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Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta

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Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta | beckysbestbites.com


Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a healthy weeknight dinner recipe. Get a tasty meal loaded with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach on the table in 30 minutes.

 

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a healthy weeknight dinner recipe.  Get a tasty meal loaded with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach on the table in 30 minutes. | beckysbestbites.com #FallforFlavor #Ad

As we moved into the week of Labor Day, we had to really turn up the dial! My bridal shower was the Saturday before Labor Day (I promise to write a post on it soon…it was absolutely perfect!!) and we had a bunch of people coming to town!! Every available bed in my house and my parents house was full of company, a blow-up mattress was needed and then we had some people in hotels too!!

So of course, before everyone came down, we had a lot of cleaning and planning to do. We are talking all of that deep cleaning that you constantly put off until you have someone coming to stay at your house 😉 There was absolutely no time for any kind of fancy cooking. I needed help whereever I could find it! I was stressing about everything else, so there was no time to stress about dinner!!

I was at Publix picking up a few groceries I needed for company and I got to thinking that I really wanted to prepare one last great meal that was loaded with lean protein and veggies before got into the party mode  😆

I was strolling down the pasta aisle and stopped at the jarred pasta sauces. I frowned because I would like the convenience of using a jarred pasta sauce, but most of them have ingredients in them that I am not comfortable with serving to my family. Then I noticed a new pasta sauce from Mezzetta®, a company’s whose products I frequently purchase. Their Napa Valley Homemade™ Pasta Sauces caught my attention.

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta

I picked up a jar and checked it out!

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta Sauce Jar Collage

Looking at the ingredients, I noticed that it is made from 100% real ingredients, no sugar and no paste! It is also gluten free, cholesterol free and no GMO’s  🙂

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Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ is available in the followeing flavors:

• Marinara
• Tomato & Sweet Basil
• Spicy Marinara
• Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onions
• Parmesan, Asiago & Romano
• Wild Mushroom

My Publix only had Marinara, Tomato & Sweet Basil and the Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onions varieties. I picked up all of them, but knew that I wanted to use the Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onions first. We love garlic and onion and use it in just about every dinner recipe 🙂

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta-2

I decided that I would make a Tuscan Chicken Pasta to get us started on the right foot for the long, busy shower weekend! I would amp up the veggie-factor by adding more onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach (not pictured because it was still thawing), sun-dried tomatoes. I wanted to make sure that it had plenty of lean protein to power us into the weekend by adding boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta Instructions Collage

This 30-minute healthy meal comes together so simply with a sauté of all the ingredients (except the pasta which is boiled in a separate pot) in a large skillet.

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta

We really enjoyed how this Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta turned out!! We were plesantly surprized how how fresh-tasting this dish was even with being made with a jarred pizza sauce  🙂

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I can’t wait to try the other flavors of  Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ pasta sauces that I picked up and I hope my Publix starts carrying the other flavors so I can try them too!!

To help you celebrate the launch of Napa Valley Homemade™ , Mezzetta® Foods is giving away the Perfect Pasta Night and serveral other prizes!!

The Prizes Include:
• Grand Prize (1): Perfect Pasta Night. Cooking kit includes: Six (6) Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ Pasta Sauces + Dried Pasta + Apron + Grocery Tote + Chef’s Hat + Cheese Grater + Recipe Cards + $500 grocery gift card

• Runner Up Prizes (10): Six (6) Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ Pasta Sauces + Recipe Cards

All you have to do to enter the giveaway for your chance to win is to CLICK HERE and provide your email address! Easy peasy  😛

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Are you ready to #FallForFall so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with you family with Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™?  Then try my Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta for a healthy meal packed with real ingredients in less than 30 minutes  😎

Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta Featured-2

This is your recipe for Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta:

5.0 from 6 reviews
Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta
 
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Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 box (13.25 oz.) 100% Whole Grain Penne Pasta
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large sweet, yellow onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
  • 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 jar (25 oz.) Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onions Pasta Sauce
  • 1.5 oz. Smoked Sun-dried Tomatoes, Julienne Cut
  • 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, water squeezed out and patted dry
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flake (more or less depending on your spice preference)
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta to al-dente according to package instructions, reserve 1 cup starchy cooking water. Drain and set aside, keeping warm.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil, chopped onion, mushrooms and garlic. Cook until onion is just beginning to soften and mushrooms have browned and released their juices, approximately 5 minutes.
  3. Add chicken pieces and brown chicken on all sides, approximately 5 minutes.
  4. Add Mezzetta® Napa Valley Homemade™ Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onions Pasta Sauce and sun-dried tomatoes, reduce heat to a simmer.
  5. Continue to simmer the chicken/sauce mixture for 7-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
  6. Add thawed spinach (make sure it is a dry as possible or your sauce will get watery) and stir to combine and heat through for about 2 minutes.
  7. Combine sauce mixture, pasta and starchy cooking water. Toss to combine.
  8. Serve immediately and enjoy!!

Now it is your turn, I would love for you to share in the comments below how you and your family use that extra time at the dinner table this Fall now that the weather has started to cool down.

Comments

  1. Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says

    That is exactly the kid of meal that our family loves. I am looking forward to trying your recipe very soon!

    • Becky says

      Thank you!! Yes, I believe that replacing the chicken with tofu would be an easy swap. Just make sure that the tofu is pressed so your sauce doesn’t get too watery 🙂

  4. Terri Beavers says

    Oh my, this sounds really tasty and delicious. We love pasta and chicken so I’ll have to try your recipe. Thanks so much for sharing, I can’t wait to try this.

  5. Angelic Sinova says

    This Veggie-Packed Tuscan Chicken Pasta looks AMAZING! Seriously, you can never go wrong with pasta. I can’t wait to try this recipe soon <3

  6. Vera Sweeney says

    Oh my gosh this looks delicious! I love to find ways to get more veggies in my kids, sounds like a great dinner for a school night!

  9. victoria says

    Sounds a great recipe my brother and sister would love this type of food, and i make this for them thanks for sharing the recipe

  13. Christi says

    This looks absolutely delicious! I love how it sneaks in so many great veggies, too. My kids love pasta, so I’ll have to try this one with them soon!

  14. Franc Ramon says

    This looks really healthy and tasty. I’m sure to love this pasta combination of veggies and chicken.

  15. Kiwi says

    I love this pasta is one of my favorite food. The spinach added to this is perfect I definitely can see myself making this dish soon!

    • Becky says

      Thanks Kiwi!! I love pasta too and with the added spinach, I don’t feel so bad about eating alot of it 😉

  17. Elizabeth O. says

    My daughter loves pasta! If ever she requests for pasta for dinner, I’d definitely consider this.

  18. Marts says

    Just mere looking at the pictures makes me hungry already 🙂 Thanks for sharing this one! Will tell momma about this!

  20. Mykidsguide says

    That looks yummy! I am cutting back on beef and pork and serving more chicken to my family. I can’t wait to try your recipe.

  22. Annemarie LeBlanc says

    Great looking pasta dish! I will download the recipe and keep them in my recipe collection. I would surely make this for a family gathering potluck event.

  24. XmasDolly says

    Num, Nummy and NUMMERS! Boy! Does that ever look good, and naturally I pinned that recipe! Woo Hoo I cannot wait! I love to have something new on the table. I’m always looking for recipes and trying things out. Thanks for sharing.

  25. Tyra says

    This looks incredibly delicious and is making me a bit hungry. I love the veggies in with the pasta. Makes you feel better about the carbs.

  27. Bonnie @wemake7 says

    That looks really good. I haven’t tried their pasta sauce before but will look for it the next time I’m at the store. Thanks for the recipe.

  30. Kara says

    We love pasta dishes in our household. This looks like something we can easily throw in the mix.

  31. Kerri says

    This looks like a great Italian dish. I am always looking for great sauces to try and Mezzetta looks like it has a great variety.

  32. April @ Everyday Fitness and Nutrition says

    This looks really yummy! I love how easy it is to make too – perfect for a busy week night.

  34. R. A. McClure says

    Hi! Great recipe — quick, simple, yummy!! I made just a couple of modifications: I marinated my chicken cubes in a mixture of fresh grated Italian herbs, sea salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar — just a few drops. Since I don’t have a Publix near my house I substituted Trader Joe’s Tuscan Marinara Sauce — YUM!! I also used fresh baby spinach. I like to keep some on hand because I think it adds a little bit more character to recipes. Thanks so much for the quick dinner recipe! I hope the wedding was fabulous– and CONGRATS!!