Creamy One-Pot Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms

Creamy One-Pot Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(8,163)
Notes
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Cooking pasta the way you would make risotto may sound new and hip. But it’s at least old enough to have been demonstrated to me in Rome in 1976, and I imagine as old as pasta itself. In this method, the liquid is minimized: there’s no need for a gallon per pound of pasta. The liquid is added gradually to the pasta, which absorbs it completely and thereby retains its starch. This makes the pasta creamy and rich; it also gains the flavor of the stock. You can use pretty much any pasta shape you like, but timing will vary depending on size. This approach may seem like more work than making pasta in the ordinary way. But as the making of the “sauce” is integrated into the pasta-cooking, it really becomes a one-dish meal — as interesting as risotto, and even a bit quicker. Here is a combination of gemelli with mushrooms and chicken to get you started.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
  • 1shallot or small onion, chopped
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
  • ½pound cut pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½cup dry white wine or water
  • 3 to 4cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2boneless chicken thighs, diced
  • Chopped fresh parsley, optional
  • Freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

610 calories; 26 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 30 grams protein; 1063 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.

  2. Step 2

    Ladle stock into skillet ½ cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.

  3. Step 3

    Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done — it will be white on inside when cut — and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.

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4 out of 5
8,163 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This was very good, but I agree with others that it needs additional spices. When I made it, I used 2 tsp dry thyme, 1 tsp dry oregano, 1/2 tsp dry marjoram, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and it turned out very well.

Also, instead of cooking the chicken as he directs, I used half a rotisserie chicken and threw in the meat about 2 minutes before the pasta was done. I also added a box of baby spinach shortly after I added the chicken, and I think that worked well.

Great recipe base with one MAJOR flaw. I've been making risotto for 20 years and not once in the history of risotto have I added raw meat at the end. I diced the chicken thigh pretty small and even so it took a good 15 minutes to get done. If you like purple, medium rare chicken prepare it per the recipe, otherwise do it like a risotto and cook the chicken first before adding it back at the end. Otherwise this is a great recipe and good jumping off point for future variations.

I make this recipe regularly, it's subtle and a welcome change from red-sauce pastas. Bittman's recipes are always "as you like it." I add some oregano and chili flakes with the garlic, and this time a bayleaf. It benefits from flavorful homemade broth. A squirt of lemon at the end with some parm, and maybe peas or sundried tomato to impart added color and flavor. I also used some dried mushrooms in the mix tonight and added the mushroom soaking water, gave it a nice depth.

Small tweaks make this amazing and flavorful. Before starting the pasta, I cooked some pancetta in the pan and then browned the chicken (dredged in flour and spices) in the pancetta fat, put on plate to rest. Added a little more oil and proceeded as directed — adding a splash of worcestershire to the mushrooms, then fresh black pepper, sundried tomato paste, thyme/oregano, spinach, squeeze of lemon.

Delicious - perhaps one of the finest recipes here. Took the recommendation of other posters and browned boneless, skinless thighs in the same pan first. Enough fat rendered with olive oil to provide a solid base for the veggies. Used a larger onion and more garlic than called for, plus fresh thyme leaves. I added the chicken (diced) back one the pasta was cooked near al dente. Many cracks of pepper and some fresh grated parm resulted in a superb Sunday supper.

This is a family favorite, the recipe that got us hooked on NYT's cooking site. Sadly, I've not been able to make a vegetarian version since the chicken seems important to create the sauce, and it's just not the same with all mushrooms. You do need the salt in the broth to get it seasoned right. We double the amount of mushrooms and chicken, and consider it pretty foolproof.

I love this and it is part of my weekly rotation. However, as I do not eat meat, I substitute shrimp...

Sautéed chicken first, then added with the last ladle of stock. Subbed Marsala wine for white and I'm really glad I did. Perhaps my favorite NYT Cooking recipe so far.

I have to weigh in here. This was good, not great. The chicken tasted bland and the dish could have used more herbs or seasoning--maybe the addition of some fresh tarragon or oregano. If I make this again, I'd use twice as many shallots, add fresh tarragon at the end, and I would marinate the chicken in a bit of olive oil and garlic, or olive oil/lemon/garlic, to give it a bit more flavor. I'd also saute the chicken first, and then add it later at the end to give it a bit of a sear.

Make sure to add hot broth, not cold or room temperature broth. Because of minimal amount of water used, the pasta cooking time will be longer than what's stated in the box. I prefer to add enough liquid to just cover the pasta, then close the lid and let it cook by having the past absorb all the hot liquid. By stirring constantly you may not cook every single pasta.

I found this to be delicious and easy. I went heavy on the shallots & garlic, based on notes that the result could be bland. I also took the advice of another cook who threw in a box of spinach along with the chicken, and that worked well (though reduced the amount of stock needed). The flavors of the wine, garlic and parmesan came together nicely. I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I made this last night -vegetarian. I used gemelli w/ veg broth, mushrooms, spinach, a bit of sun-dried tomatoes, and to increase the protein, stirred in 2 heaping tablespoons of soft goat cheese. Delicious!

Fantastic. Cook meat first, add back at end. Subbed marsala wine for white. Added thyme during cooking and parsley for garnish. Perhaps my favorite NYT recipe.

This recipe has become a go-to for years. I enjoy adding some halved cherry tomatoes around the same time as the pasta, which adds acidity and brightness.

Used half the amount of pasta (cooking for two), but kept mushroom/shallot/garlic and wine measurements. Half crimini, half shitake. Used half the amount of broth, substituted pre-cooked chicken sausages, stirred in a box of baby spinach and tons of chopped parsley toward the end. Finished with grated parm. A+++

I was too hungry to make this like risotto so I made the pasta separately. I sautéed the mushrooms, garlic and shallot and added a generous bunch of chopped swiss chard, an extra clove of garlic and a second shallot w garlic salt, pepper and nutmeg. I used pasta water to cook the chard and then added about 3/4 cup of almond milk and let it reduce, adding more pasta water as needed. Finally, I added about 2T sour cream and the parmesan. Creamy, savory and loaded w/vegetables. Yum.

Great recipe and technique. Agree with others, add more pepper, salt, thyme, oregano and I loved it with Parmesan. NOTE: this worked with gluten free pasta (DeLallo, made from whole rice; Trader Joe’s has a good all rice GF pasta too). Wasn’t sure it would turn out with GF pasta, and did put the kid in pan towards end of cooking to raise temp, finished fine.

We liked this. The instruction about adding the chicken when the pasta had 3-4 minutes to go was too vague, so we cooked the chicken separately and added it with the last ladle-full of stock so the flavors could meld. We also added a couple handfuls of grape tomatoes at that point - the bright acidity was a nice contrast with the umami of the rest of the dish.

- Season chicken with herbs (thyme, marjoram, rosemary, Aleppo pepper, salt) - Cook chicken first / remove from pan (add back in at the end) - fry up some pancetta before adding the aromatics - add chopped sundried tomatoes when adding parsley

Made this with rotisserie chicken, some frozen peas and some thyme infused sea salt. It was delicious, like a risotto minus the risotto.

Using the word creamy to describe this dish is a bit of an exaggeration. We found it to be dry and bland.

A really great basic recipe that has a lot of versitility to it. I can see myself adding different spices and some lemon for brightness; I think it could also work with a number of different vegetables added in as long as you have the mushroom base. I added a little bit of ricotta right before serving for some extra creaminess.

Not remotely worth the time. Cooking pasta like risotto is overly, unnecessarily fussy. Just because one can doesn’t mean one should.

This was really easy to make and delicious! I used mini penne noodles and they worked perfect. The chicken was cooked perfect you just have to make sure you cut it small enough. My family loved it! I will make this again for sure!

I would not call it creamy, I would not make again. Rare recipe failure from NYT cooking

Add chicken with mushrooms at beginning - do not it in later “raw”

I made this as a vegetarian dish and followed the advice given here to add herbs and spinach. It turned out really well, even my picky eater gobbled it up.

See LDL note for spices to add and Wesley on browning chicken. Also halved pasta and cooking stock. Made the night before and refrigerated. Added buttered breadcrumbs and baked at 350 for 45 minutes to reheat.

Cooked chicken at the beginning as others mentioned. Note: tried to use Banza chickpea pasta and it fell apart long before liquid was absorbed.

Doubled the garlic and added fresh lemon.

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