This creamy Hazelnut Chicken Penne Pasta is a fast, filling and easy dinner to make for busy weeknights. Plus it’s gluten-free but doesn’t taste like it, if ya-know-what-I-mean. And that little-added crunch of toasted hazelnuts? Perfection. Seriously, this is so good, there were no leftovers at my house.
This is a sponsored post in partnership with Barilla. All opinions are my own.
A few months ago, my sweet daughter Grace was recently tested and found to be allergic to wheat. So I’ve been trying my best to make dinners that she can eat along with us, but I get so busy sometimes that I don’t always think about it. So she will say, “Mom, can I eat that?” And if I have forgotten, and something is made with wheat I feel horrible! You know that gut-wrenching guilt? I mean, look at this face!
So all I can do at that point is tell her to eat her gluten-free cereal that night while the rest of us get to eat a real meal. So sad! The struggle is real ya’ll. Being a mom with one kid with an allergy is a big learning process! I applaud all of you who do this well. I’m sure I will get there eventually, but right now it’s not easy learning all this stuff.
And for those of you who have been following my blog for a long time, yes, she is growing up and wanting to be an actor and stuff. Crazy! I tried to tell her to stop growing..but kids these days just don’t listen! Hee hee.
Part of figuring out this allergy is testing out a lot of weird gluten-free products. Many of these taste…well, not so good. Awful in fact. And they are expensive! I have paid over $4 for a box of specialty pasta before finding non-GMO Gluten-free Barilla Blue Box Penne at Walmart for under $2.
Guys, it’s been a serious budget saver for me, and honestly, I can’t taste the difference between regular and gluten-free penne with Barillas Blue box brand. Win-win for my whole family! I have created many recipes using penne and especially love to use it in baked casseroles and freezer meals. The large diameter and ridges of Penne make it ideal for retaining sauces on the entire surface, inside and out. Add some fresh vegetables and herbs, toss in chunky pieces of salmon or chicken, and toss it all together with a delicious Barilla sauce. Mmmm…. I can just smell it simmering on the stove right now! You can read more about Penne on Barilla.com.
I also read the ingredients on the Barilla Tomato Basil pasta sauce to find it to have high-quality ingredients like vine-ripened tomatoes, aromatic herbs, and extra-virgin olive oil. These ingredients are then simmered together to develop a hearty and delectable sauce. On top of great non-GMO ingredients, the Tomato & Basil sauce is gluten-free! YAY! Score! You can read more about the sauce on Barilla.com.
No Kid Hungry (You + Barilla helping kids in need)
Creamy Hazelnut Chicken Penne Pasta
Now it’s time to get down to business. And make this easy weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy. Basically, it’s ground chicken, Barilla blue box penne, Barilla Tomato & Basil sauce, some fresh cream and topped with some freshly grated parmesan, chopped basil, and toasted chopped hazelnuts. Seriously!!! Sooo good. Here’s how you make it.
Creamy Hazelnut Chicken Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb Barilla Penne pasta
- 1/4 cup Hazelnuts ,chopped
- 1 lb ground chicken (or substitute ground turkey)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp garlic ,minced
- 1 tsp dried minced onion
- 1 24 oz jar Barilla Tomato Basil pasta Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot over high heat, bring water to boil and cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain, then place pasta back into pot.
- While that is cooking, place chopped hazelnuts in a medium deep sided skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook until golden and toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove nuts from skillet and set aside, then place skillet back onto stove.
- Increase heat to medium-high and place ground chicken, butter, garlic and dried minced onion into skillet. Cook, stirring often until chicken is fully cooked through and no longer pink.
- Add Barilla Tomato Basil pasta sauce to skillet stirring constantly until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add cream, and stir until well combined into sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add sauce to pasta in large pot, stirring until all pasta well coated. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh basil and toasted hazelnuts if desired and serve.
Nutrition
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About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Mara says
Karrie,
I am going to give this recipe a try. I need to eat gluten free. The rest of my family does not, so I end up cooking 2 pots of pasta. I’m not sure that I tried Barilla yet. Gluten-free pastas have broken down to mush when I’ve tried to bake them. Forget about leftovers being enjoyable. Does Barilla hold up to cooking and reheating.
Karrie says
If you plan on freezing, just undercook the noodles a bit. I like the barilla noodles! Inexpensive and they hold up well!
Isadora Guidoni says
This recipe looks so delicious! I simply love the ingredients list, so I already know I’m going to love the dish too. Thank you for posting it!