Whipped ricotta one pot chicken pasta – with sun dried tomatoes

An easy, one pot chicken pasta recipe that feels a little bit rustic-fancy thanks to a swirl of whipped ricotta and smattering of sun dried tomato. Pro tip: use the oil from the sun dried tomato to sauté the chicken. Free flavour!

A one pot chicken pasta that’s a little bit (rustic) fancy

Whipped ricotta is a recent revelation for me. I’d seen it around for years, but assumed “whipped” meant dragging out the stand mixer – aka, too much effort for a Tuesday night.

Until my brother rolled his eyes and said, “It’s just ricotta, milk, and parmesan whisked by hand.” And just like that, in 10 seconds, lumpy ricotta turns into something creamy and dreamy – like savoury whipped cream, which then melts when dolloped on hot pasta.

Think of it as a lower fat version of cream. Swirl it through your midweek pasta and all of a sudden, it goes from “yum” to “are we in a trendy trattoria??!”. Definitely moves a quick one-pot pasta recipe into guest-worthy territory!

Actually, whipped ricotta had a starring role in my second cookbook, Tonight, as an easy way to elevate virtually any roasted vegetable to event-worthy (see the handy How to Roast Any Vegetable chart on page 218). I boldly said it would be your “new favourite sauce to create a statement veg side”. I stand by that! 🙂

Here it is with blistered cherry tomatoes in Tonight. Exceptional with roasted carrots, asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, mushrooms – pretty much any roasted vegetable!

Ingredients for Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta

While I’m providing commentary and substitution tips, there’s no need to get too pedantic about the ingredients for this recipe because it’s a reliable, fairly flexible midweeker. If the exactness of ingredients matter for a recipe, you will know! I will harp on and on about it!!

The whipped ricotta

Just ricotta, milk and parmesan for a savoury flavour boost (though I would absolutely make this without).

• Ricotta – The ones sold in tubs at grocery stores aren’t great, then tend to be a little powdery. For better quality, buy it over the deli counter or get the vacuum-sealed ricotta sold in baskets. My go-to is Paesanella brand which is a widely available these days, even over the deli counter at grocery stores.

• Milk – Any fat % is fine here.

• Parmesan – For a flavour boost. Also, because the whipped ricotta is used here in place of the obligatory parmesan sprinkle that is typically used for pastas, so I like to build it in.

FOR THE ONE POT CHICKEN PASTA

Here’s what you need for the pasta. The sun dried tomato adds fabulous flavour pops, plus we use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. Free flavour – and free oil!

• Chicken – I like to use boneless thighs as they stay juicier than breast in this form of cooking, where the chicken pieces are cooked with the pasta. But breast or tenderloin will work just fine in this recipe.

• Sun dried tomato – Get the strips in oil. As noted above, we use the oil to cook the chicken – honestly, it adds lovely tomatoey flavour! If you accidentally got whole or tomato halves, have fun chopping….oily…slimy! Been there, done that! I’d still make this recipe if I didn’t have sun dried tomato but I’d add something to compensate. Something briny like chopped olives, capers, chargrilled capsicum or any anti-pasto type thing.

• Canned tomato – I use crushed as it’s already semi broken down so it makes a nicer sauce. Though diced is fine too.

• Tomato paste – For extra tomato flavour boost. I’d still make this if I was out.

• Pasta – I used fusilli (spirals) but anything short and not too big will work. Think, penne, ziti, macaroni, small shells, farfalle (bow ties), casarecce, orecchiette. But not as small as risoni/orzo or as large as rigatoni.

• Garlic and onion – Essential flavour base! Goes a long way with these one-pot pasta recipes.

• Wine – Adds extra depth of flavour into an otherwise simple, quick-cook sauce. Preferably a dry white wine though I don’t hesitate to use leftover flat champagne, rose, red wine. Non alcoholic is an acceptable substitute though don’t go out of your way to get it.

• Chicken stock/broth – The cooking liquid. Better than water. Though, water is actually pretty good too (we tried), just add a tad more salt. I always use low sodium stocks because I like to control the amount of salt myself.

How to make Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta

Is it technically a one pot recipe if I ask you to use a separate bowl to make the whipped ricotta?? Forgive me! (But it’s worth it, I promise).

1. Make whipped ricotta – Just mix the ricotta, parmesan and milk together using a hand whisk. At first, it will seem lumpy and thoroughly unimpressive, but after about 10 seconds of vigorous whisking it will loosen and transform into a soft creamy mixture almost like softly whipped cream. Adjustment note: Different brands of ricotta have different consistencies, so add a touch of extra milk if needed.

2. Sun dried tomato oil – Pour oil straight out of the jar into the pot and heat over high.

3. Seal chicken – Put the chicken into the pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the surface is sealed, but the inside is still raw, then take it out. It won’t brown, that’s ok. It’s still got flavour on it and it will absorb a stack more flavour in the next steps.

4. Saute – Leave the residual fat in the pan (some from the chicken, some sun dried tomato oil). Then sauté the onion and garlic first until the onion is translucent (about 3 minutes). Then cook the sun dried tomato and tomato paste for 1 minute. This will cook out the raw sour flavour in the tomato paste and bring out the flavours in the sun dried tomatoes.

5. Liquids and raw pasta – Add the wine and let it simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until mostly evaporated, stirring the base of the pot. This will cook out the alcohol (making it kid friendly) and loosen the gold bits stuck on the base of the pot (it’s called fond) which is free flavour that will make your sauce taster.

   Then stir in the cooked chicken (plus any juices accumulated in the bowl) and raw pasta – get it nicely coated in all that flavour – before adding the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper.

6. Cook – Bring the liquid to a boil then lower the heat to about medium high so it’s simmering energetically but not wildly boiling. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes at first then every minute for the last 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t catch on the base of the pot. You might find you need to lower the heat towards the end if it is getting stuck to the pot.

7. How to tell it’s ready – When the liquid has been mostly absorbed by the pasta – but it will still seem a little too soupy – the pasta should be just done, ie al dente. This means it’s not overly soft but there is no hard raw uncooked pasta inside.

   A little too soupy is good. Pasta absorbs liquid at a shockingly high rate. So a little too liquidy when it comes off the stove is good because it means the pasta will be perfectly slippery and saucy rather than dry and stodgy by the time you take the first bite.

8. Swirl with whipped ricotta – Just before serving, stir the basil through the pasta, then either transfer all the pasta into a large serving bowl or indvidual bowls. Then dollop large scoops of the ricotta across the surface of the pasta and randomly smear it (or let people do that part themselves). There are no rules here! You could just put one big dollop in the middle of the pasta. Then it’s time to dig in!

Sneaking in extra vegetables

My mother did an excellent job brain washing me as a kid so I have it drilled in my head that it’s not a proper meal without a sufficient amount of vegetables.

I feel like this recipe is a wee bit short. The canned tomatoes and onion count, but it’s not very much per person.

If you want a quick addition of extra vegetables, feel free to stir in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach or add a grated zucchini and carrot at the same time you sauté the onion.

Else, make up a quick leafy side salad or steam some broccoli and toss with a simple salad dressing. It’s all you need – the pasta is juicy and bold on flavour, so you can keep the side dish simple.

Love to know what you think if you give this a go! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Whipped ricotta one pot chicken pasta

Author: Nagi

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Main

Western

Servings4 – 5 people

Tap or hover to scale

Print

Recipe video above. Meet your new favourite one-pot recipe! I'm sharing this as a guest-worthy dish based on a simple mid-week recipe. It's quite amazing how just a little dollop of creamy ricotta can transform a regular bowl of pasta into something you'd expect to get at a rustic trattoria! Love how it melts into a flood of creamy goodness on your hot bowl of pasta – thicker than cream, and much lower fat.

Ingredients

CupsMetric

Chicken:

• ▢ 500g/1 lb chicken thigh fillets , cut into small bite size pieces (or breast or tenderloin)
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp black pepper

Pasta:

• ▢ 220g/ 7 oz jar sun-dried tomato stripes in oil , drained (RESERVE OIL) (Note 1)
• ▢ 3 tbsp oil from the sun dried tomato jar
• ▢ 1 small onion , finely diced
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• ▢ 1 tbsp tomato paste (ok if you don’t have)
• ▢ 1/4 cup dry white wine , optional (Note 2)
• ▢ 400g/14 oz canned crushed tomato
• ▢ 350g / 12oz fusilli pasta (spirals) , penne, ziti, macaroni, small shells or similar, uncooked
• ▢ 1 litre / 4 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (sub water plus 1/2 tsp salt)
• ▢ 1/4 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup basil leaves , roughly chopped (can survive without), plus extra for garnish

Whipped ricotta:

• ▢ 1/2 cup ricotta (Paesanella is my preferred brand), full fat
• ▢ 4 tbsp milk , preferably full fat
• ▢ 1/4 cup (packed) finely grated parmesan , sub pinch of salt

Cook ModePrevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

• Whipped ricotta – Put the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds until it becomes the texture of softly whipped cream. Add milk to loosen, if needed.
• Seal chicken – Heat sun dried tomato oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add the chicken. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until the outside is sealed but the inside is still raw. Remove with slotted spoon into a bowl.
• Sauté – In the same pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste and oil drained sun dried tomatoes (reserve any remaining oil for another use). Cook for 1 minute.
• Deglaze – Add white wine and let it simmer rapidly for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until mostly evaporated.
• Cooking liquid – Add pasta and cooked chicken along with any juices accumulated in the bowl. Stir to coat in all the tasty flavours. Add the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper.
• Cook 15 minutes – Give it a good stir, let it come to a boil then lower the heat to medium high so it's simmering rapidly but not boiling like crazy. Cook for 15 minutes (no lid), stirring every 2 minutes or so at first then more regularly towards the end, so the base doesn't catch. Lower the heat a touch towards the end, if needed.
• How to tell it's done – Most of the liquid should be absorbed and the pasta should be just cooked (al dente), though still a little soupy (that's good, it gets absorbed quickly while serving). Stir in the basil.
• Serve – Transfer into a serving bowl or divide between bowls. Dollop the whipped ricotta on top then randomly smear (or let everyone do that themselves), it will get all melty. Dig in!

Recipe Notes:

Serves 4 hearty appetites or 5 regular people.

1. Sun dried tomatoes – Adds a great pop of flavour into the sauce plus the chicken gets free flavour by using the oil from the jar to cook it. Recommend getting strips to save yourself from chopping. Substitute – compensate with olives, capers or something similar that’s a bit briny.

Jar size – I use all the sun dried tomatoes in a 220g/7oz jar which is actually 120g/4oz sun dried tomatoes and 100g/3 oz oil (we use 45ml/3 tbsp for cooking). If you have a larger jar or sun dried tomatoes not in oil, use 120g /4 oz of sun dried tomatoes which is 1 cup tightly packed.

2. Wine – I use Chardonnay, though anything not too woody or sweet will work find here, else leftover champagne (flat is fine!), red wine or rose. Non alcoholic – just leave it out.

Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Loosen with a touch of water. Pasta will freeze ok, but not the whipped ricotta.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 647cal (32%)Carbohydrates: 67g (22%)Protein: 34g (68%)Fat: 34g (52%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 106mg (35%)Sodium: 1624mg (71%)Potassium: 1059mg (30%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 900IU (18%)Vitamin C: 35mg (42%)Calcium: 288mg (29%)Iron: 4mg (22%)

Keywords: Chicken Pasta Bake, One Pot Pasta, whipped ricotta

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Some of my favourite one pot pasta recipes

One pot creamy tomato beef pasta

Really Quick Broccoli Pasta

One pot chicken risoni with crispy salami

One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg

One-Pot Sausage Meatball Pasta

One-pot Greek chicken risoni (orzo)

One pot pasta recipes

Life of Dozer

Dozer’s first day back at the beach following 6 weeks out of action with a hip injury!

A little bit wonky on his feet and restricted to just 10 minutes of swim time (it took 15 minutes to waddle from the car to his friends!😅), but it was still worth the 40 minute drive each way just to see him so happy. ❤️

I don’t even know how he hurt himself – could’ve been a midnight possum chase, slipping trying to get up off wooden floors (the one little naked patch remaining, 98% of the floor is covered in rugs for him!).

He’s a fragile old boy these days. 😔 But I will do whatever it takes to protect him and keep him happy – even if it means covering the entire house in yoga mats!!

Honestly, I credit the trip to Newcastle last weekend for the leap forward in his recovery. I thought it was going to be too much for him because he was moving around 10x more than he has in a single day for the past 6 weeks.

But actually, it seems like it was good for him because the improvement in his mobility has been phenomenal in just the past week. He can get up by himself again and is happy going for walks. Yay Dozer! And thank you Newcastle, for the positive energy that gave Dozer a recovery boost! ❤️

PS I suspect seeing his girlfriend also helped. This is Jarrah (below, left). She’s owned by a good friend of mine. We got our fur balls around the same time so they have grown up together. Though somehow, Jarrah grew up to be a very well behaved, charming girl whereas mine ended up a little entitled and bratty…..🤔