Cheese & Spinach Chicken Rigatoni

Today’s Cheese & Spinach Chicken Rigatoni recipe is a brand spanking new one on my part. This is the first time I made this pasta dish and it came out delicious, without any trial and error needed.  I’ve been wanting to try something with spinach for quite some time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I had a big package of fresh spinach sitting in my fridge waiting to be of use. And what better dish to put it in then one of my favorites: Pasta!! You’ll see this theme a lot with me. I never get tired of pasta. 

At the end of the simmering process, the sauce for this recipe was so rich and flavorful. It blended with the cooked pasta amazingly. The aroma of the sautéed garlic mixed with the wilted spinach will make your mouths water. I couldn’t wait to dig in as I was in the middle of cooking this meal. Best part is, this can be a one skillet meal if you use a Jumbo Saute Pan like I did.

Again, this is one of those recipes that can easily be altered. You can use a different type of cheese, different pasta, add more vegetables, etc. I chose to keep it simple since it was my first time making it. I didn’t want to go overboard. But, the result was awesome: A simple, quick and delicious pasta dish. Read on to see the full recipe for this Cheese & Spinach Chicken Rigatoni!

LOVE PASTA? CHECK OUT THESE PASTA RECIPES NEXT!

1. Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
2. Creamy Bacon & Kielbasa Pasta Skillet
3. Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Cheese & Spinach Chicken Rigatoni

Course: Main Course, Pasta & NoodlesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cook time

30

minutes

Calories

418

kcal

This Cheese & Spinach Chicken Rigatoni is a delicious pasta dish loaded with savory, cheesy flavor. Chicken, spinach and an amazing sauce combines for a mouthwatering meal.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts, diced

• 1 lb rigatoni pasta

• 5 oz package of fresh spinach leaves

• 1 Tbs flour

• 2 cups milk

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 Tbs crushed garlic

• ½ tsp garlic salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp crushed red peppers

• 1 Tbs olive oil

• 1 Tbs vegetable oil

Directions

• Cook the Rigatoni pasta according to package instructions
• In the meantime, dice chicken breasts and sprinkle with the salt and pepper
• Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat and add chicken
• Cook chicken until well done and lightly browned
• Remove the chicken from skillet and set aside for now
• Using the same skillet, add a little more olive oil along with the crushed garlic
• Heat for about a minute, then add the fresh spinach leaves. Mix well
• Cook spinach until it is dark green and just starting to wilt
• Remove spinach from skillet and set aside with the chicken
• Next, add the vegetable oil to the skillet and reduce heat slightly
• Add the flour to the skillet and stir for about a minute
• Add the milk and crushed red peppers and bring to a boil
• Slowly start to add the shredded mozzarella cheese. I would suggest adding ½ cup at a time and waiting until the first batch is completely melted before adding the next ½ cup. (If you would like a thinner consistency, add more milk along the way)
• Once the last batch of cheese is melted and the sauce is to your preferred consistency, add the rigatoni, chicken and spinach to the skillet
• Stir all ingredients until well blended and the sauce coats everything evenly
• Add more crushed pepper on top as desired, serve and enjoy!

Notes

• Calories & Nutritional Info may vary based on different brands and ingredients used. Nutritional Info below was calculated using Very Fit Well’s Nutrition Calculator.