Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta
This Creamy Chicken Chipotle Pasta recipe is packed with chunks of tender chicken breast and lots of colorful vegetables like bell pepper, frozen peas and tender asparagus, all stirred together in a spicy, creamy sauce! This Cheesecake Factory copycat Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta is the perfect crowd-pleasing family dinner with something for everyone.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- This Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta recipe tastes like the one from Cheesecake Factory, but made for a fraction of the price at home!
- With tender chicken, colorful vegetables and perfectly cooked penne pasta enveloped in a spicy, creamy, cheesy sauce what is there not to love??!
- The cream sauce stops this chipotle pasta from being too spicy, but it still has a good kick!
- Serve bowlfuls of this pasta as a complete meal, but if you want to add other dishes, we would not say no to a Mexican-inspired avocado salad or some garlic bread on the side.
Chef’s Tips
- Switch up the protein to suit different tastes or what you have to hand: diced pork, shrimp and firm tofu would all work well with the vegetables and sauce! If you choose tofu, make sure you use a vegetarian-friendly hard cheese if this matters to you.
- Use pre-cooked chicken to speed things up. If you meal prep cooked chicken at the weekend or at the start of the week, you can have this Cajun pasta dish on the table in under 30 minutes.
- We used the thin kind of asparagus in this recipe, if you can only get the thicker stems thickly slice your asparagus on the diagonal to help it cook at the same rate as the other vegetables.
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- Napoletana Pasta Recipe
- Rotel Pasta Recipe with Ground Beef (Super Creamy!)
- Creamy Cajun Salmon Pasta Alfredo
- Old Fashioned Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole
- Easy Vegan Rasta Pasta Recipe
- Homemade Tuna Tetrazzini Recipe
Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta
This easy Cheescake Factory copycat Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta is perfect for family dinners – packed with tender chicken and colorful vegetables in a spicy, creamy, cheesy sauce!
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 pound chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- ¾ pound asparagus (rough chopped)
- ¾ cup peas (if from frozen, thaw for a few minutes first)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup adobo sauce from can of chipotle peppers in adobo (omit peppers, just use sauce they’re in)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan (plus extra for serving)
- fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the packet directions, just to al dente. Start checking for doneness around the 12 minute mark.
Season the chicken heavily with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook untouched for 1 minute, then stir and continue cooking (and stirring) for another 1 minute or until browned on all sides and the chicken is just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté until tender and the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the minced garlic, asparagus and peas. Stir and cook for a further few minutes.
Add the heavy cream, adobo sauce, and paprika. Stir until combined before bringing to a rapid simmer for a minute. Then add the parmesan, mix, and simmer for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens.
Add in pasta and chicken and stir to mix well. Divide into serving bowls then garnish with more parmesan and top with cilantro.
Switch up the protein to suit different tastes: Diced pork, shrimp and firm tofu would all work well with the vegetables and sauce! If you choose tofu, make sure you use a vegetarian-friendly hard cheese if this matters to you.
Use pre-cooked chicken to speed things up: If you meal prep cooked chicken at the weekend or at the start of the week, you can have this Cajun pasta dish on the table in under 30 minutes.
Asparagus preparation: We used the thin kind of asparagus in this recipe, if you can only get the thicker stems thickly slice your asparagus on the diagonal to help it cook at the same rate as the other vegetables.
