Chicken Pepperoni

Mimi Hiller's Note:

If you're looking to impress someone, you couldn't do it better...and or easier. Just be careful that you don't overcook the chicken.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ½ lb pasta
• ½ whole pepperoni
• 1⁄3; cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper , freshly ground
• ½ teaspoon oregano , ground (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
• ½ teaspoon basil , crushed (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• to taste olive oil (optional)
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes , crushed (or more, to taste)

Directions:

1. * I used quartered low-fat pepperoni slices without sacrificing the taste. While I needed to use olive oil to make up for the missing rendered fat, I did save considerably on cholesterol.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Dice pepperoni into 1/4" cubes.
4. Cook in frying pan over medium heat, allowing the fat from it to render out. Remove from pan and set aside. Season flour with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder and onion powder.
5. Cut chicken in to bite-sized chunks.
6. Dredge chicken pieces in seasoned flour until coated.
7. Shake off excess flour and brown in the rendered pepperoni fat (and olive oil, if needed) until the chicken is almost cooked.
8. Remove from pan and set aside. Whisk tomato sauce, tomato paste, crushed red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup water together in pan until smooth.
9. Return chicken and pepperoni to pan.
10. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes.
11. Serve over a bed of pasta.

Reviews

[kmsfoodfreak]

This is a great recipe. There is an Italian restaurant called Zio's in the state I live in and they have a dish there called "Pepperoni Chicken" and it is what inspired me to look for something similar on this site. It is basically the same thing, on Penne pasta, but with a few additions that I think make the dish much muuuch better, such as including onions and bell pepper.

I added a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes in addition to the tomato sauce and paste. I also sauteed a quarter yellow onion, half a red and half a green bell pepper in the pepperoni juices before sauteeing the chicken. I think the bell peppers made a huge positive difference to spruce up the dish. I also added some garlic powder, oregano and fresh basil to the sauce as it was simmering, not just to the flour mixture.

With this recipe as a starting point and the above additions, I ended up with almost the EXACT dish that I loved at the Italian restaurant. Thanks for posting!

[Lori in NC]

I haven't made this recently, but I've been making it for years, since Mimi posted it on rec.food.cooking. As suggested, I use turkey pepperoni to cut some of the fat, and a bit of olive oil to saute the chicken. It can be surprisingly spicy from the pepperoni, so take it easy on the red pepper flakes if that's an issue at your house. I'm so glad to find this recipe here. Thanks!

[Shawn C]

I also had this recipe posted but asked that mine be removed since yours was posted first thus the reviews thanking me were transferred here. I love this recipe and I recieved it from TSR boards many years ago. This is a great way to spice up your night. you can use bone in chicken just brown skin first and let simmer in sauce. You can use turkey pepperoni to cut done on the fat. I don't use chunks of pepperoni but rather the sliced package kind in the store and don't pre cook it before putting in the sauce. i use fresh garlic and onion in the sauce and I would never use a jarred sauce- but making a fresh sauce like a deep marinara is well worth it. you can skip the flour fry method of the chicken to help cut down on calories and fat. try grilling or baking or boiling. this recipe is really a true genius in progress of creating a ideal meal to suit your dietary needs, without sacrificing the flavor of the orginal dish too much! Try it and you will learn to make it your own and impress everyone!