Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta
Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta is bursting with flavors and spice. Made with tender juicy chicken, spicy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, perfectly cooked penne pasta. All tossed in a creamy tasty sauce with a nice heat. It all comes together in less than 20 minutes making it the perfect weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
For Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts (about 1-1.5 lbs) boneless and skinless
- 1.5 tsp pink sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For Pasta:
- 16 oz penne pasta
- 1 yellow onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 2 cups cashew milk (unsweetened)
- 1-2 tsp adobo sauce (from chiles)
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
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Fill a large pot with water and place on stovetop. Turn heat to high and bring water to a boil. Generously salt water once it has boiled and add in pasta. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
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As water boils and pasta cooks prep the rest of ingredients; thinly dice onion, mince garlic, and thinly dice chipotle chiles. Grate parmesan cheese and thinly chop some parsley.
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Pat chicken breasts dry and cut into bite size cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with spices and herbs; pink sea salt, black pepper, chili powder, dried oregano, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss chicken with seasonings making sure it's well coated.
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Place a large skillet on stovetop and drizzle with olive oil. Turn heat to medium-high and bring oil to a heat. Add in chicken and cook for 7-8 minutes stirring occasionally making sure it evenly cooks on all sides. Once chicken has cooked through and browned, remove from skillet. Transfer cooked chicken to a separate bowl and set aside. Leave skillet placed on stovetop set on medium-high heat. Do not clean skillet.
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Toss diced onion and minced garlic into the skillet. Sauté for about 1 minute. Add in diced chipotle chiles and continue sautéing for another minute. Pour in cashew milk and deglaze skillet.
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Add in adobo sauce and sprinkle in seasonings; pink sea salt, black pepper, chili powder, dried oregano, paprika and cumin. Give everything a good stir to combine. Stir in shredded parmesan cheese. Once cheese has melted into the sauce, pour in your reserved pasta water and once again give sauce a stir making sure everything is well combined. Bring sauce to a light simmer and reduce heat to low.
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At this point pasta should be cooked through, drain and add into sauce. Give pasta a good toss making sure it is well coated with sauce. Add chicken back in and toss again with pasta making sure everything is well combined. Turn heat off and garnish pasta with chopped parsley.
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Serve immediately and garnish with more parmesan cheese and parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
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- Use what you have- This recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you have boneless skinless chicken thighs you can use that too. Chicken tenders work too.
- Make sure to reserve pasta water- Not only does it help your sauce thicken, it also adds flavor to the whole dish.
- Deglaze your pan- After chicken is cooked, do not clean your pan. Once you add the cashew milk make sure to deglaze it. That adds a ton of flavor to your pasta.
- Sauce will thicken as it cools-down- The sauce may look a bit too liquid at first. As it cools-down it will thicken more.
- Substitute for cashew milk- You can use almond milk to keep it plant-based. Use heavy cream if you prefer.
- Use parmesan cheese that comes in a brick– Grate it yourself. Prepackaged shredded cheese has starchy preservatives to keep it from going bad. This prevents it from melting properly. Fresh grated cheese will melt just fine into sauce.
- Add more heat- If you'd like this recipe to be spicier, add more chipotles and more adobo sauce for more heat!