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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Smothered Italian Chicken with Buttered Garlic Spaghetti


My love for red sauce and pasta inspired this dish.  It looks elegant, yet is fairly simple!  And the flavor will knock your socks off.  My homemade basil marinara sauce is key!


smothered italian chicken with buttered garlic spaghetti (www.sweetandsavoryfood.com)
This recipe has been pinned over 75K times!  People love it!
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You know sometimes you just throw dinner together not expecting much and it turns out fabulous.  This dish was exactly that.

I had chicken thawed, along with a quart of my crock pot basil marinara sauce and a box of spaghetti noodles staring at me every time I opened the pantry cupboard.  The kids love spaghetti, of any kind, so I figured I'd bake the chicken, throw on some sauce and call it good.

But, then I got thinking....

If I cook the chicken low and slow and let it just simmer away in my flavorful sauce, and of course add some more seasonings, I bet this can be pretty good.  I was right!

As I've always said the trick to flavorful chicken are two things: #1 - Not drying it out {hence simmering away in red sauce} and #2 - providing LOTS of flavor.  So long story short, if you cook it right and add enough stuff, it will taste pretty darn good.

smothered italian chicken with buttered garlic spaghetti (www.sweetandsavoryfood.com)

I ended up making this dish around 2 o'clock in the afternoon this past weekend due to fading natural light for photos {the problems of a food blogger} and hence the kids and I ate dinner at 4 p.m.

You pick your battles.

It was still good.  We gobbled it up and we even have two leftover pieces of chicken leftover in the fridge.  Win, win.

Smothered Italian Chicken with Buttered Garlic Spaghetti

Print this Recipe!

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 quart chunky basil marinara sauce {use my homemade version, or store bought}
1 T. onion flakes
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. Italian seasoning
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic, diced

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and lay in thawed chicken breasts.
3.  Generously coat the chicken with the onion flakes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
4.  Pour in the marinara sauce.
5.  Bake covered with foil in the oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes, spooning some of the marinara over the chicken.
6.  While the chicken is finishing cooking, cook spaghetti noodles, drain, set aside and keep warm.
7.  In a small saucepan melt the butter, along with the diced garlic.  Let the melted butter simmer on LOW, allowing the garlic to flavor the butter.
8.  Remove the butter from the heat and strain out the garlic pieces {keep in fairly big chunks so it is easier to pick out}.
9.  Pour the melted garlic butter over the spaghetti and toss to coat.
10.  When chicken is cooked, top each breast with handful of mozzarella cheese.  Place the oven to broil and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until bubbly.
11.  Serve the smothered chicken with the buttered garlic spaghetti.


smothered italian chicken with buttered garlic spaghetti (sweetandsavoryfood.com)


This dish is perfect for Sunday dinner, yet easy enough for a weeknight.  I have also made it on Sunday, stuck it in the fridge and then waited to bake it and have it for mid-week. Honestly, I feel the flavor is even better the longer you wait!

Want some other great Italian dishes?

Chicken Pesto Penne
Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-ups
Healthy Turkey Bolognese
Million Dollar Casserole
Baked Ravioli Lasagna
Sausage Penne alla Vodka
Baked Pizza Pasta

Would you like to comment?

  1. That looks amazing. And beautiful photo, too!

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  2. Beth @ Sawdust and EmbryosJanuary 7, 2014 at 8:13 PM

    Yummmmmm! Consider this PINNED! Can't wait to try it! And your photos are fabulous! WORTH IT!

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  3. Autumn @ Good Eats GirlJanuary 7, 2014 at 9:09 PM

    This sounds amazing! I know my kids would love it!

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  4. Looks delicious!! I'm also excited to hear more about how you and your family were able to eliminate debt!

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  5. I guess my dinner invitation got lost in the mail? So excited to read up about your life tomorrow - and congrats on handling your debt!

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  6. Ha! Biz, you know you are welcome any time! We are probably just a few hours from each other!

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  7. This is amazing. I make it all the time. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Kelli @ The Sustianable CoupleSeptember 10, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    Saving this recipe! Just like you said, it's a great way to use up some of those pantry and deep freezer ingredients :)

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  9. I made this the other night and it tasted great but my chicken was rubbery and overcooked. Wondered if it's just me or what. Followed recipe to the T.
    Thanks
    Tracy

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  10. This has become a family favorite for spaghetti night! Thank you!!

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  11. I am not a fan of boneless, skinless anything because they add so much flavor. Do you think this would work with skin on bone in chicken thighs? I figure that I could always remove the bone and skin when it finished cooking. It look absolutely delish and I can't wait to try it!

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