Tarragon Chicken and Butternut Squash Pasta
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Gluten free penne pasta tossed into a sauce of white wine, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Flavored with Italian herbs and freshly minced tarragon. Add chicken and butternut squash for the perfect meal.
Author:
Recipe type: Pasta
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I used avocado oil)
  • 2 cups diced chicken breast, raw
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 cups (1 lb.) butternut squash, cubed into bite size pieces*
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons freshly chopped tarragon (slightly less than ¾ teaspoon dried)
  • ½ cup white cooking wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)
  • ¼ cup pasta water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • ⅔ cup evaporated milk or half and half
  • 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 ounce cream cheese (optional)
  • 12 ounces of gluten free penne pasta (I prefer Barilla brand)
Directions
  1. Prepare all ingredients by cubing chicken breasts, dicing onion, cutting squash (I recommend using the prepackaged cubes from the grocery store), mincing garlic, and chopping tarragon.
  2. Place squash in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 2½-3 minutes or until squash is firm tender. Drain and set aside.*
  3. Heat 2 quarts of water to boiling and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.
  4. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil on medium high heat in large saucepan. Once heated, add onion and chicken cubes. Cook until inside of chicken is no longer pink, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, tarragon and butternut squash. Sauté for additional minute. Reduce heat to medium.
  5. Add cooking wine and cook until reduced, stirring occasionally. While reducing, whisk cornstarch into evaporated milk or half and half and set aside.
  6. Remove saucepan from heat until pasta is done. Once pasta is done, before draining, add ½ cup of the pasta water to saucepan. Return saucepan to heat and increase to medium high heat. Drain pasta and set aside.
  7. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sugar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and cornstarch mixture to saucepan. Stir to combine.
  8. Pour pasta into saucepan and stir to coat all pasta in sauce. Add 1 ounce of cream cheese to saucepan and stir until melted into sauce. Continue to heat until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
  9. Serve warm with additional tarragon and lemon wedges for garnish.
Notes
*Most grocery stores sell bags of pre-cubed butternut squash that you can easily stick the whole bag in the microwave to steam. I recommend this since butternut squash is hard to cut. Just follow the steaming directions on the bag in place of my microwave cooking directions for the squash.
Recipe by Breezy Bakes at https://www.breezybakes.com/tarragon-chicken-and-butternut-squash-pasta/