One-Bag Lemon Chicken and Pasta – An EASY lemon chicken and pasta recipe that’s family-friendly and perfect for busy weeknights!! Everything cooks in ONE bag! The chicken is juicy, the pasta is tender, and cleanup is a breeze!!
We’ve all heard of and probably made one-pot and one-skillet recipes where you add the pasta or rice, the protein, and the cooking liquid all in the same pot or skillet and everything cooks together.
But have you heard of a one-bag recipe? This is my first but it won’t be my last.
Thanks to Reynolds® Large Oven Bags this is such an easy recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes. The chicken is wonderfully juicy and moist, the pasta is perfectly al dente, and everything is infused with lovely lemon flavor.
Reynolds Oven Bags are the easy way to make tastier, juicier meals every time. Use the Large Size Oven Bags for meats and poultry up to 8 pounds. The bag traps in moisture and natural juices to keep food from drying out so it comes out juicy and tender every time.
I just opened the bag, added a tablespoon of flour to prevent it from bursting in the oven, added dry uncooked pasta, raw chicken cut into bite-sized pieces, along with lemon slices, lemon juice, olive oil, water, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Close the bag using the nylon tie provided, place it on a baking tray or roasting pan, cut 6 small slits in the bag for steam to escape, and bake. So easy.
This is a family-friendly recipe that’s perfect for busy weeknights and cleanup is an absolute breeze.
Just toss the bag when you’re finished. No pan to scrub, love it.
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One-Bag Lemon Chicken and Pasta
Ingredients
- one Reynolds® Large Oven Bag
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ pound uncooked pasta, I used rotini; bowtie, ziti, small shells, etc. are recommended
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 medium lemon, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups water
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, Italian or flat-leaf, finely minced
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Open oven bag, add 1 tablespoon flour, pinch with your fingers to seal, and shake to distribute.
- Add the pasta, chicken, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon slices, salt, pepper, thyme, water, and seal bag with nylon closure about 3 inches from the top.
- Place bag on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and cut six 1/2-inch slits for steam to escape. Make sure you cut near the top of the bag so you water, oil, etc. doesn't leak.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until pasta is al dente and chicken is cooked through.
- Place bag in the sink and using hot mitts and with caution, squeeze out excess liquid through the steam slits.
- Gently rip bag open enough to add the parsley, stir to combine, taste, and if desired add more salt or pepper, optional Parmesan cheese, and serve. Dish is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Post is brought to you by Reynolds®. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.
This recipe is so easy and delicious! I love lemon, and there was a great infusion in every bite! The only downside for me was trying to squeeze out hot liquid through the bag slits; that wasn’t easy. If I dumped in a colander would I ruin it? I almost overcooked, so watch the time and get it out at 30 minutes!
Not impressed. My husband couldn’t eat it at all; I picked the chicken out and ate it. The pasta (I used rotini) was so sticky & starchy, it tasted like lemon flavored paste.
I followed all directions as written. I’ll be deleting this one from my bookmarks.
The flavor was a little too intense for me and I found the bag a little awkward. I think maybe it’s good for when you want to minimize cleanup, but it doesn’t cut out the cleanup altogether, so not worth it for me! Ours ended up a little too much on the sour side because the pasta cooks in a lemon juice mixture.
The flavor was a little too intense for me and I found the bag a little awkward. I think maybe it’s good for when you want to minimize cleanup, but it doesn’t cut out the cleanup altogether, so not worth it for me! Ours ended up a little too much on the sour side because the pasta cooks in a lemon juice mixture.
Woukd a Dutch oven work rather than a bag for this? I don’t like the idea of waste (throwing away a bag rather than reusing something). I assume if I preheated the pot then put in everything it would work about the same.
Thoughts
I don’t know if the seal on a lid from the Dutch oven is going to be airtight enough to really steam the pasta to cook through. It could work, but I haven’t tested it. Let me know if you try it.
Have you tried it with chicken broth instead of water? Wondering if it would add flavor or overpower the lemon?
I haven’t tried it that way but let me know if you do.
Holy. Cow. This is the best idea I’ve ever heard!! I always have those bags in my pantry…trying this ASAP!
THE BEST HACK I have ever done. Seriously I feel like this could be the next foil pack recipe idea :) No cleanup, one bag, juicy as ever, perfect. LMK if you do try it!
hey girl- this looks so yummy!
Thank you so much!
New to cooking here. It says to bake until pasta is al dente and chicken is cooked through. But the bag is not opened until the next step. What is the trick to knowing when it is baked without opening the bag? Thank you.
You’re going to want to look through the bag without opening it and look to see if the chicken is cooked through and the pasta looks done. You can almost ‘squish’ the pasta through the bag to determine if it’s done or not and the chicken is small enough that if it’s cooked on the outside, it should be cooked through, provided you bake it according to the baking estimates.
Can you use preserved lemons instead of fresh? Can’t wait to try all of the above recipes!
Probably would be fine because you’re not eating them, they’re just used for flavor. I have only tried the way I wrote the recipe though. LMK how it goes.
I’m not sure I have ever even heard of oven bags. The meal sounds delicious and easy. My favorite combo. :)
They’ve been around foreverrrrr. One of those products that you may not realize exists but I am totally doing this often because they make it so easy!
Cooking is fun…clean up not so much. Foil lined pans, slow cooker liners and oven bags are staples for me these days. Great looking recipe…awesome flavors! I never thought about doing pasta in an oven bag but I am now:)
I had never thought about it either. I feel like this is the biggest unknown kitchen secret out there that everyone has to try!