Description
Rich, hearty chicken bolognese delivers Italian comfort straight from home kitchens, blending tender ground chicken with robust tomato sauce and aromatic herbs. Creamy pasta waves cradle this classic sauce, inviting you to savor each delectable, warmly spiced bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Proteins:
- 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) ground chicken
- 16 ounces (0.45 kilogram) pasta of choice (fettuccine, brown rice, quinoa, lentil, or chickpea gluten-free)
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (1 large) carrot, finely diced
- 1 cup baby bella or cremini mushrooms, finely diced
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
Liquids and Sauces:
- 28 ounces (0.8 kilogram) can diced or crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Low-sodium chicken broth (amount not specified)
- Salt (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare a spacious Dutch oven or large pot, heating olive oil over medium-high temperature until shimmering.
- Sauté diced onions, carrots, and mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, allowing vegetables to soften and release their aromatic essence.
- Introduce ground chicken to the vegetable mixture, along with minced garlic, salt, ground black pepper, and red chili flakes. Gently fragment the meat using a wooden spoon while cooking for 3-4 minutes, maintaining a slightly pink interior.
- Incorporate diced tomatoes, concentrated tomato paste, rich chicken broth, fresh basil leaves, a single bay leaf, and a pat of butter into the meat mixture.
- Reduce cooking temperature to medium-low, allowing the sauce to gently simmer and develop complex flavors. Stir periodically, letting the sauce reduce and intensify for 20-30 minutes.
- While sauce simmers, prepare pasta according to package instructions in a separate pot, using both standard (grams) and American (ounces) measurements as a guide.
- Carefully extract the bay leaf from the sauce, ensuring no remnants remain in the final dish.
- Drain pasta, reserving of starchy cooking liquid to help bind the sauce.
- Combine pasta with the robust chicken bolognese sauce, adding reserved pasta water to achieve a silky, cohesive texture.
- Garnish with freshly torn basil leaves and generously sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese before serving.
Notes
- Elevate your weeknight dinner with this quick and flavorful chicken bolognese that transforms simple ingredients into a restaurant-worthy meal.
- Mushrooms add unexpected depth and umami, creating a more complex sauce compared to traditional beef-based bolognese.
- Simmering allows herbs and spices to meld together, developing a rich flavor profile that gets better with time.
- Reserving pasta water helps create a silky sauce that perfectly coats each noodle, ensuring maximum taste in every bite.
- Fresh basil and Parmesan cheese provide a bright, finishing touch that cuts through the sauce’s richness and adds a professional chef-like presentation.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 490 kcal
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 64g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 90mg