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Garlicky Chicken with Spinach Over Pasta

This pasta recipe is easy and affordable. Using pantry spices to add flavour to store-bought pasta sauce, it comes together quickly and will be ready to go to the table in under half an hour.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast(s)
10 oz whole wheat spaghettini
2 cups Marinara pasta sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp basil, fresh
1 tsp thyme, dried
8 oz spinach

Food Safety

Before you start, wash all surfaces and your hands with soap and warm water, and remember to wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards after they touch raw meat or eggs. Avoid cross-contamination by using a different cutting board for your meat and other ingredients. Make sure you’re cooking to safe temperatures and chilling any leftovers within two hours. For more food safety tips, visit our Food Safety at Home Section.

Steps

  1. Cook pasta in unsalted boiling water according to package directions. Gently heat the pasta sauce.

  2. Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast pieces and cook until browned. Sprinkle in fresh ground black pepper, finely minced garlic and herbs and cook a few minutes more until chicken is nicely coated and cooked thoroughly, a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest piece should read 165°F (74°C). Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

  3. Wash spinach and shake dry. Add to same skillet used to cook the chicken — cover and cook 2 minutes or until tender. The water that clings to the leaves is sufficient to wilt the spinach.

  4. Toss hot pasta with the heated Marinara sauce and divide among 4 individual plates. Top each with wilted spinach and the garlicky herb chicken and serve.

Helpful Tip

Do not add salt to the water used to cook pasta, rice etc. to cut back on your salt intake. Most ready-to-serve pasta sauces are seasoned and contain a lot of salt and you won’t notice the difference.

You can further reduce salt in recipes by using fresh herbs. Dried herbs are stronger than fresh. A useful formula is 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried.

Nutrition Info

Per 530 g serving Amount
Calories670
Protein74 g
Fat13 g
Saturated Fat3 g
Carbohydrate68 g
Fibre10 g
Sugar5 g
Cholesterol155 mg
Sodium350 mg
Per 530 g serving % Daily Value
Potassium27
Calcium10
Iron45
Vitamin A45
Vitamin C30
Vitamin B694
Vitamin B1251
Folate23
Zinc43