American

Green Goddess Baked Pasta with Chicken

by:
September 16, 2024
3
4 Ratings
Green Goddess Baked Pasta with Chicken
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 25 minutes
  • Cook time 50 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Green goddess dressing can be made many different ways, but it should be creamy, bright, and full of herbs. The creaminess can be dairy-forward or plant-based, and the herbs, always fresh, vary based on the cook and the recipe. Brightness can come from sour cream, lemon juice or zest, or fresh garlic. A little umami from anchovies is often used too.

To make a green goddess-inspired pasta, we start by adding the herbs three ways. First, we make a post-marinade with Planet Oat Extra Creamy Oatmilk, chopped garlic, and plenty of dill, basil, and parsley. (The tender cooked chicken will soak up these flavors *after* a quick sauté.) Fresh herbs also make their way into the creamy sauce before the pasta bakes. And then? More herbs on top for a fresh finish.

To make a bright, creamy sauce, we start with a simple butter and flour roux, then we whisk in chicken broth and plenty of Planet Oat Extra Creamy Oatmilk. Adding cream cheese makes a more velvety, slightly tangy sauce. Briny crumbled feta adds a salty umami flavor in lieu of anchovies. (You can make this dairy-free by substituting plant-based ingredients 1:1 throughout, except for the final cheese melt on top—you can skip the mozzarella.)

Because green goddess dressing pairs so beautifully with nearly every vegetable, we loaded up this chicken and pasta bake with all of our favorite late summer vegetables: tender corn, cheery yellow Sungold tomatoes, and plenty of broccoli florets. (Anything green goddess needs a green vegetable!) The result? A comforting baked pasta filled with lots of bright, fresh flavors that still feels as cozy as your favorite sweater.
—Anna Painter

Test Kitchen Notes

Planet Oat compensated Food52 for providing content contained in this article. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, divided, plus more to serve
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped basil, divided, plus more to serve
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped dill, divided, plus more to serve
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 cups Planet Oat Extra Creamy Oatmilk, divided
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces
  • 2 cups Sungold tomatoes
  • 2 cups shucked fresh corn, kernels cut off of cobs, or 1½ cups frozen corn, thawed
  • 4 1/2 cups (12 ounces) broccoli florets
  • 8 ounces orecchiette
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 4 ounces crumbled feta, divided
  • 2 ounces whole milk mozzarella, chopped
Directions
  1. Combine 3 tablespoons of each parsley, basil, dill, scallions, garlic, lemon zest, and ½ cup of oat milk in a medium bowl. Season marinade with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium–high. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to marinade and stir to coat.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high. Add tomatoes, corn, broccoli,and 1 tablespoon of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until corn and broccoli are just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the skillet and save for step 6.
  5. Add orecchiette to the boiling water, then cook until al dente, 9 to 10 minutes. Drain.
  6. In the same skillet, melt butter over medium. Sprinkle flour over butter and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, whisking constantly, until the broth and roux are combined. Add the cream cheese, whisking until the cream cheese is incorporated.. Add the oat milk and whisk constantly until the mixture is smooth. Stir half of the feta and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
  7. Return orecchiette, vegetables, and remaining 1 tablespoon of each parsley, basil, and dill to the skillet. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the skillet, (it's ok if the herbs and garlic come with it), and discard any remaining marinade. Stir to coat everything in the sauce. Top with the mozzarella dn remaining feta.
  8. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with more chopped parsley, basil, and dill.
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17 Reviews

Mike
Mike October 1, 2024
Tasty. Used regular milk. What's with the scallions? How much? Original recipe didn't have scallions or tomato in ingredient list and now tomato has been added but no quantity provided for scallions! Seems someone needs to do a bitore propfreading prior to publication.
 
kcorvin
kcorvin September 27, 2024
Really? Oat milk but 3 kinds of cheese?? Isn’t the point to avoid dairy?
 
celestess
celestess September 27, 2024
It's not quite "it" to put this recipe in a special email about dairy free recipes and then have a skillet full of cheese. Substituting plant based cheese for the three types of cheese in this recipe to make it dairy free (and, noted, you specify very clearly Planet Oat milk due to sponsorship but not any acceptable substitutes for cream cheese, feta, and mozzarella, which we all know don't have any good 1:1 substitutes)
 
Arlene P.
Arlene P. September 26, 2024
You also omitted scallions from the ingredient list.
 
MMH
MMH September 26, 2024
This is not even close to dairy free.
 
Nicole D.
Nicole D. September 26, 2024
Agreed, but I think this matches the reality of an increasing number of households who may eat dairy and meat, but don't use dairy milk for coffee and thus don't have it on hand. That said--if someone wanted to make it non-dairy they could -- it's easy to swap out all the ingredients for plant-based ingredients as noted in the headnote.
 
Danielle
Danielle September 27, 2024
This annoyed me too. Telling us to just sub everything and leave off the cheese is a wild take. One could argue that anything could be dairy free if you leave off the cheese 🙄
 
Nicole D.
Nicole D. September 27, 2024
Hi Danielle! I'm sorry for your disappointment, but it's a flexible recipe—you can use dairy or not. I made this both ways and enjoyed both versions of it.
 
MMH
MMH September 27, 2024
You have totally missed the “reality”. The reality is that 65% of the world’s population are lactose intolerant which means that dairy products make us very ill. It’s not a matter of choosing to put oat milk in our coffee. And, the other reality is that nondairy items are not readily available especially to underserved communities and the quality is not always great. As Danielle pointed out, dairy free products are not a 1:1 substitute & can be difficult to work with, Before you simply place a product for the purpose of adverting, you should educate yourself.
 
Paula P.
Paula P. September 26, 2024
The tomatoes are not in the ingredient list although they are called for in the recipe.
 
Nicole D.
Nicole D. September 26, 2024
Thank you for the note, I updated the recipe -- it's 2 cups of Sungolds!
 
Paula P.
Paula P. September 26, 2024
Thanks for your attention to the comment and for the updated recipe.
 
liliana
liliana September 26, 2024
For me there is an excess of ingredients and steps in this recipe. And contradictions: nondairy milk but cheeses? Sounds as if chef is trying too hard to be with it. I will try recipe with substantial simplifications
 
Nicole D.
Nicole D. September 26, 2024
It is a good recipe, and I've made it both ways, with the dairy and using plant-based dairy throughout (which is noted in the headnote). Definitely make it your own -- and let us know what you did!
 
Pia
Pia September 26, 2024
I found it ironic that you would use dairy milk but then use chicken in your recipe.
 
Nicole D.
Nicole D. September 26, 2024
Hi Pia! you can substitute plant-based cheeses throughout in this recipe if you prefer -- it's noted in the headnote. I hear you on the irony, but as someone who loves dairy and eats meat, but doesn't drink dairy milk, this doesn't feel odd to me!
 
Ed H.
Ed H. September 26, 2024
Those who are dairy intolerant but eat meat (like my daughters) will enjoy the recipe, once they replace all the cheeses with substitutes. Not all the world is vegan.