Freezer Meal: Pasta with Chicken, Lemon & White Wine
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Do you ever find yourself needing to prepare a meal for a friend? Perhaps a new mom? Or someone on bed rest? Or just someone in need?
As comfortable as I feel in the kitchen, cooking for these sorts of occasions makes me panicky. I never know what to make. I know comfort food is the name of the game, but I worry that my comfort food might not comfort others.
Fortunately, I have friends who thrive in these situations — friends who can throw casseroles together in their sleep; friends whose pantries never fail them at these critical moments; friends whose freezers at any given time are stocked with a half dozen of these sorts of meals already. It was one of these such friends who passed along this recipe after I mentioned I had no idea what I was going to make for my friend who had just returned from the hospital with a new baby girl. I didn’t even have to note that this new mom was avoiding dairy and a few other foods. Amanda knew exactly the recipe I needed.
This baked pasta with chicken has become a favorite in my house and not just for passing along to friends in need. Unlike so many baked-pasta recipes, this one contains neither cheese nor bechamel. The sauce, made with white wine, olive oil, lemon, herbs and garlic, tastes, without the fishiness, like the broth that bathes linguine and clams in giant porcelain bowls in classic Italian restaurants. It’s both light and comforting, and it demands lots of warm crusty bread.
I love making this recipe when I have leftover roast chicken, which recently has come by way of spatchcocking. Have you ever spatchcocked a chicken? It’s incredibly easy and rewarding, the result being, so far as I can tell, perfect roast chicken in about half the time.
Have you ever spatchcocked a chicken? Have you ever tried saying spatchcocked without laughing? Still can’t do it. But fortunately the giggles don’t get in the way of my spatchcocking:
Freezer Meal: Pasta with Chicken, Lemon & White Wine
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
This is my go-to meal to take to a friend in need.
A few notes:
- I especially love making this with leftover whole roasted chicken or spatchcocked chicken (recipe below).
- As noted in the recipe, however, many people love chicken breasts. Here’s how to cook them: Heat the oven to 400ºF. Place three boneless skinless chicken breasts in a roasting pan. Coat them lightly with olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper on both sides. Tuck in any herbs you have — rosemary and thyme are nice. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until just cooked through. You don’t want to overdo it here because the whole mixture cooks together in a casserole pan for 25 minutes covered in foil. Err on the side of slightly under-cooking the chicken. If you are like me and prefer dark meat or like a mix of both dark and white meat, spatchcocked chicken works nicely here. See above for a recipe.
- If you’re bringing this to a friend, a nice addition is a loaf of bread because there is lots of nice sauce to sop it all up with along with a simple salad and a shallot vinaigrette.
- If passing the meal off to a friend: Place all of the ingredients in a disposable foil roasting pan or a resealable freezer bag. This meal can be frozen for up to 3 months. Label and date and provide reheating instructions: Thaw in refrigerator overnight before baking. Bake covered in foil for 20 to 25 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb shells
- 1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken*
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Place a large pot of water on to boil. Cook pasta al dente — I cook it very al dente because the pasta eventually bakes for 25 minutes covered in foil. Drain and set aside.
- Dice chicken (or shred if you’re using roast chicken) and set aside.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend.
- If passing along to a friend, see notes above. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 350º F. Place pasta and chicken in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour sauce over top. Toss to combine. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until everything is nicely heated through.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Spatchcocked Chicken
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- A few sprigs rosemary and thyme, if you have them
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500ºF. Place whole chicken breast side down on a work surface. Using poultry shears (or a knife), remove the backbone. Drizzle some olive oil in a large roasting pan. Place chicken in the pan breast side up and press down firmly to flatten. Season all over with kosher salt and pepper. Tuck any herbs you have on hand under the skin and under the chicken itself. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over. Roast for about 30 minutes. If serving right away, let rest 10 minutes before carving. If you are planning on pulling meat from the bones, let rest until cool enough to handle.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
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76 Comments on “Freezer Meal: Pasta with Chicken, Lemon & White Wine”
I made this last night as I am learning new cooking methods after having a child diagnosed with a cow’s milk allergy. We learned a few things that I thought I would share. First, I doubled the recipe because …teenagers. I didn’t double the lemon zest or juice, but it was still very lemony. The big boys found it to have an “aftertaste” which, after translating from teenager to cook I took to mean a little bitter. I definitely think it was the wine because I used Chardonnay. A Pinot Gris would have been better. We did find that the leftovers tasted better. Maybe the sauce melded a little more with the pasta. I threw some olives and feta in my leftovers and thought it was super delicious. I was thinking capers might be a good addition as well. Also, for the cow’s milk allergy kid, I’m going to add a little goat cheese to his and see what he thinks. Wonderful and quick to pull together recipe if you’ve got shredded chicken in the freezer or a rotisserie from the grocery store.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for writing in with all of your thoughts! I think you are right re Pinot Grigio. I like Sauvignon Blanc, too. And yes, doubling is a great idea 🙂
I needed a recipe for this exact purpose- new mom! And lasagne is just not going to cut it! You’re the best! I doubt I’ll be Spatchcock-ing a chicken but breasts seem easy 😉
Tara!! hiiiieeeee and so happy to see your name here. xoxo
So excited to make this for a friend who just had her fourth baby. Will this feed five or should I double it?
I think I’d double it to be safe … but if there are a lot of little people eating, I think keeping it as written is just fine.
Do you really roast the spatchcocked chicken at 500 degrees?!? That just seems SO high to me, I rarely have to turn my oven above 400. Would it cook longer at a lower heat and still have that crispy skin? I’ve roasted plenty of whole chickens but never tried this before, def wanna give it a shot, but I was shocked by the high heat!
I do! If you turn the heat down, it may just take a little longer to get crispy. The real key, however, to getting crispy skin is to make sure the chicken is totally dry when you put in the oven. Good luck!
In my family we all have a repertoire of what we call “deacon meals”, meant for those in need of a good meal but not up to cooking. This sounds like it will be a lovely addition to that collection.
Oh Jane, I love this so much. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m need to grow my “deacon meal” library. Can’t ave too many of these kinds of recipes on hand. Thanks for writing.
I also recommend classic swiss steak with real mashed potatoes. It always goes well. And sweet sour ham balls with rice is another reliable deacon meal.
Oh I love it … thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂
This was delicious. Had it for dinner then for lunch the next day. I think it would work well with good canned tuna, which would make it a true pantry meal.
So happy to hear this, Jane! And yes, I agree re tuna.
Hey this is a great recipe! Thanks! Can you recommend any other recipes that freeze well like this? I am not experienced in freezing any cooked food but I am excited to try it for those busy days/weeks. Thanks again for all of the great recipes!
As well, I would like to add some broccoli. At what point should I add broccoli to this? Is it ok to bake the raw broccoli in the covered 9×13 pan for 20-25 minutes with the al dente pasta and chicken?
I’ve never tried, but it’s worth a shot! I think it will have a steamed texture, and if you’re OK with that, go for it.
Hi! I love freezing soup!
I’ve made this recipe, or versions of it, for years now. Figured I should leave a review finally! First, thanks for this amazing recipe. I love it. It’s sooooo forgiving and adaptable.
I add in some dijon mustard, capers- I think those are required with lemon juice. 🙂
I’ve used orzo pasta here. Whatever I have on hand. It’s always great!
Oh I love all of these ideas. I think you are right: capers and dijon are a must with lemon juice (and parsley!). Thanks for writing and sharing.