Review: I Made the Pioneer Woman’s 16-Minute Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

Drummond is well-known for her quick and easy recipes, many of which can be prepared in under 30 minutes.

Her recipe for chicken and mozzarella pasta requires only 16 minutes of active cooking time, plus about 10 minutes for prep.

To make six servings of Drummond’s easy chicken and mozzarella pasta, you’ll need:

• 1 pound penne or rigatoni pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• One 25-ounce jar “good-quality marinara sauce” (I used Rao’s)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup Parmesan shavings
• Grated Parmesan, for serving
• 12 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Drummond recommends using boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. Once I patted them dry and added the pieces to a hot nonstick skillet with a little olive oil, I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, as instructed.

I then let the chicken sit in the pan without stirring for a few minutes, until the bottom sides had browned.

Even after years of cooking, I still get a little anxious about undercooking chicken. In total, I probably cooked the chicken for about seven or eight minutes over medium-high heat, until all the pieces were golden brown and cooked through.

I stirred the onions around to soak up some of the chicken bits that had collected at the bottom of the pan. After two to three minutes, the onions were soft and a rich golden color.

I used Rao’s sensitive marinara sauce, which is made without onions and garlic. Since I knew the recipe called for both of those things, I thought that was a good choice.

While the sauce was cooking, I started boiling the water for the pasta.

I chopped up the parsley until it was finely minced and added it to the sauce, allowing it to simmer and thicken for about eight minutes.

Drummond said to cut the mozzarella into medium-sized cubes. Mine were probably a bit on the smaller side, but that allowed them to evenly disperse throughout the sauce.

Before adding the cheese, I ensured the sauce was bubbling a little. I then stirred in the mozzarella and let it sit completely undisturbed for a few minutes until it had softened in the pan.

I also added my rigatoni pasta to the pot of boiling water on another burner.

Drummond recommended using a large platter, but I used a baking dish that comes with a lid to make it easy to store leftovers.

You’ll want to ensure your pasta noodles are freshly cooked when you add them to the pan, so that everything is at the right temperature for serving.

It’s one of those recipes that, after you’ve made it once, you could probably make it again completely from memory.

While this pasta isn’t over-the-top in terms of flavor, I was impressed by how creamy and delicious the sauce was, thanks to the addition of mozzarella, and I’m always happy to incorporate some healthy protein, which I got in this dish from the simple grilled chicken.

In all, this pasta recipe came together in about 30 minutes — a bit longer than advertised, but still a realistic and manageable timeframe for a weeknight meal.

With a few simple ingredients and a jar of marinara sauce, you could easily whip up this pasta with little to no thought.

It was the kind of dinner that tasted completely homemade, without requiring an entire evening in the kitchen.