Just a few ingredients make up this flavorful Gemelli Pasta with Summer Squash, Roasted Chicken and Ricotta Tomato Sauce. A complete homemade dinner that is perfect for any day of the week.
This creamy homemade pasta dinner is ready in under 30 minutes. Roasted Chicken Breast, fresh summer squash, and sun-dried tomatoes add tons of flavors to the pasta. The ricotta tomato sauce is creamy and delicately coats each noodle. The spices and herbs add a fresh aroma to the entire dish.
Making one pot meals with pasta noodles
This dish is an easy meal to make when you have leftover roasted or grilled chicken breast. I have to confess that I am a huge fan of leftovers. One of the main reasons is because I think leftovers taste better the next day. I love cooking, and I don’t mind making a different meal every day. My leftovers are usually my lunch; if not, then they are often part of dinner.
One of my favorite ways to cook pasta is with leftover chicken or beef. I am not a huge fan of creamy sauces. I prefer tomato sauce with my pasta. But once in a while, I will make a creamy sauce. Not too saucy! With just enough sauce to coat the noodles.
The sauce is usually store-bought Alfredo sauce mixed with Noubess Hot and Spicy Original Sauce. I also make another white sauce with ricotta cheese – this one is very popular in my home. I love using ricotta cheese because it is creamy and it absorbs the flavors of herbs nicely.
Once you have your noodles, protein, and sauce, the remaining ingredient is a vegetable. Adding slices or chunks of squash is not common but grated, this is not common. The grated squash makes the dish creamier and flavorful, in my opinion.
A one-pot meal is perfect for when you don’t feel like cooking. Many of these easy pasty recipes are quick and easy. Pasta is one ingredient that is perfect for one-pot meals. When you add vegetables to pasta, you end up with more food to serve. You may want to consider cooking less pasta when adding vegetables.
How to make the recipe
This recipe is from one of my Food & Wine Cookbooks. Over the years, I have added different types of vegetables. The taste would change from the spices from the leftover beef or pork. I like adding Roasted BBQ Chicken or Roasted Pork and even pieces of steak. These choices are perfect. One particular ingredient I never substitute is the sun-dried tomatoes. It is a bold and deep flavoring ingredient for pasta.
Here’s the recipe for the Roasted Chicken Breast.
To start the recipe, remember that I always advise preparing all ingredients first. For example, the squash must be grated before boiling the pasta or while it is cooking. The reason is that you want the pasta to be hot or warm when you add the ricotta sauce.
You will need the following ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Summer Squash
- Garlic cloves
- Dried oregano
- Salt
- Ricotta Cheese
- Sun-dried tomatoes (click on the link to see the item – this is my preferred brand)
- Leftover meat or poultry (steak, chicken breast, ham, salami or sausages)
- Black pepper or Noubess Hot and Spicy Original with Herbs
- Pasta noodles: elbow macaroni, linguine, Gemelli, bow tie, or fusilli pasta
- Parmesan cheese
To make the recipe
- Grate the squash, and set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the summer squash, minced garlic, salt, and oregano and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ricotta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, leftover roasted chicken breast, and the black pepper or Noubess Hot and Spicy Original sauce.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until just done, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and toss the pasta with the sauce. Top with the Parmesan cheese.
Tips and notes
The original recipe says to add salami, but I find leftover poultry to make a more fulfilling meal.
- You can use any type of pasta noodles you want. You can even use linguine or spaghetti. I like Gemelli pasta because it holds the sauce very well. Elbow macaroni was used in the original recipe.
- Use zucchini instead of summer squash. Click this link https://www.thekitchn.com/a-visual-guide-to-8-varieties-of-summer-squash-220740 to learn more about summer squash.
- Be careful when grating the squash not to hurt your fingers.
- Use dried oregano or Italian Seasoning.
- Oil packed sun-dried tomatoes are better
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese is always better, more aromatic.
- You can add shallots, or onion if you’ll like.
- Add spinach, asparagus, or green beans instead of the summer squash.
- Do not overcook the pasta.
- The ½ cup of ricotta is just about enough for the pasta. If you want the sauce to be creamier, add more ricotta and additional seasoning.
- Salt the boiling water before adding the pasta.
- Reserved about ½ – 1 cup of boiling pasta water to add to the sauce to make it creamier and more liquid.
- If you are using sun-dried tomatoes not packed in oil, make sure you add them to the pan first so they could plum up again.
- You can also add ground beef, for example, leftover meatloaf. How about leftover pork chop?
- Use a large pan to cook the pasta with the sauce.
- A pasta pot is efficient to have.
Other pasta dinners you may enjoy.
- Stovetop Ground Turkey with Pasta (using Gemelli Pasta)
- Linguine with Onion, Bacon, and Asparagus
- Truffle Mac and Cheese
- Easy Linguine with Langoustines and Alfredo Sauce
A weeknight dinner with and easy pasta recipe is what I call good comfort food and effortless cooking.
Recipe has been updated and adapted from Food & Wine.
Gemelli Pasta with Summer Squash, Roasted Chicken and Ricotta Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 ½ pound Summer Squash about 1 large or 2 small squash
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Ricotta Cheese and more if you want a creamier sauce
- ½ cup Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil drained and chopped
- Leftover meat or poultry about ¼ pound steak, 1 chicken breast, ¼ pound ham, ¼ pound salami or 3 – 4 uncured sausages links
- ⅛ ground black pepper or 1 teaspoon Noubess Hot and Spicy Original with Herbs
- ¾ pound Pasta noodles elbow macaroni, linguine, Gemelli, bow tie, or fusilli pasta
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Grate the squash, and set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the summer squash, minced garlic, salt, and oregano and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ricotta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, leftover roasted chicken breast, and the black pepper or Noubess Hot and Spicy Original sauce.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until just done, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and toss the pasta with the sauce. Top with the Parmesan cheese.
Notes
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