This delicious Skillet Chicken and Linguine with Fresh Orange and Oven Roasted Tomatoes makes for an impressive dinner party dish or easy weeknight dinner.
So in celebration of good food, I made one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes for you guys today. This is actually my version of a family favorite. I cut out some butter, added some garlic and onion, a little white wine to the cooking process, and finally, some oven roasted cherry tomatoes.
I should mention two very important things about this dish: first, the oranges, both in the cooking and as a side garnish, are essential. The citrus really is the star of this dish. Second, parmesan. Don’t skip the parmesan (unless you hate cheese, then skip away!).
Anyway, my mom used to cook this for me and my siblings when we were little. When our family dynamics changed and my big sister took on the role of “mom” she continued cooking this same chicken dish. It was always a huge dinner highlight.
Nearly five years older than me, I looked up to my sister throughout my high school years. So, when I found myself a pretty serious boyfriend my freshman year of high school and wanted to cook him a nice homemade romantic dinner, this was the meal we (and by we I mean she) picked. Everything went prefect…until he cut into the meat and discovered that the chicken wasn’t fully cooked (I don’t think “food blogger” would have been on anyone’s list of life goals for Jessica at that time).
Anyway, this chicken and linguini? We go way back.
I think you’ll love it as much as I do (just make sure you cook the chicken completely).
And now that I’m old (remember yesterdays post Buffalo Chicken Taquitos) and can legally drink, I enjoy drinking this dish with a crisp white wine with fruity citrus notes. Some great examples are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. I would not recommend a heavy red or super sweet white.
Chicken and Spinach Linguini Skillet with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon butter - divided
- 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts - pounded to approximate equal thickness*
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion - diced
- 7 cloves garlic - minced
- ⅓ cup dry white wine - optional
- 24 ounces fresh baby spinach - 2 bags, roughly chopped**
- ½ cup orange juice - fresh squeezed
- 16 oz fresh linguini - OR one 16 ounce package dry linguini
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese - plus more for topping
- Orange slices - for serving
FOR THE ROASTED TOMATOES
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt + pepper
Instructions
- First prepare the roasted tomatoes:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl toss washed and dried tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper. Transfer tomatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for approximately 18-22 minutes, tossing once halfway through cooking. Tomatoes will be done once they are blistered and beginning to burst. Remove from the oven and set aside until ready to serve.
- For the chicken linguini:
- Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F and bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Heat a large oven-safe Dutch oven or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of butter. Once the pan is hot and butter is melted, add the chicken breasts.
- In a small mixing bowl mix together the Italian seasoning, dried basil, red chili flakes, salt and pepper. Using approximately half the seasoning mix, sprinkle the tops of the chicken breasts. Allow the chicken to cook for approximately 5-6 minutes, or until nicely browned on the bottom side of the chicken. Flip each chicken breast over and season the other half of the chicken breast with the remaining seasoning mixture. Allow the chicken to cook an additional 5 minutes, or until nicely golden on the other side.
- Transfer your skillet to the oven and allow chicken to continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- When chicken is fully cooked, remove the pan from the oven (with an oven mitt!) and carefully transfer chicken to a clean plate to rest. In the same pan or skillet that the chicken was cooked, add remaining butter, tablespoon of olive oil and diced onion over medium high heat. Sauté onions for approximately 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Increase heat to high and add the white wine. Gently simmer for 2 minutes, allowing alcohol to burn off.
- Working in batches, add the spinach to the pan, allowing the previous batch to wilt before adding a new batch. It took me four batches of fresh spinach to get it all in there (it looks like a lot, but it shrinks WAY down!).
- Once all the spinach has wilted and is fully mixed in with the onions and garlic, add the fresh orange juice. At the same time, add the fresh linguini noodles to the pot of boiling water (fresh noodles should only take 2 minutes to boil)***. Simmer the spinach over low heat keeping a close eye on the noodles as you do not want them to over-cook.
- Once ready, drain the noodles and transfer to your skillet. Gently toss to combine the linguini with the spinach and onions. If noodles are too dry, add a bit of chicken broth or pasta water, or even some more orange juice! Remove from heat, sprinkle with the shredded parmesan cheese, add the chicken (and chicken juices) back to the pasta and top with your oven roasted tomatoes.
- Serve with fresh orange slices and additional shredded parmesan cheese.
Jessica's Notes
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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Well Jess I’ll have to try your version of MY recipe, I’m happy to know you kids have fond memories of the original. I remember sitting around the table with all of you and feeling so happy knowing I had prepared something you all liked, no you loved it! I must admit, your version looks absolutely delicious so if I must give it a try….good recipes can always bece great, so here’s to chicken, spinach and linguine.