Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

This flavorful, creamy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta is a cinch to make, which makes it perfect for busy weeknights. Combining a creamy, tangy cheese sauce with grilled chicken and fresh Broccoli over Rotini Pasta, it’s going to be your next go-to meal in the dinner rotation.

What’s not to love about a good Homemade Creamy Cheese Sauce over Rotini Pasta? How can you go wrong adding a grilled chicken and fresh broccoli to the mix? You just can’t in my book. Unless you hate broccoli, and in that case, you have stumbled on the wrong recipe today.

Have you ever noticed how frustrating making dinner can sometimes be? Don’t get me wrong I love to cook. I also love trying out new recipes. The only hitch? My other half is one of those people that like something one minute and hate it the next. That can be frustrating when making dinner daily. Can you relate?

One day he will rant and rave about how delicious dinner is, and the next time you make it again a month later, it’s meh at best. I call it Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dinner Syndrom. I know maybe I am a little extra with that description, aren’t I? Sorry, but it’s 100% factual. LOL!

The other day I was having one of those dreaded I have no idea what to make for dinner. I am so tired of beef, beef, beef all the time. Which, by the way,  is his favorite meat to eat constantly. I am not a huge beef eater. I like it, but once a week is more than enough for me.

I’m a chicken girl, I love chicken, fried, grilled, baked, broiled, so on and so forth. He can take it or leave it most times. So after eating beef two days in a row, I could not imagine it again for dinner. I wanted to eat chicken. However, whatever I made had to satisfy both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s fancy. This was going to be hard to pull off.

I decided whatever I make for dinner, it must be SUPER creamy, cheesy, and not skimp on flavor. As luck had it, I had two large grilled chicken breasts, several types of cheeses in the refrigerator, and a few crowns of broccoli that needed to be used up soon. I had an idea!

He loves cheese; I mean, he loves it. He seems to love all dairy with a passion, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, and milk. You get the picture — a true dairy lover. So I decided to make him and me both happy with this recipe for Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta.

Update: Guess who loved this recipe so much he went back for seconds and wanted it again? The husband approved x2. I have to agree with him, it was delicious, and I consider it a go-to meal when I don’t want to be in the kitchen. I feel like I got the Cook of the Year Award after him having requested a second plate! Yay me!

Pro Tips on the ingredients 

1. If you can use All-Natural Chicken, no added hormones, no antibiotics ever.

2. Use organic lightly steamed frozen or fresh Broccoli if possible.

3. Organic dairy products are a great healthy option if available and affordable.

4. Real unsalted butter is a must for making the proper cheese sauce texture.

Ingredients Needed for Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

• One pound cooked Rotini or corkscrew-shaped pasta, al dente

• One teaspoon salt, for water

• Two-6-ounce Grilled chicken breasts, seasoned pre-cooked

• Two tablespoons unsalted butter

• One small onion, chopped

• Three-Four cups of raw broccoli florets

• Three tablespoons butter

• Three tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Two cups whole milk, warmed

• One cup Half and Half cream, warmed

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup of chicken broth + more if needed

• Two cups freshly shredded yellow Cheddar

• Two cups freshly shredded Colby-Jack Cheese

• One tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

• Kosher salt

• Black pepper

• Parmesan cheese, topping

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Heidy McCallum

This flavorful creamy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta is a cinch to make, which makes it perfect for busy weeknights. Combining a rich tangy cheese sauce with grilled chicken and fresh Broccoli over Rotini Pasta it’s going to be your next go-to meal in the dinner rotation.

4.89 from 18 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 People

Calories 875 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound Rotini or corkscrew-shaped pasta, al dente
• 1 teaspoon Salt for boiling water
• 2-6- ounce Grilled chicken breasts, seasoned and pre-cooked cut in thin strips
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
• 1 small Sweet onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter for sauce
• 3 tablespoon All-purpose flour
• 2 cups Whole milk warmed
• 1 cup Half and Half cream warmed
• ½ cup Chicken Broth + more if needed to thin
• ¼ cup Sour cream
• 2 cups Freshly shredded Yellow Cheddar
• 2 cups Freshly Shredded Colby-Jack
• 1 tablespoon Prepared Dijon mustard
• 3-4 cups Frozen Broccoli florets, lightly steamed thawed
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder optional
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black Pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

 

• _{Fill a large pot with cold water and put 1 teaspoon of salt in the water, place on high heat, and bring to a full boil. Once the water has come to a boil add pasta. Cook about 8-9 minutes. Drain but do not rinse.}
• _{Meanwhile, slice the precooked chicken into strips. If you do not have leftover grilled chicken rotisserie chicken from the market will work perfectly fine too.} 
• _{While pasta is still cooking place a metal skillet on medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add the chopped onions. Cook 3 about minutes. Reserve until needed}
• _{Place the pasta pot on medium-low heat ( do not add the past back to the pot until needed. ) Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter, add the flour, and stir while cooking for about 3 minutes. Add the onions back in, warm milk, warm Half and Half Cream, sour cream, chicken broth, both kinds of cheese, and prepared Dijon Mustard. Reduce the heat and melt the cheeses constantly stirring the cheese sauce.}
• _{Once the cheese sauce is finished add and combine the al dente pasta, chicken, and broccoli into the pasta pot. Reduce to lowest heat setting, and cook for 3-5 minutes on the lowest heat setting.}
• _{Top with Parmesan cheese and serve while still hot.}

Notes

Although themccallumsshamrockpatch.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and how ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will themccallumsshamrockpatch.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on nutritional information.

Nutrition

Serving: 01Calories: 875kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 39gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 1078mgPotassium: 687mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1720IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 765mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese, chicken, pasta

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Suggested Recipes:

• Baked Ravioli Zucchini and Squash is the ideal easy peasy pasta recipe for summer, fall, and winter.  Ravioli, Zucchini, yellow squash, provolone cheese, fresh mozzarella, and eggplant are smothered with a homemade tomato sauce, layered with vegetables, and topped with fresh herbs.
• Audrey Hepburn’s Spaghetti al Pomodoro is simple to make yet a classic Italian pasta sauce that combines only the best organic ingredients with organic pasta. The flavor is outstanding and always gets rave reviews every time I make a batch of it.

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