Description
Hearty chicken bolognese elevates traditional meat sauce with lean protein and rich Mediterranean flavors. Creamy pasta layers highlight savory chicken ragu that you’ll crave after one delicious bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb (0.45 kg) ground chicken
- 16 oz (0.45 kg) pasta (fettuccine, brown rice, quinoa, lentil, or chickpea gluten-free)
- 28 oz (0.8 kg) can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (1 large) carrot, finely diced
- 1 cup baby bella or cremini mushrooms, finely diced
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 3 tbsps fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Low-sodium chicken broth (amount not specified)
- Salt (to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté Aromatics: In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Introduce diced onions, carrots, and mushrooms, allowing them to soften and release their fragrant oils for 4-5 minutes.
- Brown Protein: Add ground chicken, minced garlic, salt, ground black pepper, and red chili flakes. Crumble the meat while cooking, ensuring a slightly pink interior and developing rich, caramelized flavors.
- Build Sauce Foundation: Fold in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, fresh basil leaves, bay leaf, and butter. Reduce heat to medium-low, letting the sauce gently simmer and meld together for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
- Prepare Pasta: Cook pasta in a separate pot according to package instructions, maintaining al dente texture. Reserve a portion of the starchy cooking liquid to help emulsify the sauce.
- Finalize Dish: Remove bay leaf from the sauce. Drain pasta and combine with the robust chicken bolognese, using reserved pasta water to create a silky, cohesive consistency. Garnish with freshly torn basil and a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese before serving.
Notes
- Prep Ingredient Tip: Dice vegetables uniformly to ensure even cooking and consistent flavor distribution throughout the sauce.
- Meat Handling Technique: Break ground chicken into small, irregular pieces while cooking to create a more authentic, rustic bolognese texture and prevent large meat clumps.
- Sauce Depth Trick: Allow bolognese to simmer slowly, which concentrates flavors and helps develop a rich, complex taste profile that elevates the entire dish.
- Pasta Water Magic: Reserve starchy pasta water as a secret weapon to help sauce cling perfectly to noodles, creating a silky, restaurant-quality finish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 300 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 65 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg