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Amidst all of the holiday parties and planning, when is there time to actually have time to yourself? Does this mean you should just resort to takeout when you’re not cooking for others?
No! You need to prioritize yourself in order to give your best to your loved ones!
Don’t get me wrong, I really do love this time of year! The time spent with family and putting your heart on a plate when cooking your special meals for your loved ones (if you need further cooking motivation despite the busy holiday season, check out the Live to Cookone-month challenge with the heart on a plate theme!) really is prominent this time of year, and it gives me all the warm fuzzy feelings. However, when you work really hard to give your best to your friends and family, you’ve spent so much time in the kitchen that you just don’t feel like doing more! I completely understand it’s very tempting to want to eat out when you’re exhausted and you’ve already cooked so much - and every once in awhile it’s okay of course! However, if you always want to resort to takeout after some busy cooking, that’s not a good idea.
What if you’ve got leftovers from those special meals? Any cheese, heavy cream, or poultry that came from your main dishes can easily be thrown in here! Plus, this satisfying chicken penne is nutritious and jam packed with goodness to give you the energy you need to put your best foot forward in the kitchen for your gatherings! Trust me, once you’ve gotten over that urge to “X” out of your pizza or Uber Eats order (happens to me more often than you think!), you’ll really be happy you made this easy chicken pasta dinner! It’s going to take MAXIMUM 30 minutes, I guarantee it! I have to thank my sister for inspiring me with this pasta recipe! She said that this combination is always her go-to for quick lunches and dinner, and now it’s totally one of mine! I’ve done many variations of this base recipe, and I’ll give you the ways to switch this up at the bottom of this post so you can make it slightly different every time if you want to!
Just see for yourself how fast and delicious our awesome creamy spicy chicken penne pasta is by watching the video! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already and hit the bell button so you receive all of the notifications when a new video recipe goes live! I love to share the video recipes to give you all the tools you need for success! Let’s get cooking!
How Spicy is this Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta?▼
It’s not too spicy at all! We have a touch of heat from the chilli flakes, but that’s pretty much it. If you want it spicier, add more chilli flakes. Not a fan of spice? Reduce the amount based on your preference or omit them completely!
Why You’ll Love This Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta!
- Fast: Who doesn’t love a fast pasta recipe? This can get on the table in just about 20 minutes!
- Creamy: Creamy pastas are definitely my favorite! We’re making essentially a spicy Alfredo sauce with the combination of heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and chilli flakes.
- Kid-friendly: It won’t be too spicy so you can make this for your kids. They’ll get lots of protein and healthy veggies in the pasta.
- Budget-friendly: All the ingredients here won’t make a dent in your wallet! The only ingredients you may be concerned about are the Parmesan cheese and the white wine. You only need about a quarter cup of white wine, and a fractional amount of Parmesan cheese (unless you really want to make it cheesy!).
- Great way to clean out your fridge: I tend to make this recipe when I have some of the ingredients to use up. When there’s spinach, mushrooms and extra cream laying around, this is awesome to clean out your fridge! I mention in my Make Cooking Fun! free guide, my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, that you should use up what you have! Feel free to customize the recipe if you have other items that need to be finished - this is a no food-waste zone!
- Satisfying: Protein-packed from the chicken and loaded with fiber from our veggies (and pasta too if you use a high-fibre pasta!), this well-balanced meal will prevent any hunger pangs in the evening, and it’s perfect to enjoy after a long day at work, school or whatever you spent the day doing!
Can I make this Spicy Chicken Penne pasta vegetarian?▼
Why not! All you need to do is swap the chicken for a plant-based protein source or just remove it and keep all other ingredients the same. Some delicious vegetarian protein sources include tofu or plant-based minced meat or sausages. If you are going to use a plant-based sausage or minced meat, ensure that you break it down fully.
Can I Make This Chicken Penne Pasta Gluten-Free?▼
Yes you can make this pasta gluten-free! The only ingredient in our Spicy Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta is the pasta itself. Actually, I did use gluten-free penne here! I used a corn-based pasta, but you can also pick a lentil, chickpea, or quinoa penne pasta. I like using corn pasta because you can’t tell the difference in taste or colour at all! Other varieties can contain more protein, so if you want to omit the chicken but want to keep the protein, then I recommend one of those alternatives.
What Pasta Should You Use for Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta?▼
While the name of the recipe has “penne” in it, I don’t think you should go out of your way to use another pasta shape if you don’t have penne on hand! As mentioned earlier, let’s use this recipe to use up your leftovers so that you don’t have to stress out about missing ingredients and going out of your way to get them! If you have any of the following pasta shapes on hand, feel free to use any of these or your favourite shape!
What Cheese Should I Use for Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta?▼
I’m using Parmigiano Reggiano cheese here. This will be mixed into the pasta and some additional cheese will be added for garnish. A good substitute is Grana Padano, and sometimes I interchange them! Keep in mind that Grana Padano is slightly less salty and sharp than Parmesan. I like the strong flavour of Parmesan, so I recommend it if that’s what you’re going for!
Regardless of which cheese you choose to use, PLEASE invest in the block and stay clear of pre-grated packages! To be quite frank, those are disgusting and will ruin your dish! Not worth it at all - the best taste really comes from the blocks! Plus, they last a long time unless you eat lots of Italian cheese!
Tips for an Awesome Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta
- To save time, prepare your ingredients while the pasta water is coming to a boil and cook the pasta, while you work on the chicken, veggies and cream sauce.
- Fry the chicken and garlic together until they are golden brown. This adds a lot of flavour to the chicken and while it might seem like you are burning the garlic, the golden brown colour will add.
- Use medium to medium high heat throughout to get a great sear on the meat and veggies. The mushrooms need to reduce by half in size before you move on to the next stage. The mushroom water will help keep the chicken moist.
- The moment the cream starts to simmer and thicken, you should add the pasta and finish the dish with parmesan off the heat.
Equipment for Chicken Penne Pasta
- Non-stick pan
- Sieve
- Pot
- Garlic press
- Cutting board
- Microplane
- Sharp chef’s knife
- Whisk
- Measuring cup
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients for Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all recipe ingredients and to save the recipe instructions for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how many portions you want to make! By default, this recipe serves two.
- Chicken breast: You could use chicken thighs if you’d like, but the taste will differ. I’m using boneless, skinless chicken breast.
- Pasta: I’m going for penne pasta here.
- Mushrooms: I used white mushrooms.
- Chilli flakes: To taste, you can reduce the amount if you’re sensitive to heat, or you can add even more if you dare!
- Spinach: Baby spinach, finely chopped.
- Heavy cream: A must to make our creamy sauce. You want to look for heavy whipping cream, or cream that is around 30% milk fat.
- White wine: I’m using Sauvignon Blanc to make our pasta dish. If you don’t want to use cooking wine, you could use chicken broth.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Adds a nice tomato zing to the cream sauce.
- Garlic: Add minced garlic to enhance all the flavours here!
- Parmesan cheese: Always freshly grated, please!
- Olive oil: To cook everything together in the pan.
- Salt and pepper: To taste.
How to Make Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta
Bring a pot of water up to a rolling boil for your pasta and once boiling, season the water with salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente.
In a separate pan, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil on a pan on medium heat and once hot add the chopped garlic. Saute until the garlic is fragrant.
Then, add in the chicken and season with salt, chilli flakes and pepper. Stir well to coat the chicken with the sauteed garlic and once the chicken is white all over and close to being cooked completely, add the sun dried tomatoes. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add in the mushrooms in a well at the center of the pan and saute until the mushrooms are reduced by half. Then, add in the baby spinach and saute for 1-2 minutes while stirring.
Add a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan and then immediately add the cream. Once the cream is simmering, cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, and then add the cooked pasta, mix well.
Turn off the heat and then add the finely grated parmesan cheese. Mix well and add more as needed. The parmesan will combine with the sauce to thicken it. Serve right away!
Serving Suggestions
This Spicy Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta is excellent on its own! However, you can certainly pair it with some appetizers. Here are some great ideas:
- Mozzarella Sticks
- BBQ Chicken Naan Flatbread Pizza
- Cheesy Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
- Spinach Cream Cheese Samosas
If you want a salad to go with your pasta dinner, then check out my Chicken Caesar Salad and make it a side dish portion! If you just wanted some more veggies with your pasta, you could try my Quick Sautéed Garlic Butter Broccoli!
You’ll definitely have some extra creamy Alfredo sauce leftover, so if you’re a carb lover, you can’t beat some crusty bread like Baguette or ciabbatta or a soft and fluffy dinner roll to mop it all up!
Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta Variations
- Pasta shape: Change up the pasta shape as described earlier in this post!
- Protein: I typically use a raw chicken breast here, but to save some time and not to be wasteful, you can use some leftover pre-cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken!
- Greens: If you want to switch up the spinach, try kale or collard greens!
- Mushrooms: You can switch up the mushrooms here by trying out brown crimini mushrooms or Portobello mushrooms. These will give a nuttier taste to the dish.
- Creaminess: If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, try cream cheese! Fully fat cream cheese works really well to get a smooth and rich sauce.
Storing Leftover Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta
I wouldn’t recommend you meal prep this pasta since the sauce will most likely thicken, and it won’t be as delicious reheated as fresh. However, if there are leftovers, then it’s okay! Store your leftover pasta in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. To reheat the pasta, place in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals to ensure it is evenly warmed through.
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