Okay, let me be frank witcha. When I got married, I could hardly make toast. In fact, many times I would burn it. I was the cause of many a kitchen disaster and I didn’t really enjoy cooking. CRAZY!!
But one thing I could make and that was actually pretty yummy (as frozen foods go) was Birdseye’s Garlic Chicken (a.k.a. Chicken Voila). It was fast and easy enough that even I could pull it off. And I could get a huge bag from Costco so that my husband and I had leftovers and I could avoid cooking for a few more days. WEIRD, I know. But stay with me. Thank goodness things (and by things I mean formerly kitchen-phobic women like me) change.
Something that hasn’t changed, though, is that I still love Chicken Voila. There are some crazy weeknights when I would just as soon have a bowl of cereal and feed the kids gummy bears for dinner. So sometimes I pull out a bag of Chicken Voila to whip up lickety split. But let me let you in on a little secret. Ssssh…lean in closer. Closer….okay, stop. It’s getting a little freaky.
I have recreated Chicken Voila. Say what? Yep. F’reals, people. It took some time and some adjustments, but I done did it. Actually, I kicked the Chicken Voila flavor up a notch. Or two. Or eight. How? With Ranch seasoning, my friends. Plain and simple. I admit I did use a seasoning packet, but next time I’m totally making this homemade Ranch seasoning from Browneyed Baker: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/diy-homemade-ranch-seasoning-mix/
Tender chicken, crisp carrots, broccoli, and sweet corn and rotini all in a delicious, creamy Ranch sauce. And you know what? This Chicken Voila Copycat was BEYOND easy. Even the newly married, horrible-in-the-kitchen Erin would appreciate this recipe. And that’s saying a lot. It’s super yummy, kid friendly, and so fast and easy to throw together. Voila indeed! 🙂
- 2 large chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- Garlic powder, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup water
- 1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
- 2 cups carrots, sliced
- ½ to 1 can sweet corn, drained
- 1 lb. rotini
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 packet Ranch seasoning
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan
- Cook rotini, according to package directions, until al dente.
- In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Saute chicken until browned on all sides. Remove chicken from pan.
- Add water to skillet and pour in broccoli florets to steam them, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender. (Note: cover the pan if you'd like to expedite the steam process)
- Meanwhile, place carrots in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave for about 4 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain.
- Add carrots, chicken, and corn to pan. Combine heavy cream and Ranch seasoning in a bowl and pour into pan.
- Stir skillet contents and bring cream sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow mixture to simmer for 4 minutes or until thickened slightly.
- Add rotini to skillet and mix well to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
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That pasta dish looks really good, although I’ve never heard of chicken voila before! 🙂 Funny how you can get married and know nothing about cooking and then discover a love for the kitchen hey?! I’m the same way, couldn’t cook a thing when I got married and now I love being in the kitchen!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat. recently posted…Apple Crisp
Hey Stacey, you should definitely check out Birdseye’s Garlic Chicken Voila in the freezer section. It really is good and is perfect on nights you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. But my copycat recipe is so dang quick and easy too. Your apple crisp looks amazing, by the way. Can’t beat warm apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
This is how I know your version is wayyy better than Birdseye’s: you used heavy cream. Bring it on!
Christina @ Whip This Up recently posted…Eggplant Lasagna Bolognese
Haha, yep! I totally agree, Christina. Everything is better with heavy cream!
Yum! Erin, this looks like such a family-friendly dinner. Plus, I love that it’s easy! Pinned!
Thanks, Blair! It really is the perfect quick and easy weeknight meal. And my kids love it! I know you will, too.
this looks so good! pinned!
Shamene Medeiros recently posted…Halloween Party for Kids
Thanks, Shamene! Yeah, it’s delish! You’ll love it. Your Halloween party for kids looks so fun! I was just telling my husband I need to get into Halloween more and have fun things planned for our kids. The party is a great idea!
Do you know if you could freeze this after cooking? I would love to have a homemade version to pull out on weeknights and toss in a skillet. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Mary, I would not recommend freezing this meal after you cook it because the quality would suffer—especially with the cream sauce. And the pasta could become very mushy.
Any idea what your recipe cost per serving?
Good question, Tom. By my guesstimation, I would say about $1.75.
I was just eating the packaged version for dinner tonight! I was wondering if I were to take out the ranch seasoning, would it change up the flavor too much from the packaged version?
Hey Kristine, my version doesn’t taste exactly like the packaged version probably because of the ranch. I know Birdeye uses different seasonings in their Chicken Voila and I added the ranch for an extra punch of flavor. You can try it without the ranch, but it will probably be a little bland. You could try some other seasonings if you prefer. If you end up making it and use other seasonings you like, let me know. I’d love to hear what yummy dish you came up with! Thanks for visiting.
hi Erin!
I’m so glad I found your recipe. My boyfriend is a huge lover of chicken voila (pretty sure he lived off it before we met) but I prefer to prepare meals for us that are not processed with all the preservatives and things that most of those easy freezer meals come with now days, which is why this is perfect! We did grab a chicken voila at the store the other day though for a quick dinner and I realized I had forgotten how tasty a meal they really are ? I started thinking I could easily make a healthier version at home and freeze to have on hand for easy meal nights, which is how I found your recipe. I read your comment about freezing it and I agree that it wouldn’t freeze well once prepared, but I think I will try it by prepping the veggies and chicken, cooking chicken but only cooking veggies halfway. Then combining sauce ingredients and pouring into an ice cube tray to freeze. I do know that heavy cream freezes well, but half and half does not. Then once sauce cubes are frozen, combining all the ingredients in a freezer storage bag for later. I think partially cooking the pasta as well to throw into the bag would be ok, but even just to cook pasta while heating the freezer packet up would still be quick and easy! These are just my thoughts to experiment anyway ? once I’ve tried it, I will let you know how it turned out.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Hey Amber, I think your idea for freezing the meal sounds great! Yes, please let me know how it goes. If it works, I’ll add that info in the post and let everyone know you were the genius behind the method. Thanks for visiting!
Hey have you frozen it yet? If so how did it go?
P.S. There is not a step in the instructions to add in the can of corn. I’m assuming you would probably want to just add in with the carrots and chicken?
Thanks for catching that, Amber! You’re right—you add the corn with the chicken and carrots. I have updated the recipe to reflect this.
This is fantastic! This used to be one of my kids favorite meals when we had a Costco membership. I’ve tried to recreate it a couple of times since then not so successfully as this. My kids gobbled it up and fought over leftovers! It’s only been a week and I’m making it again to take to a friend. I do have one suggestion for you to try. This is what I used to season my chicken: 1 Tbl parmesan cheese, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper. That comes from Taste of Home Crispy Potato Chicken 1998. Thanks for the new family favorite!
Thanks, Rebecca! I’m so glad it has become a family favorite. I love your idea of how to season the chicken and will definitely be doing that next time I make this. Thanks for the tip and for visiting!
Thanks for the excellent recipe! I added frozen peas and doubled the recipe. It was delish! I used half and half instead of heavy cream and it was still nice and creamy.
I’m so glad you liked it, Andrea! I love the idea of adding the peas and using half and half for a lightened up version. I gotta try that too. Thanks for visiting!