Saucy Chicken

This saucy chicken recipe with tender mushrooms and sweet bell peppers is an easy one-pot dinner. It’s packed with basil, parsley, and is ready faster than take-out.

Saucy chicken with mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers in the pan.

Why I Love This Saucy Chicken Recipe

  • Quick. Dinner will be ready in less than 30 minutes!
  • Convenient. This recipe uses store-bought tomato sauce to simplify life without sacrificing any flavor.
  • Great freezer meal. Keep a batch in the freezer for hectic weeknights when you need a last-minute home-cooked meal.
  • Beginner-friendly. Cook the veggies, add the chicken, and pour in the sauce. That’s it!
Labeled ingredients for saucy chicken.

What You’ll Need

Sweet tomato sauce, basil, and fresh parsley give this recipe a simple Italian flavor profile. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.

  • Olive oil – Avocado, coconut, corn, canola, or vegetable oil can be used instead.
  • Chicken breasts – Make sure they’re boneless and skinless.
  • Yellow onions – White onions are a good swap.
  • Bell peppers – I used orange and yellow, but any color works for this.
  • Mushrooms – Go for baby bellas, creminis, or white button mushrooms.
  • Salt and pepper – I prefer kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.
  • Basil – Use dried, fresh, or freeze-dried.
  • Fresh parsley – Don’t use wilted parsley because it’ll add bitterness to the sauce.
  • Pasta sauce – I love Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce, but add your favorite.

How To Make Saucy Chicken

This 3-step saucy chicken dinner is ready in just 25 minutes. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe card.

  • Sautée the veggies. Add the olive oil to a large pan and let it heat over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Cook them for 1 minute.
  • Brown the chicken. Add the chicken to the pan and cook it for 6-7 minutes or until browned on all sides. The veggies should also be tender. Season with salt, pepper, basil, and parsley. Mix well.
  • Add the sauce. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Cook everything for another 5 minutes or until warm. Serve and enjoy
Plate of saucy chicken with fresh basil on top.

Tips & Variations

  • Swap the protein. Use turkey instead of chicken for an easy variation. You can also just cook the veggies until tender, add the sauce, and stir in leftover Oven Roasted Turkey or Juicy Turkey Breast right before serving.
  • Make it Tex-Mex. Swap the pasta sauce for your favorite tomato-based salsa and sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning for a Tex-Mex dinner.
  • Add pasta. Boil 1-2 cups of your favorite short pasta like penne or fusilli and stir it in for a chicken pasta dinner. Long pastas like spaghetti and fettuccine work too.
  • Make it melty. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 5 minutes before the cooking time is up. Cover the pan and finish cooking the chicken as usual or until the cheese is nice and melty.
  • Use leftovers. Add leftover broccoli florets, baby spinach, or Bacon Wrapped Asparagus to this recipe for a heartier dinner that also reduces food waste.
  • Grab a large pan. Make sure that the pan you use is large enough for all the veggies and chicken. If not, you might have to cook in batches. When the pan is too small, the chicken sweats and steams rather than browns.
Grabbing some chicken and veggies with a fork.

What To Serve With Saucy Chicken

This saucy chicken is an easy dinner with pasta, more veggies, or a side salad. Serve it with my Sun-Dried Pasta or Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach. My Brussels Sprouts with Bacon are great too. For salad ideas, try my Tomato Burrata Salad or La Scala Chopped Salad.

Proper Storage

  • Fridge: Place it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • Freezer: Transfer the cooled chicken, sauce, and veggies to freezer-friendly bags in serving-size portions. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
  • To reheat it: Microwave it for up to a minute or until warm. You can also heat it in a pan over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

Landscape photo of saucy chicken.

Saucy Chicken

Katerina | Diethood
This Italian-inspired saucy chicken recipe with fresh mushrooms, sweet onions, and bell peppers is quick and easy weeknight dinner.
5 from 3 votes
Servings : 4
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12- ounces chicken breast , cubed
  • 2 yellow onions , sliced
  • 1 orange bell pepper , sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper , sliced
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon freeze dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley
  • 1 cup Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce (or any other pasta sauce)

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.
  • Add all ingredients, except the Ragú Sauce, to the pan; cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.
  • Stir in sauce and continue to cook for 5 more minutes, or until heated through.
  • Serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 249 kcal | Carbohydrates: 12 g | Protein: 20 g | Fat: 13 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 54 mg | Sodium: 425 mg | Potassium: 799 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 6 g | Vitamin A: 1280 IU | Vitamin C: 102.5 mg | Calcium: 28 mg | Iron: 1.5 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dinner, Lunch/Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: saucy chicken, saucy chicken recipe
Did you make this recipe?Leave a Rating!

Categories:

Ask a Question or Rate this Recipe

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating:




11 comments on “Saucy Chicken”

  1. My all time favorite!
    So easy yet so tasty!
    Cook it for someone to impress or just for you to savor on.

    1. Great to hear it’s your favorite! It’s awesome that it’s easy and tasty, perfect for any occasion. Thank YOU! 🙂

      1. I’m glad to hear the instructions were helpful and you found the bread delicious! Thank YOU! 🙂

  2. Cooking this tomorrow. I’m no cook by any means just looking for easy meals to learn. Hope for the best. Looks great though.

  3. This was amazing! I used the whole jar of sauce and served over raw zucchini “noodles” and it was FANTASTIC! Will definitely be a staple go-to dinner.

  4. ok so I tried to make this and ended up botching it by using the entire jar of ragu instead of just a cup. so I improvised and added penne pasta IN it, as opposed to having the chicken over the pasta like I had originally planned…and it turned out amazing! Can’t wait to try this again, this time as intended in the recipe!

  5. I love using bell peppers as much for their color as their flavor. Looks like a quick family meal–I’m always looking for more of those! Thanks!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Yes! I love those family meals as well – quick, one-pot, delicious, and quick! 😉 Thanks, Lauren!

  6. Avatar photo
    Laura Dembowski

    Love one pot meals like this! I always helped my mom in the kitchen too, but she probably didn’t think of it as helping 🙂

Scroll to Top