If like me, you are tired of the usual grilled chicken and want to bring a more tantalizing and original main course to the table, these chicken and broccoli bites in a pan are the solution for you! Besides being truly delicious, they are also incredibly perfect for those following a careful dietary plan or who desire something healthy in just a few minutes! A combination often quite challenging, so much so that especially at dinner, one chooses solutions that are too convenient and thus detrimental! Instead, with chicken and broccoli bites, you will create, in a single recipe, a main course based on white meat, light and digestible, and a broccoli side dish rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! Not to mention that you will only dirty one pan! A nice time saver, don’t you think? Once the bites are cut, simply flour them lightly, deglaze them with white wine, and continue cooking over low heat, adding the broccoli for the last ten minutes. The end result will be soft, creamy, and not at all dry bites! They will be ideal both for a frugal lunch and for a light but tasty dinner.
If recipes based on white meat are an invitation for you, try these recipes as well, all to be tried and that I have personally selected for you:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts
- 1.1 lbs broccoli (whole)
- 2 shallots
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 3 tbsp flour
- to taste sesame seeds
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bunches parsley
- to taste sweet paprika
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste mixed peppercorns
Tools
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Pan
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Colander
Steps
Start by cleaning the broccoli head, removing the outer leaves and separating each individual floret, i.e., cutting them into florets.
Rinse the florets thoroughly under running water.
Then blanch them for 5′-8′ at most in boiling salted water.
Drain them with a slotted spoon, keeping the broth aside, and let them cool in a colander.
On a cutting board, cut the chicken into cubes more or less the same size, to ensure even cooking.
In a large bowl, flour the chicken bites, massaging them with your hands and making sure they are well floured.
Heat the oil in a pan or non-stick skillet together with the chopped shallots and the sprig of rosemary. Let them brown over low heat.
Add the chicken bites, browning them on all sides, adding a ladle of broccoli cooking water if necessary.
When the cubes have taken color, add the white wine.
Lower the flame, cover with a lid, and cook for 5-6′, then uncover and baste the chicken with more hot broth if the chicken bites dry out too much.
After this time, add the broccoli and continue cooking for another 10′, always basting with hot broth as needed. Overall, if the cubes and florets are not very large, it takes about 15 minutes of cooking.
At the end of cooking, adjust with salt, pepper, and season with sweet paprika to taste.
Serve the chicken and broccoli bites drizzling them with the sauce and embellishing with a few pinches of sesame seeds and some fresh chopped parsley.
And voilà… your chicken and broccoli bites in a pan are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Other shots that hopefully explain the goodness…
Storage
👉 Chicken and broccoli bites in a pan can be stored in the refrigerator in a suitable container for up to 2-3 days at most.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣 Certainly, the part of the chicken that best lends itself to this type of preparation is the breast, and to this end, I recommend buying it whole, then cutting it into cubes yourself at home, ensuring they are all the same size for more uniform cooking.
🟣 Instead of white wine, if you like the idea of a more exotic taste, you could add 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce.
🟣 For an even creamier version, just before turning off, you could add 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken the sauce more.
🟣 It’s possible to modify the taste as well as the protein content, replacing the chicken with turkey, veal or beef. Served with steamed rice, and you get a complete meal.
🟣 If you prefer crunchier broccoli, add them only during the last 5′ of cooking, enjoying all the properties they are known for, including anti-cancer properties and the presence of nutrients such as calcium, potassium, vitamins A, C, and K.
