Summer Spaghetti loaded with garden fresh cherry tomatoes and chicken!

Ahh Summer…oh how we love you. If you plan to grow a garden this Summer, and fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes are in the plans, this recipe for Summer Spaghetti with lemon marinated chicken and a garlic gravy is the perfect way to use up all the freshness from your garden. You really can make it year round, but it would be so good with garden tomatoes! We had it for dinner last night, and my family loved it! The garlic gravy is amazing with so much flavor. I’m excited to eat it again tomorrow for lunch!

The cherry tomatoes are so good in this. If you love tomatoes, you’ll love them in this dish!

What Is Summer Spaghetti?

Summer spaghetti is a pasta dish that is typically made in the summer time using fresh in season tomatoes and herbs, but you can absolutely make this dish any time of year with tomatoes in your local grocery store during any season.

Here’s the ingredient lineup. I can’t wait to make this again with fresh garden tomatoes and herbs this Summer!

Ingredients Needed:

1 pound spaghetti cooked al dente
6 chicken breasts sliced into 1 inch chunks (skinless and boneless)

For the Chicken Marinade:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped (if using dried, use 1 tsp.)
1 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to sauté the marinated chicken

For the Garlic Gravy:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup Italian flat leaf parsley chopped (to garnish)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup whole cherry tomatoes (from the garden if in season)

How Long Do I Need To Marinate The Chicken?

It’s best to marinate the chicken overnight, but if you’re short on time, it needs at least an hour or two to marinate.

How To Make Summer Spaghetti:

Add all the marinade ingredients (thyme, rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper) into a mixing bowl and mix all together. Dump this marinade mixture into a gallon zip lock plastic bag and the chicken to marinate. Marinate overnight or if short on time at the minimum 1 – 2 hours.
Sauté the marinated chicken in extra virgin olive oil until cooked and browned on the sides. Set the chicken aside.
In a large sauce pan, melt the the butter and add the olive oil. Sauté the garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the flour and cook for a minute. Add the chicken stock and simmer gravy until thickened. Add the sautéed chicken into the gravy then toss the cooked spaghetti into this sauce.
Add the cherry tomatoes and finish the dish with the chopped parsley, chopped basil, and grated Parmesan cheese (serve extra Parmesan cheese on the side) Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe FAQ’s:

How long do I cook my Spaghetti for? For this recipe your spaghetti should be al dente (which means firm to the bite or cooked to where the noodle is not too soft) and that differs based on the type of pasta you are using but it usually takes anywhere from 8-12 minutes for spaghetti to cook.

How do you keep spaghetti noodles from sticking? The best way to keep your noodles from sticking is to make sure your water is boiling before adding the noodles, stir constantly and whatever you do, don’t add oil to the water or and rinse the cooked noodles with water to help rinse off excess starch that was released while cooking. You can toss in a little olive oil AFTER cooking to keep from sticking.

Can I use dried herbs instead of fresh herbs? If you don’t have access to or are having a hard time finding fresh herbs to be used with this recipe you can use dried herbs. Remember that dried herbs tend to be more potent than fresh herbs so you would need to adjust the amounts that you are using. The general rule is one tablespoon of fresh herbs to one teaspoon of dried herbs.

What can I substitute for basil and thyme? Before choosing to substitute keep in mind that different herbs can change the flavor of a dish, but if you need to substitute then you can use oregano in place of both basil and thyme. You can also use marjoram in place of thyme.

Where can I buy fresh herbs? Fresh herbs can be purchased in your produce section of most supermarkets. Also farmers markets, or even online. You can also purchase live herb plants from places like Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot.

I love using fresh herbs, and this recipe uses four: basil, Italian flat leaf parsley, rosemary and thyme.

Summer Spaghetti

Summer Spaghetti is loaded with fresh garden tomatoes, chicken and all tossed in a garlic gravy. It's delish!

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti cooked al dente
6 chicken breasts sliced into 1 inch chunks (skinless and boneless)

For the Chicken Marinade:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped (if using dried, use 1 tsp.)
1 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to sauté the marinated chicken

For the Garlic Gravy:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup Italian flat leaf parsley chopped (to garnish)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup whole cherry tomatoes (from the garden if in season)

Instructions

Add all the marinade ingredients (thyme, rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper) into a mixing bowl and mix all together. Dump this marinade mixture into a gallon ziplock plastic bag and the chicken to marinate. Marinate overnight or if short on time at the minimum 1 - 2 hours.
Saute the marinated chicken in extra virgin olive oil until cooked and browned on the sides. Set the chicken aside.
In a large sauce pan, melt the the butter and add the olive oil. Saute the garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the flour and cook for a minute. Add the chicken stock and simmer gravy until thickened. Add the sauteed chicken into the gravy then toss the cooked spaghetti into this sauce.
Add the cherry tomatoes and finish the dish with the chopped parsley, chopped basil, and grated parmesan cheese (serve extra parmesan cheese on the side) Season with salt and pepper.

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