Better to pull them out a bit sooner!
You can also remove any smaller chicken pieces from the skillet early and let the bigger ones keep cooking if you need to.
Add the broccoli, peas, garlic, and basil and stir.
Add the broth and scrape up any brown bits (fond) in the bottom of the pan.
Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted, then add the chicken back to the skillet.
Transfer the cooked pasta directly from the pot of water to the skillet. Stir everything well.
Don't worry about draining the noodles or accidentally getting pasta water in the skillet. The starchy pasta water will combine with the chicken broth and parmesan in the skillet to coat the noodles and turn into a sauce.
Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- If you make your own chicken stock, freeze it in ⅓ or ½ cup portions so it's easy to defrost quickly to use in recipes like this.
- Frozen peas are really fun to snack on right out of the freezer. If you've never tried them before, now's as good a time as any!
📖 Recipe
30-Minute Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
Recipe Notes
- Instead of fresh veggies, 1½ cups of frozen mixed veggies will work.
- For picky eaters: Instead of adding the pasta to the skillet with the veggies, add ¼ cup pasta water to the veggies while they simmer, drain the noodles when they’re done, and serve the chicken and veggies overtop the plain noodles.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Reheat in microwave.
- 1 tablespoon oil for the pan is approximate — a larger pan may need more oil, a smaller pan may need less! You need enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
- **NOTE: The perfect time to start cooking the pasta is right after you add the rest of the vegetables to the pan but before you add the chicken broth. This gives you about 4 minutes to deglaze the pan and reduce the chicken broth.
- Don't have dried basil? Try dried oregano or even a Greek seasoning blend.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1" cubes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 10 oz angel hair pasta
- 1 broccoli crown (cut into small florets)
- 1 large carrot (thinly sliced)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of generously salted water to boil. While the water boils, prep the vegetables and measure out your ingredients.
- Season the cubed chicken breast with salt and pepper and toss it with your fingers to coat.
- Preheat a large high-sided skillet until hot, then reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is shiny and ripples easily in the pan, add the chicken pieces in a single layer. They might stick slightly, that's okay. They'll release when they're ready to turn.
- Cook, stirring and turning chicken pieces until just cooked through, about 6-7 minutes. When chicken is done cooking, transfer from the skillet to a paper towel on a plate and set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the same pan over medium low. Add carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the rest of the vegetables, dried basil, and garlic. Stir to combine.
- Drop angel hair pasta into the boiling water, and set a timer according to al dente package directions (usually about 4 minutes).
- While pasta is cooking, add chicken broth to the vegetables. Stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, then reduce to a simmer and add the Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted, then add the chicken back to the skillet.
- When pasta is done, use a pasta fork or kitchen tongs to transfer it directly from the boiling water to the skillet. Use tongs to twist and twirl the pasta to evenly distribute the veggies and so that the sauce coats the noodles. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve topped with additional parmesan cheese.
Hailey says
Had to come write this post mid meal. I knew I’d like this meal, but I didn’t know I’d love it. It’s so simple and really has so much flavor! I almost didn’t get angel hair, because I’m exactly the anti angel hair person Rebecca writes about. I’m glad I did get it! We’ve got a whole new relationship now.
It’s a perfect weeknight meal that doesn’t require much prep, doesn’t dirty a ton of dishes, and I pretty much have all the ingredients on hand. I could also see this being great for a party since it yields a good bit and is very filling. Will definitely make again !
Veronica says
This dish has become one of our family’s favorite!