This.
Is.
So.
Good.
Oh-this-is-so-good. HEY!
{ahem} Starting with a chant today is totally necessary because this is a recipe so yummy that it is going to change the course of my 2013/2014 school year dinners, whiiiich is a pretty big deal. Within a half of a bite, it had earned a place in The Weeknight Regulars thanks to the phenom flavors, broad family friendly appeal, and ease of preparation. I am such a sucker for ease of prep. <— See that? I don’t even like to say the full word preparation.
Check the title right now if you want to know how many ingredients it takes to make one batch of Chicken Pizzaiola. Oh, that’s right. I said six. As in onetwothreefourfivesix and poof: dinner is done.
This recipe comes from an absolute gem of a cookbook: The 6 Ingredient Solution by the one and only America’s Test Kitchen.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ATK writes great recipes. They just always always always work. Always. So think about how awesome that’s going to be when all of these beautiful recipes that only require six ingredients just work. Like, they taste amazing, save you a little time and money, and keep the family happy. That’s going to be pretty sweet: understatement of the year.
So where can you get one of these cookbooks?
You Can Buy It!
Oh, I’m excited for you already.
Can I do a quick rundown of the recipe for you? There are basically two steps to Chicken Pizzaiola. One: bake the chicken. Two: boil the noodles.
See? Easy and perfect.
When I made this at 4pm on a Friday afternoon like a true food blogger, I may or may not have found myself over the sink holding a plate of noodles doing a post-photo-shoot nose dive into the spaghetti noodles and cheesy pepperoni chicken. Even knowing that I was going to have Chipotle for dinner with friends in about an hour could not stop my ravenous self from devouring this perfectly pizza-like meal.
Right away when Bjork walked in after work, he commented on how good it smelled and asked what it was. I told him in my most fancy-lady voice: Chicken Pizzaiola. Because how can you not say that in a fancy voice? Try it.
And then I told him no, he probably shouldn’t try it right now because we were having Chipotle for dinner, remember? And no, I hadn’t had any either. Psh. And no, those weren’t red spaghetti sauce stains all over my face. Nooo way.
The beauty of this recipe (besides the cheese, pep, spaghetti, chicken, and general amazingness) is that the whole thing can be made while on the phone with your mom getting advice about things like home-buying. All it really takes to make the recipe come together is an absent minded stir here, and peek in the oven there, and a Sorry I Gotta Go Love You Mom when the chicken comes out of the oven.
If you want to have a delicious dinner that your whole family loves, and you want it 5 minutes ago without a trip to the store, and bonus if it includes tomato saucy noodles and chicken that reminds you of pizza, you want Chicken Pizzaiola.
Please make this so that you can love it. And so we can be dinner twins. Weeee!
Print
Chicken Pizzaiola
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This 6-ingredient recipe for Chicken Pizzaiola is a family favorite! Spaghetti noodles with pepperoni and cheese covered chicken. Yum!
Ingredients
- 3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella
- 2 ounces sliced pepperoni
- 8 ounces spaghetti
Instructions
- Chicken: Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread tomato sauce into a 9×13 baking dish. Spread Parmesan in a shallow dish. Trim chicken pat dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper, and coat with Parmesan. Lay chicken on top of tomato sauce. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Chicken: Sprinkle Mozzarella and pepperoni over the chicken. Increase oven temperature to 475 and continue to bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
- Spaghetti: Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain and return to pot.
- Spoon some sauce from the baking dish into the pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed. Serve with chicken and remaining sauce.
Notes
I found that I only needed about 1/4 cup of the crumbly Kraft Parmesan to coat the chicken. I could also only fit about 1 tablespoon of Mozzarella and a few slices of pepperoni on top of each chicken breast as well. The nutrition facts below reflect my slight cut backs on the cheeses and the pepperoni.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Keywords: chicken pizzaiola, pizzaiola, spaghetti with pepperoni
This does look amazing! AND so simple! I cannot wait to give this a try. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try it and the book. Love easy recipes with minimal ingredients.
Love these shots! The lighting is so pretty! Also, I obviously love the food too!! Looks so easy and just plain awesome!
Thanks Tieghan!
I really love your blog and have learned so much from your posts! This looks so good and easy too. Just saw one tiny typo in step 3 of your recipe- says “paste” instead of “pasta”. I was thinking, does she mean that tomato paste is boiled with the pasta? Haha!
thank you! 🙂 I meant pasta. I’ll fix it now.
This look yummy and kid friendly. Which means I’ll be adding to my weekly menu like NOW. Thanks!
Looks like the perfect weeknight meal!
Um…so I may or may not have been at my sink at 4 pm yesterday eating garlic pasta…60 minutes before meeting friends for pizza. You did the right thing–This looks totally worth it!
We do what we have to do.
That dish looks amazing! Looks like I have a cookbook to add to my collection 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
This looks sooooo tasty! And I love all things from ATK! 🙂
Gorgeous photos!!!!
Peperoni covered Chicken – yup this dish is bringing out the child in me!
Looks awesome!
Thanks Shashi!
OMGGGGG I want it so bad I might do some damage.
OMG anything that requires 6 ingredients and tastes like pizza is a winner in my house…and my tummy! Looks.SO.Amazing
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You had me at 6 ingredients. This is awesome and perfect for busy days! Thanks for posting. And I definitely need to order that cookbook stat.
Drooling all over my desk at work. . .you would think that I would be mad, but I am happy that I have something delicious to make for dinner!!
Easy? I’m in….. this looks yummy
This looks amazing, and I can use some of the tomato sauce I’ve been making with our garden tomatoes!
This looks like an amazing recipe for busy weeknights which every weeknight is right?! YUM!
This is TOTALLY happening. Tonight. Except … I think I have to use spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce cuz that’s what’s in my pantry. AND I have bushels of basil in my herb garden, so I figure if one of the ingredients is plucked from your yard a 7-ingredient meal is *almost* the same as a 6-ingredient prep, yes? Yummers.
Oh, that’s what it should be! spaghetti or flavored tomato sauce.
Ooooh Ooooh! Me! Me! 🙂
Another doozy to add to the list! I only found you about 10 days ago but already am in love….seriously…..I never joke about food! This will be hit with a picky eater in my house who thinks pizza is the only food on the pyramid and I love anything that will make the load a little easier. Thanks again and I love, love, love your site!
OMG! That looks soo good! Can’t you tell I’m hungry? Hungry or not, I have to try this one soon!
Sounds like this would work well for talking to your mom about what to do about your teething toddler while making dinner. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve messed something up because I apparently can’t cook and talk at the same time – but this one looks like a winner! Pinned and on the meal plan for next week. Bam!
You had me with ‘6 ingredients’ – no need to say more! And yes, yes I would like to eat this for dinner. Looks amazing!!
This looks so fabulous that I may have to go make it right now!!
Such simple, easy, fresh ingredients! Perfect for a hectic day’s dinner. Love it!
Hello, easy and perfect weeknight meal! 🙂