One Pot BBQ Chicken Pasta
A super easy one pot cheesy pasta dish loaded with tangy BBQ sauce and crisp bacon – even the pasta gets cooked right in the pot!
It’s been a bit hectic here the last couple of days. Butters was neutered and Jason had LASIK surgery so between taking care of my boys, I’ve had very little time in the kitchen! Thank goodness for the one pot meal. It saved us from ordering mediocre take-out! Plus, with BBQ sauce, cheese and bacon, you just can’t go wrong.
And yes, this is another super easy one pot meal – a one pot meal where the past gets cooked right in the pot! It’s doesn’t get easier than that, right? And if you want to keep it vegetarian, you can certainly omit the chicken. There’s just so many fun flavors, the chicken may not even be missed!
One Pot BBQ Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- 3 cups rotini pasta
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce, or more, to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes; drain excess fat, reserving 1 tablespoon. Stir in chicken and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, milk, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes.
- Stir in barbecue sauce and cheese until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
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I don’t keep milk at home, as I don’t like to drink it and it goes bad too fast, but I do keep either boxed almond milk or canned evaporated milk on hand for cooking with. I’m afraid that the almond milk will make this taste weird, so I was wondering if I could use 1/2 C evaporated milk or just use 1/2 more chicken broth or water for the remaining liquid? Which do you think would be the best replacement for the milk? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Yes, either should work!
Just wanted to let you know we tried this recipe for the first time while camping, in our dutch oven. I doubled it, forgot the onion and garlic by accident and it was still a HUGE hit! Fed about 10 ppl and it was gone in about 10 mins. It’s the perfect recipe for camping and the first we made in our dutch oven. I’ve joined your blog and LOVE your recipes. Thanks so much for making my first dutch oven camping experience so tasty and easy.
what if i do not want it 1 pot and boil spaghetti separately, how should i reduce the portions for a nice sauce to mix spaghetti with ?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Hi there,
thank you for this recipe, I found it year or two ago, and it’s probably my most often made meal in my rotation.
My husband cannot get enough 🙂
I use fresh tomatoes when I have them, and it’s even better. It’s super easy, and you can pretty much just use whatever you have on hand! Try adding spinach… it’s delightful.
Recipe sounds yummy, but am I the only one questioning 1 chicken breast to make 6 servings? Way too much carbs and not enough protein in my opinion. Will try recipe but will use 2 or 3 breasts.
I made this tonight! I used shredded chicken, and doubled the BBQ sauce. AWESOME recipe!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it’s incredibly delicious! I did make some modifications based on what I had available and my own preferences, but it still turned out great. I added a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, some frozen corn, and extra crushed red pepper flakes.Because I didn’t have the recommended ingredients on hand, I used a taco cheese blend for the cheese, and made a broth substitute with chicken bouillon packets. This is really tasty, easy, and filling, and I bet it would be good with some other veggie combos and modifications too. Thanks!
Delicious!! Made this tonight with some leftover bbq chicken. Didn’t have any bacon but did have some kinda dry baked beans loaded with smoked sausage, so I thought “what the heck” and stirred them in. So tasty and easy! Thank you!
This looks so very yummy! I gave a shout out and a link back to the recip in my weekly “Saturday Morning Coffee Thoughts” post. Have a great weekend!
http://www.perfectlycreatedchaos.com/2015/05/saturday-morning-coffee-thoughts_9.html
Made this tonight and it was delish! I added a little more bbq sauce and cheese, and I removed the cover to let the liquid reduce faster. My husband loved it!
Would it be completely absurd to use water in the pot instead of chicken broth? Or is there another less sodium packed option? I’m making this as-is, I’m just curious.
Water shouldn’t make too much of a difference.
You can buy no-salt chicken broth in cartons from Campbell’s, I buy it at Costco regularly in Canada.
Just had this for dinner – The title of your blog is right! My husband got seconds before I was halfway done. We’ll definitely make again!
I decided to make this tonight, but modified with what I had on hand. Used boned chicken thighs instead of breasts, Alymer Accents tomatoes (Chili flavour), half a large onion, and didn’t have quite enough chicken broth, just a pinch of red pepper flakes. Also reduced the cheese, since I was low on cheddar, used 25 grams of a combo of parma and cheddar. Consensus? Hubby thought it was great. Our eight year old even SAW the onions in it as it was still cooking when he got home and suggested he was not eating that, but yet thought it was delicious! Found I had to stir a lot once I added the pasta, it stuck to the bottom. Definitely keeping this.
Looks delicious! How much liquid should be left before bbq is added?
Most of the liquid should be reduced prior to adding the BBQ sauce.
This was DELICIOUS! I didn’t read the comments first and drained my tomatoes, but the pasta cooked just fine. Didn’t realize we were out of BBQ sauce, so I whipped up this recipe quickly and it worked very well: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2011/09/homemade-barbecue-sauce-part-1.html Thanks for an easy, yummy dinner!
My son can’t have dairy. Can I substitute almond milk for the milk? I wouldn’t even put the cheese on his just my husband’s and mine lol
You can certainly try substituting almond milk but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Please use your best judgment to make the appropriate substitutions to fit your family’s dietary restrictions.
Hi! This was fantastic! I was forced to modify it when i realized i didn’t have the canned tomatoes! I used a can of kidney beans instead. I didn’t think there was enough liquid so I added another 1/2 cup of chicken broth. I omitted the bacon, so I doubled the chicken and also added pineapple. I will try again when I have canned tomatoes 🙂
Hi! I tried this recipe and it turned out great, I just had a slightly problem with there being liquid in this when I was finished. I know there should be some but it high enough to cover about 3/4 of the pasta and the cheese and bbq sauce got absorbed into it. Should I just let it boil without the cover near the end to get rid of some of the liquid? Thanks!
That’s a lot of liquid! I worry that your heat source was not set correctly as most of the liquid should have been absorbed. You can also reduce the amount of liquid for next time. Hope that helps!
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Wow this sound scrumptious and easy to make. I would like try this definitely.
And should I use yellow or red onions?
Yellow onions should be used, and the tomatoes should not be drained. The liquid is crucial to help cook the pasta.