This Spicy Chicken Pasta is the perfect level of spice, whilst absolutely bursting with flavour. It’s easy, creamy, hearty and delicious!
This recipe is actually a recent obsession of mine and quite frankly I can’t get enough of it! I’m confident you’re going to absolutely fall in love with it. Follow me…
The BEST Spicy Chicken Pasta Recipe!
Yep, you heard it here first. Chicken, spice and pasta is one of the most delicious combos of all time. It’s also mainly responsible for 90% of my food comas. Delicious food comas nonetheless.
Here’s why I think you’ll love this recipe as much as I do:
- Flavoursome – This pasta is more than just spicy, it’s got a gorgeous complex flavour.
- Creamy/Tomatoey – You should never have to choose between a tomato pasta or a creamy pasta, this is the best of both worlds and it works SO well!
- Date Night Dinner – This recipe is based on 2 servings, perfect for a cosy night in. It’s easily doubled for a family!
It’s also easy and relatively quick to make! Follow me…
Spicy Chicken Breast
The spicy chicken is the heart and soul of this dish, so it’s important to make it shine. Nothing worse than bland chewy chicken in any context, let alone in your pasta.
Flavour
To ensure it’s bursting with flavour, we’ll first coat it in a mix of olive oil, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and s&p. This gives the chicken itself a nice kick of spice and a gentle whiff of smokiness too.
Tenderness
Equally as important. Here are some tips to avoid chewy chicken:
- Bring the chicken to room temp before you fry it (cold chicken seizes up).
- Butterfly to make two thinner breasts (cooks quicker and more evenly).
- Allow to rest after cooking (retains more juices)
- Slice at an angle and against the natural grain of the chicken (soft chicken strips instead of large and chewy)
How to make Spicy Chicken Breast (quick summary)
- Take one chicken breast.
- Butterfly.
- Add spicy marinade.
- Rub into meat.
- Fry until nicely charred.
- Flip, fry then remove.
Creamy Spicy Chicken Pasta
Cream and spice is such an underrated combo, especially in this context. The cream not only adds richness, but also helps the spice not get too all up in your face.
Starchy Pasta Water
I like to use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pot and into the pan with the sauce. This will bring some excess water with it, which is great for thinning out the sauce. The starch in the water will also help thicken the sauce and turn it a little glossy. If you over-thicken the sauce at any point you can toss through some more starchy water from the pot.
How to make Spicy Creamy Chicken Pasta (quick summary)
- Fry off onion, garlic and chilli flakes in butter.
- Add sun dried tomatoes, then reduce down white wine.
- Fry tomato paste.
- Deglaze with chicken stock, then pour in cream.
- Add pasta.
- Toss through parmesan, parsley and chicken.
Top Tip
It’s important to fry and caramelise the tomato paste. It completely transforms the flavour and adds a nice sweetness to the sauce.
Spicy Chicken Pasta FAQ
It’s a really tricky one to judge as everyone’s spice thresholds are different. It’s definitely spicy, the kind that makes your lips tingle, but not so overpowering you can’t taste the other flavours. For those of you who like spice, I’d say it’s a medium spice. If you’re at all wary just reduce the amount of chilli flakes and adjust at the end.
Anything cheap will do the trick! I get a mini bottle from the supermarket (typically something like Pinot or Sauvignon Blanc). Anything so long as it’s dry and not sweet.
Most of, if not all of the alcohol will burn off, but if for whatever reason you can’t use it just sub more stock
Garlic Bread is always a winner with pasta. If you want to take it one step further then check out my Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread and Caprese Pull Apart Bread!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into this Spicy Chicken Pasta recipe shall we?!
How to make Spicy Chicken Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Spicy Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Small Pot/Bowl (for chicken marinade)
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Pasta Tongs
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1x 9oz/250g Chicken Breast, brought close to room temp
Pasta
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 small Onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp finely diced Garlic (approx 1 large clove)
- 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 6x Sun Dried Tomatoes, finely diced (~2oz/60g)
- 1/4 cup / 60ml Dry White Wine (see notes)
- 7oz / 200g Linguine (or other long cut pasta)
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
- 1/3 cup / 80ml Chicken Stock
- 2/3 cup / 160ml Heavy/Double Cream
- 1oz / 30g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl or ramekin, combine 2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika & cayenne pepper and 1/4 tsp salt & black pepper.
- Butterfly the chicken breast right the way through to make 2 even-sized breasts. Coat in the spicy marinade.
- Add the chicken to a large pan over medium-high heat and fry for a few minutes on each side, or until lightly charred and just cooked through the centre (depending on thickness it may take slightly more or less time). Place to one side and when needed, slice into thin strips, ensuring you slice against the natural grain of the chicken and at a slight angle.
- Turn the heat down to medium and melt in 1 tbsp butter, scraping off any flavour in the pan with your wooden spoon. Add the onion and fry until it begins to soften and pick up colour. Add 1 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes and the sun-dried tomatoes and fry for a minute or so, then pour in 1/4cup/60ml dry white wine. Allow the wine to completely reduce (important to burn off the alcohol, should take 3-4 minutes or so).
- Meanwhile, add 7oz/200g pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Add 2 tbsp tomato puree to the pan. Fry for a couple of minutes (important to sweeten the taste) then deglaze the pan with 1/3cup/80ml chicken stock. Pour in 2/3cup/160ml heavy/double cream and season to taste with salt & pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer then lower the heat.
- Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pot into the pan and toss to combine. Add 1oz/30g freshly grated parmesan, 1 tbsp fresh parsley and the chicken strips (alongside any resting juices). Continue tossing, adding leftover starchy pasta water from the pot to thin out the sauce as needed.
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
This dish is the perfect dinner for two, so do check out my other Date Night Dinners if you fancy! Also, whilst you’re here I’ve got a sneaky suspicion you might like these too:
Spicy Chicken Pasta Recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
- Peri Peri Chicken Pasta
Chicken Pasta Recipes
- Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Chicken Bacon and Ranch Pasta Salad
- Chicken Avocado Pasta
- Chicken Broccoli Pasta
Spicy Pasta Recipes
- Sausage Harissa Pasta
- Penne Arrabiatta with Smoked Sausage
- Spicy Bacon Mac and Cheese
- Spicy Rigatoni
We absolutely love this recipe we use penne pasta for ours and add some peppers also and it’s amazing
This is the best spicy chicken pasta recipie I’ve come across
Would be good to know if it’s suitable for freezing though as I’m not really sure and we always end up making a huge pot of it
So pleased the recipe goes down well, Carol! I’ve not frozen this before, but I imagine if you thaw it in the fridge and reheat until the chicken is piping hot again you shouldn’t have an issue. C.
So, so good! Love the spice! I appreciate a quick and simple weeknight meal that tastes like I put a lot of effort into making it! Definitely putting into my make again file!
Thanks so much for the review, Angie! 🙂 C.
My daughter and I made this tonight. We omitted the wine as we’re Muslim, but followed everything else and OMGNESS, it came out delicious! My husband had seconds, that’s how good this recipe is. Thank you for sharing!
So pleased it went down well, Rehana! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
Absolutely stunning! Made this for my husbands birthday tonight and we all loved it! Will definitely make again…. and again!
Thanks so much for the review, Lucy! 🙂 C.
This is probably one of the only recipes that i followed step by step and omg this is so delicious.
Thanks for the review, Devante 🙂 C.
I have just made this Spicy Chicken Pasta and Wow! what a lovely delicious dish. It had a slight kick and the creamy sauce was amazing. I couldn’t find sun dried tomatoes and so I used the paste but next time I will make sure u use them. I will definitely make this again 🙂
My partner does make his own pasta speciality of Essex. You may have heard of Pat’s Microwave Pasta? It only takes 5 minutes but I think your recipe is far superior! Thank you SO much
Thanks so much for the review, Rachel! So pleased to hear it went down well 🙂 C.
I keep coming back to make this, year after year. One of the best pasta recipes out there! It takes a while to make, but it’s well worth it
Great to hear, James! C.