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
Absolutely insanely good. My boyfriend blew this recipe out of the park, the only thing he did different was added Cajun seasoning to the chicken other than that everything is perfect
Amazingly good this recipe, I did already 3times. We love it!
Just wanted to let you know that I tried your recipe today. I didn’t know what to make for lunch but this looked tasty and easy. I did not have heavy cream so I subbed with cashew cream (made it myself) and it came out absolutely perfectly. I did not use butter either but it was still flavorful. This recipe will make it into our rotation. Thank you.
That’s awesome to hear! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂
It wasn’t spicy enough for me (I just have a really high spice tolerance), but I loved this dish because the sauce was SUPER flavorful!!
So glad you loved the recipe! I guess the only worse than it not being spicy enough is it being too spicy, so feel free to ramp it up next time! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 Chris.x
Very very good and so delicous
It is very easy to cook for beginnend and need no Long Time to cook it.
I will try more other receipes from this website.
Thanks a lot
Best regards
Andreas
Great to hear! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂
Can I use sour cream as I don’t have double cream
Hi Shelagh! Unfortunately I think sour cream would turn the sauce too sour, especially with the wine and tomatoes. Double cream is definitely best suited here. Gives it a much richer flavour!
Tried this recipe for my housemates and it was a total hit! There were no left overs, we finished the whole pot haha! Glad that I found a pasta recipe that’s not too complicated and super delicious. Highly recommend this recipe to anyone 🙂
Hi Kayla! Awesome to hear you and the housemates enjoyed the recipe 🙂 Thanks for popping back for a review!
Amazing! Everyone said it was one of the best meals I have made so will be keeping this recipe and using it again in the future! Thank you
That’s great to hear! Thanks for popping back for a review 🙂
I adore it!
That’s awesome to hear! 🙂
What can I substitute for the sun dried tomatoes? I can only find canned sun dried tomatoes at my grocery store.
Canned sun dried tomatoes should be fine, just drain off the liquid. That’s assuming it’s a can of actual tomatoes/tomato slices not some sort of puree?
Oh my goodness! This is a divine winner chicken dinner!! I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit with everyone. We loved the spicy, but sweet smokiness of the chili in the wonderful creamy sun dried tomato sauce. This is absolutely a winner. Thanks for sharing we truly loved it and will definitely make it again.
That’s awesome to hear! 🙂 Thanks for popping back and sharing your thoughts! Chris.