When ALDI asked me if I would review their new cast iron cookware, I jumped at the chance. New cookware is always fun!
They sent a big box of all kinds of fun things. These Special Buy items will be available in ALDI stores in November. If you’ve ever wanted some cast iron cookware, get yourself to an ALDI store! These are great deals and the cookware is wonderful too.
I used the grill pan to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Fancy, I know. But the pan is great! The sandwiches turned out panini-like. It would be wonderful for steak. There’s no seasoning required for the cast iron pans.
And I loved the Dutch Oven. There’s so much you can use this particular piece for. Soups, stews, roasts, whole chickens and more. It’s a fantastic piece of cookware to own and this is the best deal I’ve ever seen anywhere.
Here’s a list of some of the Special Buy items that are available soon:
- Kitchen Living Two Speed Hand Blender, $19.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/13
- Kitchen Living 6 Qt. Cast Iron Dutch Oven, $29.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/20
- Kitchen Living Cast Iron Grill, $14.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/20
- Kitchen Living Cast Iron Frying Pan, $14.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/20
- Kitchen Living Heat Resistant Glove or Oven Mitt (2), $4.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/20
- Kitchen Living Cast Iron Trivet, $4.99 – Special Buy beginning 11/20
I knew I wanted to create a new recipe using the cast iron enameled dutch oven. My youngest daughter and I hit our local ALDI store looking for recipe inspiration.
I think I’ve shared before that I sometimes create recipes by standing at the pantry and surveying the items until I come up with a new way to combine them. Well, that’s exactly what I did at ALDI. It was so fun!
We hit the meat department first, where I picked up a whole chicken. Then we wandered the aisles, looking for ingredients to add to the chicken. My first thought was rice, but as soon as I spied the refrigerated tortellini I knew we would be doing a take on an Italian dish.
I found artichoke hearts, extra virgin olive oil and diced tomatoes. We picked up Parmesan cheese in the dairy case and garlic cloves in the produce aisle.
And this turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve ever made. It’s really easy too! It all gets made in one pot, so there’s not a lot of clean up. I’ve found that the enameled interior of the Dutch Oven is really easy to clean. It looks like you’re going to have to scrub hard, but it’s a breeze to clean.
Here’s what you’ll need to make One Pot Roast Chicken & Tortellini:
One Pot Roast Chicken and Tortellini – Made in ALDI New Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 cans 15 oz each diced tomatoes, undrained
- 14 oz can artichoke hearts drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 packages 9oz each refrigerated tortellini
- Parmesan cheese shredded to garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat.
- Add crushed garlic cloves and cook 1-2 minutes.
- Put chicken in pot, breast side down. Brown for about 5 minutes.
- Turn chicken over and let the other side brown.
- Add diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, water, seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours - 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove from oven.
- Add tortellini to the pot, using a spoon to submerge the pasta under the broth.
- Let sit for 3-5 minutes, covered.
- Remove chicken from pot and carve.
- Serve chicken with tortellini, artichokes and tomatoes.
- Top with Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
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Disclosure: I received a box of ALDI products and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
This sounds great, but if we do not have a pot like this, how would you recommend we go about it? Perhaps just use a stove top pan for the garlic, and for browing the chicken, and then transfer to a baking casserole?
Allison, you can use a regular dutch oven that comes with most cookware sets. You know the kind that are metal with two handles that can go in the oven? I also think this could be done in the crockpot, although I do think it would benefit from being browned on the stove top first, then transferred.
All you need is a dutch oven 5 qt. pot with heavy bottom to make this! I’m sure the Cast Iron dutch would be better because it holds the heat better!
This looks great! Thanks for the heads up on the cookware.
Can’t wait getting the braiser, grill pan and frying pan for Christmas! I got a dutch oven through sams club for the same price in blue so hoping my hubby can find the blue at our aldi’s so I will have a matching awesome set of pans!!!! LOVE my dutch oven!!!! Why oh why did I hold out so long!
This was excellent! A definite keeper.
I’m so glad you liked it! I can’t wait to make it again for us.
Hi there! How would this work with chicken pieces (legs/thighs)? I’m no Martha, so I’m not sure about cooking time, etc. Thanks!
Nicki, if you’re using chicken with bones, then the cooking time should be about the same.
Can you use boneless skinless chicken pieces ?
Yes, but you may want to reduce the cooking time. Also the broth won’t be as rich tasting, but it should still be good.
This looks delicious. I shop 90% at Aldi and I’m excited about the grill pan!!
Technically this is a braised chicken, not a roast or baked chicken. Forgive me; I’m a stickler for correct culinary terminology. But this looks like a great dish! I love Aldi and I’m excited about this cookware. My husband and I have a Le Creuse that we adore, but it was definitely an investment, even when purchased from an outlet store (we actually split the cost 50/50 while we were dating–thankfully we already knew we wanted to get married and we followed through on it). But I have friends that I’ll be pointing to Aldi in November to pick up a Dutch oven for themselves. It’s such a versatile piece of cookware and I consider it essential in my kitchen now.
Le Cresuet*, that is.
Wow! Again? That was autocorrect’s fault! For the last time, Le Creuset*!
Can you use ravioli instead? My grocery only carries refrigerated ravioli. The tortellini is always frozen. Thx 🙂
Yes, I think ravioli would work fine.
Could you use dry tortellini
You would just need to check how long that would need to cook. With the fresh type, it will cook quickly in the hot broth. With dry, you may need to take the chicken out and bring the broth to a boil to cook the tortellini.
You might also add the frozen pasta maybe 15-20 minutes before the chicken is supposed to be done & put it all back into the oven. It wouldn’t take that long for Unfrozen tortellini to cook, but since you’re adding frozen to the pot it will need a few extra minutes for the dish to come back up to temperature after adding the cold pasta.
I made this tonight and it is fabulous! This recipe is definitely a classic! Will be making this again!
Would using the hot rotisserie chicken you see in the store be OK to use?
You would need to do it different if you use a chicken that’s already cooked. In that case, do steps 1 and 2. Instead of the water, use 3-4 cups of chicken broth. Bring that to a boil. Add the tortellini and then serve that with the chicken.
I made this tonight for the first time and it’s awesome! This will stay in my rotation for sure. Thanks so much!
This Aldi enamel cast iron dutch oven is great, no doubt. However, I think any bare dutch oven should do the similar job as a cast iron cookware piece with appropriate seasoning is just as good as a good non-stick cookware.
I enjoyed your recipe, anyway, and look forward to reading more recipes like this. Take care and keep the great job up.
Great Post! Thank you
I made this today! Yum! I used a rotisserie chicken. I placed the whole chicken (skin and all) the Dutch oven with crushed tomatoes, artichokes, etc and chicken broth. I brought to a boil and then simmered for about 20 minutes. I removed the chicken and added the pasta and more broth to make it more of a soup. I pulled the chicken and put it back in the pot. Served as a soup/stew and topped with parm! Yum!
That was a great idea to use a rotisserie chicken for this. That’s a time saver. Thanks for sharing!