Creamy Chicken Pasta has tender noodles and juicy chicken tossed in a cheesy garlic cream sauce. It’s the perfect easy weeknight dinner that the whole family will love!
All you need is some Cheesy Pull-Apart Garlic Bread and an Olive Garden Salad to have a delicious homemade Italian dinner.
Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta
This creamy chicken pasta has become a staple in our household. It’s super quick and easy to make and allows me to get a delicious dinner on the table, even on the nights when it’s crazy busy around our house.
You will love the cheesy garlic flavors of the cream sauce. My kids are huge fans. Noodles, chicken, and cheese, what more could they want? Say hello to a new family favorite that’s likely to become a staple in your household, too!
Why We Love This Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Easy chicken pasta dinner recipe.
- Ready in under an hour.
- Perfect for a busy weeknight.
- Kid friendly and approved.
Ingredients
- 1lb chicken breast -cubed
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Ground paprika
- Garlic powder
- Salt & pepper
- Penne pasta
- White onion -diced
- Minced garlic
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream
- Dried parsley
- Dried oregano
- Parmesan cheese -freshly grated
- Fresh basil
Substitutions and Additions
- Chicken: If you prefer, you could also use a store-bought rotisserie chicken in this recipe instead of cooking your own chicken breasts. Another option would be to leave the chicken out altogether to make this a vegetarian dish.
- Pasta: You can use whichever pasta type you like best in place of the penne pasta. I like to stick to a small pasta such as rotini or bowtie for this recipe.
- Spice level: If you like things on the spicy side I recommend adding some red pepper flakes to this pasta. It’s delicious that way.
Recommended Tools
- 2 Quart saucepan
- Large skillet (32cm)
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How to Make Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Cook pasta until tender.
- Stir together chicken, olive oil, Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a skillet.
- Toss to coat chicken and cook until chicken pieces are cooked through.
- Cook onion and minced garlic until onions are tender.
- Add cream cheese and butter to the skillet, cook until melted.
- Add broth, heavy cream, parsley, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Cook until boiling.
- Reduce heat and add parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add pasta and toss to coat.
- Add chicken and stir to mix all ingredients well.
- Simmer on low for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Before serving, sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store leftovers in a sealed food storage container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: If you prefer, you can also freeze leftovers. Place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: To reheat, simply pop your leftovers in the microwave. If the pasta is looking a bit dry you can add milk or water before heating.
Frequently Asked Questions
My go-to side dishes with this pasta dish are garlic bread and a big hearty green salad. The salad adds veggies and a nice crunch and the bread is delicious for scooping up the leftover sauce in your bowl.
One of the best and easiest ways to change up this pasta recipe is to swap out the chicken for a different type of protein such as steak or chorizo. Another option is to take the meat out altogether and add a mix of veggies like broccoli, mushrooms, and onions! You can get creative with this simple pasta recipe.
Other Easy Pasta Recipes
- Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
- Everything Bagel Pasta
- Chicken Fajita Pasta
- Cacio E Pepe
- Skillet Lasagna
- Penne Alla Vodka
- Bowtie Pasta
- Honeycomb Pasta Cake
- Chicken and Broccoli Penne Alfredo
Creamy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Chicken Seasoning:
- 1 pound (450g) chicken breast cubed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp ground paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
Sauce & Pasta:
- 250 gram penne pasta
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1½ cups heavy cream (33%)
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided
- 3 tbsp fresh basil minced
Instructions
- In a 2 Quart saucepan, cook pasta until tender (8 – 10 minutes). Drain then set aside.
- In a large skillet (32cm) stir together chicken, olive oil and all chicken seasoning spices over medium-high heat. Toss chicken so it’s evenly coated in spices. Cook until chicken pieces are thoroughly cooked (internal temperature 165F). Set cooked chicken pieces aside in a separate bowl.
- In the same skillet, cook onion and minced garlic over medium-high heat under onions are tender.
- Add cream cheese and butter to skillet. Cook just until melted.
- Add chicken broth, heavy cream, parsley, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Cook over medium-high until boiling then reduce heat to low, add ½ cup Parmesan and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add pasta to skillet and toss to fully coat pasta. Add chicken back to skillet (make sure to use a spatula to get all those spices from the chicken bowl back into the skillet) and stir to mix well. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes stirring often to fully coat all pasta.
- Before serving, sprinkle remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and minced basil over top.
- Serve hot.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store leftovers in a sealed food storage container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: If you prefer, you can also freeze leftovers. Place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: To reheat, simply pop your leftovers in the microwave. If the pasta is looking a bit dry you can add milk or water before heating.
It was good but didn’t look like the pictures. It was extremely watery. Maybe I will try half the Amount of chicken broth next time.
I’m only giving 4 because the sauce was very loose even after adding cornstarch to try and thicken, it also makes a lot of sauce I made an entire pound of penne and still had a lot of sauce. This will be great for reheating but the pictures look nothing like how mine came out. However the flavor and spices were fabulous and I will definitely make this again!