Basil Chicken over Angel Hair

By Addie

Cubed chicken breast is simmered in a peppery tomato-basil sauce and tossed with fine strands of angel hair pasta.

This is a very basic pasta dish that is great for weeknights. The flavors in it are classic - garlic, onion, tomato and basil. I adapted the recipe slightly to suit my tastes. I love basil, so I added three times as much basil to this :) I also love spicy food, so I added extra pepper (of course if you don't care for the additional heat, just omit the hot pepper sauce). While I did add some heavy cream to this to balance out some of the acidity from the tomatoes, it is still a very light meal.

MY NOTES: Use penne instead of angel hair pasta!

Ingredients

• 1(8 ounce) package1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
• 2teaspoons2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2cup1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1clove1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 1/2cups2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained)
• 2cups2 cups boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
• 1/4cup1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used 3/4 cup)
• 1/2teaspoon1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8teaspoon1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I used about 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes)
• 1/4cup1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4cup1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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• You can use dried basil (4 teaspoons) if you don't have any fresh basil on hand, but it really won't taste as good.

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook angel hair pasta until it is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.

3. Toss sauce with hot cooked angel hair pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
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NOTE: If you hate paying an arm and a leg for fresh basil at the grocery store, there are two lower cost alternatives. The first is to find your local Asian grocery store. If you live in a decently sized city, chances are you have some local Asian grocery stores around. There, you can get a huge bundle of basil (30+ leaves) for $1 versus the $2-3 you pay at a grocery store for 8-10 leaves of basil. The other way to get cheap basil is to plant your own. I bought a tiny little starter basil plant a few months ago (for $3), and it has grown so much now that I have enough basil to cook something with it once a week. Don't worry if you don't have a green thumb - I don't either and mine hasn't died yet!
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REVIEWS: (613)

Awesome flavor, quick and simple to make. I did use 2 cans of basil, garlic and oregano diced tomatoes with their juices instead of fresh tomatoes other than that I followed the recipe. The only reason I gave this a 4 stars is because the sauce was watery, maybe I will use less of the juices and let it reduce before serving. I will definately be making this again.(Update: I did make this again and still used 2 cans of basil, garlic and oregano diced tomatoes but drained the juices from one can and then while cooking I let the sauce reduce until it was thick enough and not watery.)

I love this recipe. I used fresh garden tomatoes, tripled the garlic, added dried oregano, and omitted salt. Because the tomato mixture doesn't really make a sauce, I added 1 cup of white wine and just under a cup of chicken broth. Let everything simmer and it was simply delicious and light. The grated parmesan cheese is an essential finishing touch. I will definitely include this dish in my regular rotation.

This was very tasty. I didn't have fresh tomatoes on hand so I added a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes. I'm sure this is even better with fresh tomatoes. If using canned tomatoes, I think 1 tsp. sugar would help cut the tang of the tomatoes. My husband enjoyed this so I'll make this again!

I absolutely LOVED this!!! (and so did the rest of the girls!) I have to admit that i didnt really follow the measurements at all, i just kind of went guesstimated! I used a good amount of onions & chopped garlic cloves as well as hot pepper flakes. I also used diced tomatoes from a can and i thought it was perfect. Next time I will probably marinate the chicken in olive oil & fresh basil to give it more flavor. Other than that, not only did it taste fantastic but it looked fabulous as well!! (it even was good as leftovers the next day!!!) *I made this again, and this time marinated the chicken overnight in Sun Dried Tomato dressing. It was a great touch! Also, I used Hunt's diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregeno flavor, it definelty contributes to the overall taste.

Like others, I did not have all fresh tomatoes on hand so I had to subsitute some canned diced tomatoes and I think that might be the way I'd make it again. I also added a little sugar to taste.

This was very good, i used penne instead of angel hair. I sauted the onion with garlic and chicken, along with salt pepper, garlic powder, oregano, crushed red chile peppers, and added 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes with basil and garlic I put a pinch of sugar to cut the bitterness of the tomatoes. I tossed with the pasta and it was sooooo goood.

I love this recipe and we have it about once a month. I think it's great the way it is. I use Roma tomatoes since I've heard they are the best for cooking. I think people that don't like this recipe can't appreciate pasta that's not swimming in sauce. I don't think it's bland at all. My husband tends to like more sauce on everything so he's commented that it needs more sauce but he still loves the flavor.

I made it just as the recipe said the first time, then I decided the next time to grill the chicken, and in the sauce use shallots instead of the onion and garlic. Also, I thought it tasted better without the hot pepper sauce. The fresh basil, tomatoes and parmesan is just delicious.

My husband and I loved this recipe! We used fresh pasta and left out the hot pepper sauce. We could have eaten the whole dish in one sitting! But we're having the leftovers for lunch. Thanks!

Wow! That was fantastic Wendy! I wish I could give it a 10! And so healthy too. The only changes I made was the order I cooked it. I sautéed the chicken first with the garlic, then added the onion and continued cooking. Last I added the tomatoes (fresh Romas from my garden)with the seasonings. YUM!! UPDATE: I made it again. This time I added Fresh sauteed mushrooms a bit more and some olives. I didn't think it could be improved but it was EVEN BETTER!Now it rated 11!

Delicious! I used fresh tomatoes from our garden - MMM. I used dried basil (since thats what I had) about a couple tablespoons. Otherwise no changes.

I am having a “clean out the pantry/freezer/fridge” week and did a search for some of the ingredients I had on hand. This recipe came up and it was perfect for what I needed. If you find that you want it to have a little more sauce, during the simmering step, add a little bit of Italian Salad Dressing. Delicious!

This was a very easy recipe to cook and took very little time. I forgot to cook the chicken ahead of time so I threw it in with the onions and garlic and cooked it then. I also used canned diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning. I kept the rest of the recipe the same. Thanks for a good dinner!

I gave this 3 stars. I helped make this at my cooking on a budget class. It was good but lacking something. I may try adding the italian salad dressing for more flavor. Thanks for posting a good recipe.