Chicken Fajita Pasta
Chicken Fajita Pasta is a one-pot dinner that takes 30 minutes to make. It is smokey, spicy and has all the flavors of classic fajita. With stipes of juicy chicken, caramelized onion and peppers, I love how wholesome this dish is for a weeknight dinner.
This Chicken Fajita Pasta is a marriage between Italian and Mexican flavours. You get all the classic fajita feeling in a comforting creamy pasta dish. I love the spicy and smoky flavor this pasta has. This saucy pasta with juicy strips of chicken, onions, and peppers is a wholesome dish.
I never get bored with pasta. We all have our favorite pasta recipes, yet a new recipe always gets added to the list. A very different pasta recipe, yet it has familiar flavors. The flavors only improve the next day in the fridge, making it perfect for meal prep.
There is so much convenience in cooking a meal in a single pot. Makes everything simple and cleaner; you end up with just one utensil to clean up.
Ingredients
Here is the list of ingredients you will need –
- Pasta – Any short pasta, like Penne, farfalle is good for this recipe.
- Chicken – Boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips, just to match the rest of the ingredients.
- Oil and butter – Butter gives a richness to the sauce, however, you can skip it and use only oil.
- Fajita Seasoning– homemade is best as you can control the spicy level and salt. If not homemade, I like to use
- Onion & Garlic – Sliced onion and minced garlic
- Peppers – I love adding assorted colorful peppers.
- Chicken Stock – You can add water, too, but stock is better.
- Tomato – Diced tomatoes. You can go for fresh tomatoes too.
- Cream – Heavy cream. Milk can be substituted.
- Cheese – Mexican blend or sharp cheddar, preferably.
What other vegetables can I add?
Other than classic vegetables, you can also add mushrooms, corn, zucchini, spinach etc.
Should I marinate the chicken first?
Not necessary, but if you have time, toss the chicken with fajita seasoning and oil. rest it for 15 minutes.
Steps to make
Take a skillet that’s large enough to hold the pasta once cooked, and preferably a heavy-bottomed one with a fitting lid.
Begin by making the fajita base. it’s exactly like making fajitas, searing seasoned chicken, onion and peppers until nicely caramelized. You get that wonderful smokiness of fajita.
After cooking the chicken and veggies, I prefer taking the mix out of the pan and adding it back once the pasta is cooked. This is how you can also avoid overcooking and drying chicken too.
Cooking pasta along with the chicken and veggies makes the veggies lose its texture and gets mushy.
To the same skillet with all the brown caramelized bits in the pan, tomato, chicken stock, rest of the fajita seasoning and dry pasta. Give everything a good stir, cover and cook on low until the pasta is al dente. (Note – Having a well-fitted lid for the skillet will help the pasta to cook faster without adding too much liquid ). Towards the end, when almost all the liquid is soaked up by the pasta, make sure to give the pasta a good stir to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
Add back the cream, chicken pepper mix, and cheese. Give everything a good mix.
Can I make it ahead of time?
Storing leftover
This pasta stores beautifully, in fact as I have mentioned before, the flavors get better the next day. So I always make a big batch and meal prep it. Portion is to 1-2 servings per container and refrigerate up to 4 days.
Reheating– Upon refrigeration, pasta absorbs the sauce, so sprinkle some warm water, loosen the pasta, and reheat in a microwave.
Serving
Just a simple green salad, preferably with a tangy, refreshing dressing like this everyday lettuce salad pairs well. You can also serve other roasted veggies alongside.
More Pasta Recipes…
Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Dry Penne Pasta
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 pound Chicken Breast cut into strips
- 1 large Onion Sliced
- 2 Peppers (Red/Yellow/Green)
- 1 can Tomatoes 14 oz
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon Fajita seasoning
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
- ½ cup heavy Cream
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese Cheddar or Mexican blend
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a dutch oven/pan big enough to cook pasta.
- Add Chicken, minced garlic, 1 tablespoons of Fajita seasoning. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink and light brown bits start appearing.
- Add sliced onion and peppers. Cook until the veggies have softened and lightly caramelized.
- Remove chicken, onion and pepper mixture from the pot and keep aside.
- To the same pot add Stock, tomatoes, and rest of the fajita seasoning. Let it come to a boil.
- Add dried pasts to the pot. Cover and let it cook. It should take 10-15 minutes.
- When almost 3/4th of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is almost cooked, add cream, Chicken and Onion pepper mixture back to the pot. Mix everything well.
- Add shredded cheese to the pan and gently mix everything well.
- Serve hot. Sprinkle more cheese on top and serve it with sliced avocado.
Notes
- If the fajita seasoning already has salt, then no need to add any more. You can increase or decrease the amount of seasoning to control the amount of spice level.
- I recommend using a skillet or dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid and cooking the pasta covered. It quickens the cooking time.
- After the pasta is 3/4th cooked, give everything a good stir to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
It looks delicious! How much shredded cheese should I add? I would like to try it tonight. Thanks
Please add 1 cup of shredded cheese. Thanks.
Can you make the sauce ahead and freeze it?
I made this tonight for supper and there is none left for lunch tomorrow, this was a big hit in our house. I used Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, and i put a bit of siracha in it cause i like a kick, and so did the family
Thank you for this magnificent dinner…the conversation was epic!
Thanks
Thank you for trying the recipe and letting me know.
Looks delicious! What kind of canned tomatoes did you use? Just regular diced tomatoes?
Yes. Regular diced tomatoes.