Spinach Mushroom Chicken Pasta with fresh lemon, basil and parmesan over whole wheat pasta is a quick, tasty & healthy recipe that just feels very indulgent…but I promise that this still a health coach approved recipe. Easy enough for a week-day night, but remarkable enough for company, this recipe is one that you are definitely gonna want to keep in your back pocket.
I know that many schools across the country are just getting back to school or maybe even going to start just after the long Labor Day weekend, but here in the south school has been back for almost a month. Crazy, huh? I don’t have kids of my own, but my sister is a fifth grade teacher here and my boyfriend’s son just started pre-school. So that is how I stay “in-the-know” about school schedules and such! You can check out that cuttie pie in this post: Summer Gazpacho Salad and a 5 Year Old’s Birthday!
I also know that back-to-school means crazy hectic schedules and nights that will be full of practices and other activities. You need a handful of recipes that you can whip up quickly or even make ahead so that you can quickly quiet those rumbling tummies at the end of those crazy weeknights. My hope is that my Spinach Mushroom Chicken Pasta can be one of those recipes for you. I love how quick and easily this recipe comes together!! And as an added bonus, you will probably have leftovers which are great to take to work with you the next day.
I adapted this recipe from Finding Joy in My Kitchen’s recipe. In that recipe, she uses fresh spinach (which you could totally still do in this recipe if you would prefer), but I used one of my favorite budget savers, frozen chopped spinach. It is a real bang for your buck and a time saver!! Frozen veggies are supposed to be as healthy or maybe even healthier than fresh because they are frozen at the peak of freshness. So I actually use frozen quite a bit because as you know fresh veggies are quite expensive!! And not to mention, if you want to get organic…forget about it!! It drives me crazy (beware…going to jump on my soap box here) that you can buy a hamburger at McDonald’s for $0.59 but a salad there is like $6!! Urg…no wonder so much of this country is fat and unhealthy.
Okay, sorry about that…back to the recipe…
Here is the recipe and nutritional info (click the “Recipe Magic” button) for Spinach Mushroom Chicken Pasta
- 12 oz. 100% Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (or gluten-free pasta)
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 8 oz. fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, chopped
- 8 oz. frozen chopped spinach (or 1½ cups fresh spinach, chopped)
- 2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- sea salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste,
- Cook pasta according to package instructions for the "firm" degree of doneness. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water. Drain pasta. Return pasta to hot pot add reserved cooking water and set aside, keeping warm.
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.
- Once hot, add onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the onion is soft and is starting to turn translucent.
- Add chicken and mushrooms and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms brown and give off their juices (approximately 5-7 minutes).
- Add spinach and cook until warmed through (see notes for using fresh spinach).
- Add basil, lemon zest and juice, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Add cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine, adjusting seasonings if necessary.
- Serve with extra parmesan for garnish. Enjoy!!
