Healthy Chicken Veggie Pasta with Calabrian Peppers

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Craving something delicious in a jiffy? This Healthy Chicken Veggie Pasta is the perfect dinner to make on a jam-packed night! It’s nutritionally balanced, requires minimal dishes and preparation time, and you can get dinner on the table in about 20 minutes!

I tend to overlook pasta on busy nights. I know pasta is a go-to option for those looking for easy and quick dinners - especially for those looking to feed many mouths! - but when I think of pasta I usually like to reserve it for the more special kinds - think of Fettuccine Alfredo or Chicken Parmesan!

I really didn’t know what to eat for dinner one night and I did have some ingredients laying around, plus some macaroni staring at me in the pantry. I remember the beautiful covers of cooking magazines that I had seen ages ago and always thought how it would be to finally make a pasta that is just so pretty! You know the ones I’m talking about. The pasta dishes that are absolutely colorful and are begging you to eat them, and you’re guaranteed satisfaction! We eat with our eyes, right?

Well, I hope this Healthy Chicken Veggie Pasta is not only magazine cover-worthy but worthy enough for you to get cooking this when you’re short on time and you’re hungry! This chicken pasta recipe for dinner only uses a few staple ingredients that you’re bound to have handy in your kitchen! We’ll make the entire dish in ALMOST one pot - we’ll boil our pasta in its own pot and cook the chicken and veggies together in another pan. Prepping and cooking time will be minimal, and you won’t have much to clean up afterward! You’ll be in and out of the kitchen in no time! Let’s get to this delicious healthy chicken pasta recipe!

Ingredients in This Healthy Chicken Veggie Pasta

We’ll use some pretty common household ingredients for this Chicken Veggie Pasta, with one special ingredient to give it an extra kick which I’ll touch on in this section!. For all measurements and the full instructions, make sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD!

• Chicken: This recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breast, and I’ll be cutting it into small cubes.
• Oil: Olive oil is my go-to for making pasta! We’ll be using just a bit here to cook our chicken and veggies.
• Pasta: In this recipe, I used elbow macaroni. Other excellent shape options are penne, rigatoni, or fusilli. Basically, any small to medium tubular pasta shape will work. Cook as per package directions, until al dente.
• Spices: I cooked my chicken and veggies using my Homemade Italian Seasoningrecipe. You can easily make Italian seasoning at home or use a store-bought one if you have that on hand. If you don’t have Italian seasoning of any kind, you could substitute with using just dried oregano.
• Onions: I’m using red onions and I’ve diced them. Red onions are my favourite onions to cook with. If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, you never see another kind of onion! I find them to be the most flavorful, and they’ll really add loads of flavor in this pasta recipe!
• Cherry tomatoes: I am using the tomatoes whole to allow for the tomatoes to blister and seal the sweetness and juiciness within the tomatoes.
• Calabrian chili peppers: This is the special touch to this pasta recipe! I always like to add a little heat to my pasta, and these Calabrian peppers are mild in heat and a bit sweet which makes them awesome to use in pasta! If you can’t find these peppers, add a sprinkle of chili flakes instead.
• Garlic: I’m using fresh minced garlic here. Worst case, you can use garlic powder! I’ve ran out of garlic before believe it or not! However, the flavor certainly won’t be the same.
• Parmesan cheese: I add Parmesan cheese after the veggies and chicken have finished cooking, and a little bit on top to serve.
• Basil: I add fresh basil leaves when finishing the dish along with the Parmesan cheese. While it’s optional, I recommend it to really freshen the dish up and bring it all together!
• Salt & pepper: To taste.

How to Make 20-Minute Calabrian Chili Chicken Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil to cook the pasta.
2. Heat a pan on medium to medium-high heat and add Calabrian chilies and some of the chili oil the chilies are in. Add olive oil as well.
3. Once the oil is hot, add cubed chicken and Italian seasoning. Mix well and then add onions, tomatoes and garlic.
4. Mix well and continue cooking until the chicken is completely cooked and lightly browned, onions have softened and tomatoes have blistered.
5. Once the pot of water is boiling, season the water with a couple spoonfuls of salt and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.
6. Drain the pasta once cooked and reserve 1/2 Cup of the pasta water for later.
7. Once the veggies have softened and the chicken is cooked, add the pasta and mix well to coat.
8. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water and bring it up to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add in grated parmesan and chopped basil.
9. Mix well to melt the cheese and serve hot!

Tips for 20-Minute Healthy Chicken Veggie Pasta

• Season the pasta water well to make great tasting pasta.
• Have all the ingredients prepped out in front of you before you start cooking this recipe.
• By cooking the chicken on medium high heat with the veggies, we are adding color to this recipe and making sure nothing gets overcooked.
• To ensure the cheese melts well to coat the pasta, turn off the heat and then add the parmesan

Reheating Calabrian Chili Pasta with Chicken