One Pan Chicken with Spring Veggies
This one pan chicken with spring veggies recipe has juicy, tender and well-seasoned chicken; fresh, flavorful vegetables; and a yummy, creamy sauce—plus, it’s easy to make and hello—you only have to use one pan!
This dish is a home run weeknight meal and a winner when serving company. It’s perfect for spring when fennel and asparagus are in season.
We got a good laugh trying to figure out how to pronounce Neufchatel, the cheese we used in this recipe. After a few guesses in the test kitchen, we reluctantly looked it up online—to our surprise, it’s pronounced new-shuh-tel. We’re always learning something ‘new’!
Neufchatel cheese is located next to the cream cheese at your local supermarket, but if you can’t find it for some reason, cream cheese will work just fine—they’re similar in flavor and consistency.
One Pan Chicken with Spring Veggies Recipe
Ingredients
chicken
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp dried basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
sauce
- 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cups asparagus, pencil-thin , cut into 2" pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine, or water
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper, crushed
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves, or 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 4 oz Neufchatel cheese, or cream cheese, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast into thirds by first cutting each breast in half lengthwise then setting the thinner half aside. Working with the thick part of the breast, slice in half horizontally to produce 2 more thin cutlets.
- Cover the chicken breast pieces with a sheet of plastic wrap then pound using a meat mallet or the bottom of a small skillet until all of the pieces are about ¼" thick (watch our video). Season each cutlet on both sides with salt, pepper and dried basil.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat then add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add as many cutlets as will fit comfortably into the skillet without overcrowding the pan. Sauté for about 5 minutes until golden brown on the first side then flip and cook for 2–3 additional minutes or until just cooked through. Transfer chicken from the skillet to a plate then cover with foil. Repeat with all remaining chicken cutlets.
- After all chicken has been cooked and removed from the pan, add onions and fennel to skillet with remaining oil then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6–8 minutes until soft and beginning to brown. Add asparagus and garlic then cook for 1 additional minute, stirring frequently.
- Pour white wine (or water) into skillet then stir to scrape up anything that is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add grape or cherry tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes and thyme then cook for about 2 minutes until wine has reduced by half.
- Reduce heat to low then stir in Neufchatel or cream cheese. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of water or milk. Add cooked chicken and any accumulated juices back into skillet. Let chicken simmer in the sauce until reheated and sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Remove from heat, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper then serve immediately.