Updated: Oct 5
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This creamy Dijon Parmesan chicken pasta started with a simple skillet recipe, but a trip to the garden changed everything. Fresh garden tomatoes and peppers joined a little store-bought onion, tender chicken, garlic, Parmesan and a creamy Dijon sauce — and suddenly dinner had a whole lot more Rumble and a whole lot more Gumption.
It’s creamy without being complicated, packed with flavor, and made almost entirely in one skillet after the pasta is cooked.
Garden vegetables and a cast-iron skillet, That’s an RGJ dinner. 😂
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Tools From the Kitchen:
Large pot
Large cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed skillet
Meat mallet or rolling pin
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Measuring spoons
Liquid measuring cup
Colander
Tongs or large spoon
Instant-read meat thermometer
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Ingredients:
Chicken
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Garden Veggies
1 bell pepper, chopped
½ medium onion, diced
1–1½ cups fresh garden cherry tomatoes
Creamy Dijon Parmesan Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste
1½ teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried chives
Pasta
12 ounces pasta
Reserved pasta water, as needed
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Prepare:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
Before draining, reserve at least ½ cup of pasta water.
2. Toss chicken with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper until fully coated.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and sear for about 3–4 minutes per side, until nicely browned.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and chop.
RGJ Kitchen Tip: Don’t worry if the chicken isn’t completely cooked through at this point. It will finish cooking later in the covered skillet.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion and bell pepper to the same skillet and cook for about 3–4 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add the garden tomatoes and cook another 1–2 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter.
Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
6. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, paprika and Italian seasoning.
7. Pour in the heavy cream and stir until smooth.
Let the sauce gently simmer — don’t let it come to a hard boil.
8. Gradually stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
9. Stir in the dried parsley and dried chives.
Taste and add salt if needed.
8. Return the chopped chicken to the skillet. Stir everything together.
Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest part.
This is an important step — especially if your chicken breasts are on the thicker side.
9. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat everything in that creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
10. Sprinkle with a little additional dried parsley and Parmesan, if desired.
Serve hot.
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Notes From the Kitchen:
Pound that chicken!
Large chicken breasts can be deceptively thick. Pounding them to an even thickness helps them cook more evenly and keeps you from having a beautifully browned outside and an undercooked center.
Watch your butter.
Butter melts quickly and can burn just as quickly. Lower skillet temp if it starts browning.
Don’t skip the covered finish.
The chicken gets another 10 minutes in the covered skillet, which allows it to finish cooking while picking up all those gorgeous sauce flavors.
Your garden tomatoes are doing the work.
There’s no tomato sauce or paste in this recipe. The fresh tomatoes add little bursts of acidity and sweetness without turning the creamy Parmesan sauce into a tomato sauce.
Pasta water is your friend.
Reserve it! A splash can loosen the Parmesan cream sauce and help it cling to the pasta.
About the dried herbs:
Swap in fresh herbs for dried ones anytime you’ve got them!
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