One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli - Fast Food Friday

ByHeather Tullos
78 Comments
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This simple recipe for One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with broccoli and penne is perfect for busy weeknights. Made in one pot, tossed with penne and broccoli it's fast, fresh, and satisfying.

One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli in a dutch oven

Fast food Fridays! Also known as how I cook in real life most days. AFTER all the recipe development. Minus all the photo shoots.

Of course we eat EVERYTHING I share here. Many of those recipes fall squarely in my weekly rotation. But Fast Food Friday is a little peek into me, hungry boys, limited time, and zero desire to go back to the grocery store.

Fast Food Fridays are all about fewer photos, fewer words, and good food you can feed your family. One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Penne is a simple, budget-friendly recipe, and it has come together easily for me every time.

But since I published this recipe in 2016 I've had lots of questions in the comments, so I spent some time revisiting this to give you some tips and tricks so that your One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli will turn out every time. It's the easiest - I promise. 

What do I need to make One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli?

First things first - for this recipe you DO need an oven safe pot. A cast iron skillet will work, but I have never had one that's quite deep enough. I use this Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Dutch Oven. I've had it for a couple of years and it had help up okay. If you are looking for a kitchen item to splurge on (or people are looking to buy you presents) DEFINITELY go for the Le Creuset Dutch Oven. 7.4 quarts if you can swing it. The next size down will be a little small. 

Aside from an oven safe pot that's deep enough for this whole meal, you will also need:

  • olive oil
  • bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; wings and drumsticks also work! 
  • kosher salt and cracked black pepper
  • garlic
  • cooking liquid; I recommend wine (or beer!) and chicken broth 
  • dry penne pasta
  • fresh broccoli florets
  • Parmesan cheese

You'll notice in some of these photos I used wings and drummettes here; I didn't change anything about the preparation that round. I just accidentally bought a few odd packages of chicken. And since Fast Food Fridays are all about keeping it real, I made the executive decision to just roll with it. Now you know that you can accidentally buy wings or drumsticks and it's all good. 

One Pot Garlic Chicken with penne and fresh broccoli in the pot, tossed with cheese, and ready to serve

Liberal Salt and Pepper

Season your chicken WELL. Seriously. Don't skimp. This salt + pepper and the garlic is how you are seasoning this entire dish, so grab your salt and pepper and USE IT. You'll want to season both sides of the chicken pieces before cooking them, and I like to go heavy on the side with the skin. That way when you are cooking with the skin-side down you are sealing in all the flavor, but also are seasoning the oil you'll be cooking everything else in. 

Someone once commented that her finished dish was lacking flavor, and if that was the case, this is for sure where she went wrong. 

One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Penne

How Much Liquid Do I Need?

This is the part of the recipe that seems to trip everyone up. So first let's talk about a one pot pasta versus traditional pasta. 

With traditional pasta you are draining the excess water from the pan. With one pot pasta you want the pasta to soak it all up. This means that measurements matter. Too much liquid and you have a soupy mess. Not enough and your pasta isn't done.

The first time you are adding liquid to this recipe is to quickly braise the chicken after browning. In order you are going to brown the chicken, skin-side down to get the skin nice and crisp. Turn it and cook for another 3-4 minutes, and then for the best results here, remove the chicken to a plate so that you can add and cook your garlic. Once you've sauteed the garlic, you are adding 1 ½ cups of liquid to deglaze the pan and then braise the chicken.

My favorite way is to use ¾ cup white wine to loosen all the garlicky goodness. That lets most of the alcohol start to evaporate BEFORE you put the pan in the oven. Then add ¾ cup chicken broth, add the chicken back to the pan SKIN SIDE UP, and bake uncovered. 

One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Penne
Yield: serves 4

One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

One Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs with Broccoli is a super quick and easy meal to make in a pinch. Crisp chicken thighs, garlic, penne pasta, and tender broccoli florets - you can't go wrong!

4.3 Stars (69 Reviews)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cracked black pepper (or to taste)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth - see notes
  • 2 ⅔ cups dry penne pasta (approximately ⅔ cup per person)
  • 5 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • garnish with a little more olive oil and Parmesan cheese if desired

Instructions

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large OVEN SAFE Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high.

  2. Step 2

    Sprinkle the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper and place them in the heated Dutch oven skin-side-down. Let them cook for 3-4 minutes. You want to crisp the skin. Turn the chicken and cook for 3-4 more minutes, adding the garlic after 2 mins. Move the garlic around so it cooks and becomes fragrant but DOES NOT burn.

  3. Step 3

    Add the liquid to the hot pot and then place it in the oven. Cook for 20 mins or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 160°F.

  4. Step 4

    CAREFULLY place the hot dutch oven on a burner. Remove the chicken. Leave the liquid and cooked bits. Add 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add the pasta, reduce the heat to medium, and let it cook for about 6 minutes. Then add the broccoli florets. Stir and cover.

  5. Step 5

    Cook for 3 more minutes or until the broccoli is tender but still bright green and the pasta is al dente.

  6. Step 6

    Garnish with a little more olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

  • You DO need an oven safe pot for this recipe to be "one pot".
  • If you don't have a cast iron Dutch oven (or enameled like Le Creuset) don't fret!! You can use a cast iron skillet for the chicken and then just cook the pasta on the stove according to package instructions, adding the broccoli florets to the boiling water near the end. If this is the method you choose you will need to drain the excess liquid.
  • Notes on the liquid: I use whatever I have handy. If I have an open bottle of wine I didn't love, I use that. Beer always works. The different liquids will change the flavor slightly, but in a good way! DO NOT USE ONLY WINE OR BEER though, or you are in danger of creating a tiny explosion in your oven. Temper the wine or beer with broth or water.
  • If you want to cook the whole pound of pasta you will need closer to 4 cups of water or broth in step 4.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Cholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
© Heather Tullos
Cuisine: American / Category: Poultry
You can see my last Fast Food Friday recipe for Easy Greek Chicken and Potatoes#FastFoodFriday  <<<--- HERE

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78 Comments

  1. I tried this last night and it was great in so many ways! Very simple, only dirtys one pan and is surprisingly delicious for how few ingredients there are!! I was skeptical, like others, about if there would be a bunch of water left in the pan, but after steaming the broccoli for a few mins, I took the lid back off and within a min, all the liquid was gone. My family of six all liked it and I'll definitely be making it again!! Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hey Laura - that's a little tricky! Breasts that are bone-in and skin-on are a LOT larger (and less uniform) than thighs. You will want to make sure you check the internal temperature at the thickest part of the breast to make sure it has reached 160-165F!

      Reply

  3. Don't you have to remove the chicken broccoli and pasta from the water to serve. If not, you have a soupy,watery mess, as Ariana said.

    Reply

    1. If you only use 4 cups of water then you have just enough to cook the pasta. I have no idea what Ariana did. You should talk to Candace. She rocked this recipe.

      Reply

  5. I think there's something off in your recipe, I followed it to a T, and came out with a flavorless soupy mess. I really think it's the 4 cups of water added to cook the pasta. My fiance says the chicken tastes good though.

    Reply

    1. I think you probably got something wrong. But if you can let me know what part was confusing I'm happy to edit the directions.

      Reply

      1. I am making this now and read comments after I already started cooking. I cooked mine in the oven covered. I thought 4 cups sounded like a lot. I read later in comments it’s to be cooked in oven, uncovered. I’m sure this will not turn out as it should now. We will see.

        Reply

          1. I cooked with the pot uncovered in the oven and it still turned out soupy.. I followed everything exactly except I swapped out farfalle for penne because I didn't have any in my pantry. I still want this to work because up until that point it smelled heavenly! I'm going to try only adding 2c next time and report back.

  6. Hi, just tried this recipe and used wine...while in the oven enough of the wine evaporated to cause a flammable vapor in the oven. Might want to note that for people cooking with wine. Luckily no one was hurt, but definitely suffering from some singed eyebrows/baby hairs.

    Reply

  7. Made this tonight. It was delicious and so full of yummy flavors with just a few ingredients. I used chicken broth and some white wine for the liquid.

    Reply

    1. Hey Ana! 4-6 medium sized thighs. I usually but natural/pasture raised chicken, so the pieces are smaller than commercially raised chicken. But either way, 4-6 thighs is plenty.

      Reply

  10. I am making this now. I made the chicken in a cast iron skillet and am making the noodles and broccoli in a separate pot. When the noodles are done do you drain the water and add the noodles and broccoli to the liquid from the chicken?

    Reply

    1. Hey Danielle! My instructions are for making everything in ONE post which is why I specify the amount of water. If you are making this in 2 separate pots, and did not measure the water, you will definitely want to drain before adding to the chicken. You can reserve a little of the cooking liquid from the pasta and broccoli in case you need to add it in to help keep things moving around in the pan.

      Hope that helps and thanks for reading!
      -Heather

      Reply

  11. I'm making it now. The baked thighs are removed. Do you pour the liquid down the drain after the penne and broccoli are cooked?

    Reply

  14. Hi! I noticed on the main page, the calorie count was listed as "1030"? Is that correct? I didn't see anything in the dish that would add up to, or account for that many calories.
    Thanks-

    Reply

    1. I don't list calorie counts anywhere -- where did you see that? If there are calories listed somehow that needs to disappear lol. And 1030 is not accurate at all. 4 ounces of chicken thighs are about 150 calories. The rest will vary based on how much broccoli, the kind of pasta you use, and how much olive oil you add. But this can be a very low calorie (and satisfying) meal!! I don't list calories because they can vary so much based on the products people choose. If you want a more accurate calorie count, I always recommend putting the ingredients you choose into My Fitness Pal. The database is huge and it's free!!

      Reply

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