Chicken Fajita Pasta is a fusion recipe that combines Italian pappardelle pasta with the lively Southwestern flavors of Chicken Fajitas. Packed with traditional fajita seasonings and your favorite fajita ingredients; peppers, onions, and tender sliced chicken.
Looking for more Southwestern pasta dinner recipes to spice up your meal plans? Take a look at my recipe for Stovetop Cowboy Spaghetti.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
Craving something creamy, hearty, and full of Tex-Mex flavor? Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta brings together tender chicken, sautéed peppers and onions, bold fajita seasoning, and your favorite pasta in one satisfying dish.
What makes this chicken fajita pasta recipe unique is that the creamy sauce is made by simply blending cream with fajita seasoning. How easy is that?
It’s easy enough for beginners, yet flavorful enough to impress seasoned cooks. Just slice, sauté, stir in some cream, and you’re done. Whether you use chicken breast or thighs, and pappardelle or rigatoni, this dish is flexible, fuss-free, and family-approved.
Chicken Fajita Pasta may just become one of your favorite chicken pasta comfort food meals.
Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pappardelle pasta. I like using a wide noodle like Pappardelle Noodles. Or you can use Fettuccine noodles or even rigatoni.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but I recommend sticking with breasts. They’ll slice easier and look nicer in the finished dish.
- Fajita Seasoning: Choose a packet of fajita seasoning from the Mexican aisle at the supermarket.
- Heavy Cream: This is not the time to skip on fat calories. Choose cream over half and half. Less fat content may cause the sauce to separate.
Please see recipe card for quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This recipe for Chicken Fajita Pasta is good on it’s own, but here are some topping ideas to dress it up a little.
- Spicy: – Add more red pepper flakes for a spicier return.
- Add a couple of sliced Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, or fresh sliced jalapenos.
- Slices of avocado or chopped avocado.
- Cheese: This pasta dish really doesn’t need any cheese, but feel free to add some crumbled Cotija cheese for garnish. It’s a dry salty cheese that resembles feta cheese and is easily found in the produce section at your local grocer.
- Kid friendly – Delete the red pepper flakes to omit the spice and heat.
- Use Rotisserie Chicken for a quicker fix.
- Substitute shrimp or steak in place of chicken. I’ve made this with shrimp many times and it’s a treat of a meal.
- Bell Peppers: Use a variety of colors when choosing bell peppers. Red, yellow, orange and even green bell peppers will work very well for this recipe.
- Beverage Pairing: Pair with a crisp light white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc or sparkling water with lime. Or check out my recipe for Mexican Micheladas (Mexican Beer).
Step by Step Instructions – It’s Easy
- Step 1: Slice the peppers. Cut the onions into rings, then slice the rings in half to make half rings. Dice the fresh garlic, and slice the chicken into very thin strips.
- Step 2: Add chicken, onions and bell peppers to a large bowl. Add the fajita seasoning and salt. Toss until coated and combined.
Pro Tip Knife Skills: Always keep the hand that’s gripping the knife clean and dry. A wet hand could cause slips resulting in nicks or worse a nasty slice on your hand.
- Step 3: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and vegetables. Don’t stir for about two minutes to get a good sear on the ingredients. Then cook stirring often until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. About 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Step 4: While the mixture is cooking bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, and set aside.
- Step 3: Add the heavy cream and stir well.
- Step 4: Add the cooked pappardelle noodles and use tongs to toss everything together. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve.
Top tip
- Make sure to slice the chicken as thin as you can. Those chicken slices need to cook at the same rate as the sliced fajita vegetables. Slice chicken in thin strips across the grain, then lay each of those pieces on their side and slice again to make thin strips.
- Freezing chicken for about 30 minutes will make slicing a breeze. I always set a timer so I don’t forget it .
Pro Tip: Why is pasta water good for pasta sauce? Don’t throw all of that pasta cooking liquid down the drain, It’s liquid gold. It’s a must to add to any sauce for any pasta dish. It’s high in starch and this salty starchy water helps the sauce cling to the pasta while helping to thicken the sauce. It turns any pasta dish into a luxurious pasta dish.
Equipment
You’ll need a large heavy skillet to make this recipe. Not only will you need to room, but a heavy skillet will produce a good sear on the chicken and vegetables. Non-stick skillets are not recommended as they are notorious for not distributing enough heat to get a good sear. Save that non-stick skillet for your egg recipes, like this Western Omelette.
If you don’t have a extra large skillet, 12″ or larger, cook the chicken and vegetables in batches and then finish the recipe in a Dutch oven.
Storage and Reheating
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Pour a little pasta water over the the ingredients before refrigerating. Pasta can be notorious for soaking up the sauce once it sits. The starchy pasta water will keep the noodles, chicken and vegetables nice and creamy.
- Reheat single servings in the microwave in 30 second increments on 50% power.
- This Chicken Fajita Pasta will freeze well. I like to freeze it in a large zip-lock style bag. Just stand the bag up and spoon the leftovers into the bag, then squeeze the air out. Lay the bag flat in the freeze to save freezer space.
Homemade Fajita Seasoning
Want to make your own homemade fajita seasoning? Here’s an easy recipe: Combine equal parts chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
FAQ
It’s easy to switch out regular pasta for gluten free pasta. And many fajita seasoning packets are considered to be gluten free, it’s important to check the list of ingredients.
Even though taco seasoning and fajita seasoning are somewhat similar, if you use Taco Seasoning this simply won’t be Chicken Fajita Pasta.
I really don’t see any reason to add any type of shredded melting cheese to this recipe. Keep it lighter and creamy with just the simple fajita cream sauce. Cheese will make this a heavier meal and will thicken the sauce too much. You can garnish with Cotija cheese for serving if you’d like. Cotija is a dry Mexican crumbling cheese that will sit on top of the pasta and won’t soak up any of the creamy texture.
Yes, prepare the dish and store it in the refrigerator. Reheat with a splash of broth, cream or milk to ensure creaminess.
More Tex-Mex Recipes:
If you’re a big Mexican food fan like we are, don’t miss my category for Mexican Southwest Recipes. You’ll find lots of festive recipes including the most popular on my site for this Mexican Casserole with Ground Beef. Layered with corn tortillas, it’s a great way to feed a crowd.
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Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Pappardelle pasta or fettuccine noodles
- 2 Tablespoons Neutral OIl Canola or vegetable oil work well here
- 1 pound Chicken breast boneless, skinless, slices into thin strips
- 2 Tablespoons Fajita seasoning Store purchased works well here
- 1 Sweet onion halved, sliced, then cut into half circles
- 2 Bell peppers, colors of choice cleaned and sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced, measure garlic with your heart
- 1 Cup Heavy cream
- ¼ cup Reserved pasta water or more if needed
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Red pepper flakes measure according to your heat tolerance.
Instructions
- Prepare all vegetables, and slice chicken. Set aside
- Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and return to a gentle boil. Cook according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, toss the peppers, onions and chicken pieces in the Fajita seasoning and salt.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Once oil is hot, add chicken and vegetables. Let the mix sizzle in the hot oil for about a two minutes to get a good sear before stirring. Then cook, stirring often until chicken is cooked through and vegetables have softened. About 7 minutes. You want to keep that skillet nice and hot so moisture doesn't form. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in heavy cream and heat for two minutes. Toss in the cooked and drained pappardelle pasta. Add a little reserved pasta water a little at a time to just to keep the pasta mixture for becoming too dry.
Notes
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- Make sure to slice the chicken as thin as you can. Those chicken slices need to be similar in size and cook at the same rate as the sliced fajita vegetables.
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- Freezing chicken for about 30 minutes will make slicing a breeze. I always set a timer so I don’t forget it’s in there.
Nutrition
Chicken Fajita Pasta … It’s What’s For Dinner
