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Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta packs the delicious flavors of chipotle seasoning into a creamy sauce. This simple chipotle pasta recipe is a perfect Cheesecake Factory Copycat that will have you cooking in over going out any night of the week!
WHAT IS SPICY CHICKEN CHIPOTLE PASTA
This creamy pasta recipe is an absolute must make dinner! Whenever we go to the Cheesecake Factory there are a few dishes we just can’t pass up. We always get the Avocado Egg Rolls and this Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta. Since we can’t go to the Cheesecake Factory every night, I wanted to be able to bring a little bit of the Cheesecake Factory to the house with this pasta recipe!
We just love making this simple chipotle pasta recipe because it’s a quick dinner recipe you can make any night of the week. Just over 30 minutes is all it takes to make this creamy dish. I also love how it is a complete meal all on it’s own. This creamy pasta is packed with carbs, protein, and vegetables making it the perfect all in one dinner!
HOW TO MAKE SPICY CHICKEN CHIPOTLE PASTA
INGREDIENTS
Pasta– penne pasta coated in a spicy chipotle cream sauce stars in this dish.
Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce– bell peppers, onions, garlic, asparagus, chipotle seasoning, heavy cream, and chipotle pepper sauce make this creamy chipotle sauce.
Marinated Chicken– juicy grilled chicken in a chipotle seasoning marinade adds protein packed bites to this chipotle pasta recipe.
STEPS
To start this delicious pasta recipe begin by cooking the pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. When the pasta finished cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set pasta aside.
While the pasta cooks, steam the asparagus for 1 minute. Then, chop and dice the red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and yellow onion. Mince the garlic and chop the steamed asparagus into 1 inch pieces.
Next marinade the chicken breasts. Mix olive oil, chipotle seasoning, lemon juice, and paprika together in a small bowl. Cover both sides of the with the marinade. Grill the chicken on a grill pan or griddle until fully cooked. Remove from heat and cover to let the chicken rest.
While the chicken cooks, heat 2 tbsps. olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onion, garlic, bell peppers, and peas until tender. Add cumin, chipotle seasoning, paprika, black pepper, salt, chipotle pepper sauce, heavy cream, and the reserved pasta water.
Cover and simmer on low for 2-4 minutes while the sauce thickens up. Add the pasta, asparagus, and parmesan cheese. Mix to combine everything well with the sauce.
Slice the chicken into 1 1/2 inch slices and add to the pasta, stir and cover to allow the pasta and chicken to absorb the sauce. Remove from heat and garnish with grated parmesan cheese, crushed tortilla chips, and chopped parsley.
HELPFUL TIPS FOR MAKING CHICKEN CHIPOTLE PASTA
- To steam the asparagus, place the asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water for 1 minute.
- Use a pre-made chipotle seasoning or make your own. I have a few simple chipotle seasoning recipes on my Sauces and Seasonings Board on Pinterest!
- Check the temperature of the chicken to make sure it is cooked through. The FDA recommends 165°F, I like to remove mine around 160°F while it’s covered it will continue to cook up to 165 without drying out the chicken.
VARIATIONS TO THE RECIPE
I used a penne pasta just like you would get at the Cheesecake Factory with this chipotle pasta recipe. If you do not have penne pasta any ridged pasta will do. Rigatoni, rotini, and shells all have ridges that will cup and cradle the chipotle sauce. To make this gluten free you can also sub in a gluten free pasta.
You can also swap out the chicken and use shrimp instead, just keep an eye on the cooking time as the shrimp will not need as long to cook as the chicken. If you want to keep this a vegetarian dish simply omit the chicken.
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OTHER CREAMY PASTA RECIPES
- Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta
- Sun-Dried Tomato Penne Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Shells
Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. penne pasta, uncooked
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved from cooking the pasta
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup orange bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup onion, petite diced
- 1 cup green peas, frozen or fresh
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 1 inch pieces
- ¾ tsp. cumin powder
- ¾ tsp. black pepper, fresh ground
- 2 tsps. chipotle seasoning, low or no sodium
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ¼ cup adobo pepper sauce, canned
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ tsp. salt
- Grated parmesan cheese, tortilla chips, chopped fresh parsley, for garnishing
Chicken Marinade
- 2 large Chicken Breast, whole
- 2 tsps. chipotle seasoning, low or no sodium
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. lime juice, or lemon juice
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water when finished cooking the pasta.
- Trim and cut the asparagus into 1 inch in length. You can steam by itself of place a steaming basket over the pasta water to steam them until tender, but not over steamed, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Dice the bell peppers, onion and mince the garlic. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the chicken marinade: chipotle seasoning, olive oil, lime juice, and paprika. Coat the chicken with the marinade.
- Grill the chicken until fully cooked on a griddle or grill pan. When done, cover with foil wrap and allow to rest.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add in the olive oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, bell peppers, and peas until tender. Add the cumin powder, ground black pepper, chipotle seasoning, paprika and salt. Add the adobo pepper, heavy cream, and the reserved pasta water. Mix and cover to simmer on low heat for 2-4 minutes for the sauce to thicken up.
- Slice the chicken into 1½ inch strips or 1 inch cubes, while the sauce simmers.
- Add the cooked pasta, steamed asparagus, and parmesan cheese to the skillet. Mix to coat everything well with the sauce. Then add in the sliced grilled chicken. Stir and cover to cook for a few minutes to allow the pasta and chicken to absorb the sauce.
- Remove from heat and garnish with some grated parmesan cheese, crushed tortilla chips, and chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
- Adjust spices to your liking. You can add more or less.
- To steam the asparagus, place the asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water for 1 minute.
- Use a pre-made chipotle seasoning or make your own. I have a few simple chipotle seasoning recipes on my Sauces and Seasonings Board on Pinterest!
- Check the temperature of the chicken to make sure it is cooked through. The FDA recommends 165°F, I like to remove mine around 160°F while it’s covered it will continue to cook up to 165 without drying out the chicken.
- If you can’t find chipotle seasoning, you can use chili seasoning instead
With adding 3 cups of liquid, 2 of which are cold cream, how did you get the sauce to thicken after 4 minutes of simmering? Is your pasta water extra starchy somehow?
The cream thickens the sauce, same with the grated cheese. If you ever want to thicken your sauce some more, simply add more grated parmesan cheese.
Just keep up the good work 💪👍👍
Thanks Calvin!
This was delicious! My husband and sister loved it and I will definitely be making more.
Hi Jacqueline,
Glad you both enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a review.
Can this be frozen?
Yes.
did you think it was good??
very good
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am a BUSY BUSY mom and when I see all the chopping and measuring – this is NOWHERE NEAR 35 minutes to make. It would take me 2+ hours to make this.
How about a quick version using one veggie and omitting more than half the ingredients??? Please.
Some recipes have lots of ingredients but they don’t take as much time to cook. Mostly it’s spice and veggies. It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to chop everything up, but everyone works at a different pace. If we remove a bunch of ingredients it wouldn’t be the same recipe anymore. You can always modify it to your preference though. There are also frozen chopped peppers etc. in the freezer sections if you don’t have time to do all the chopping. I just prefer using fresh ingredients.
What chipotle seasoning did you use?
I used the Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning because it’s salt free. I got it from Walmart but you can use any brand, preferably something salt free or low in sodium.
This was yummy! We added two full lemon juice, 1 chicken bullion cube, and 1/4 cup of whipped cream cheese.
Hi Anastasia!
That sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!
Yummy