Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta

This creamy chipotle chicken pasta is one for those nights when you fancy something with a bit of a kick. It has tender chicken, penne pasta, peppers, asparagus and peas in a creamy Parmesan sauce, with chipotle bringing a lovely smoky heat.

There is honey in the sauce too, which might sound a little unusual with pasta, but it balances the heat of the chipotle rather than making the finished dish particularly sweet. With the Parmesan and double cream, you end up with a rich sauce that’s spicy, smoky and creamy all at the same time.

Stuart and Ben both eat chicken whereas I’m vegetarian, so chicken pasta is one of those meals I tend to make for them rather than myself. If your family enjoys chicken and pasta too, have a look at my easy chicken pasta recipes for some more ideas, including pasta bakes and family dinners.

What does chipotle chicken pasta taste like?

Chipotle peppers have a distinctive smoky flavour as well as heat, so this doesn’t taste like a creamy pasta dish that has simply had some chilli thrown into it.

The cream and Parmesan soften the heat, while the honey adds sweetness and the lemon used with the chicken brings a little acidity. You also get freshness and texture from the red pepper, asparagus and peas.

How spicy the finished pasta is will depend on the chipotle sauce you use because different products can vary quite considerably. If you don’t regularly eat spicy food, it’s worth tasting your sauce before deciding that more is definitely better!

Ingredients for creamy chipotle chicken pasta

This is quite a substantial pasta dish and makes six portions, so don’t be alarmed when you see 450g of penne going into the pan.

You’ll need two chicken breasts, which are cubed and marinated with lemon juice, salt and pepper before cooking.

For the pasta and vegetables, you’ll need penne, a red pepper, half an onion, frozen peas and asparagus tips. I like having several different vegetables in this because they all bring something slightly different without disappearing into the creamy sauce.

The sauce uses butter, olive oil, honey, chipotle pepper sauce, garlic, double cream and Parmesan. It’s definitely a creamy pasta sauce rather than one pretending not to be, and I think that’s worth saying! If I’m making a creamy pasta dish, I’d rather enjoy it as the meal it’s supposed to be than start replacing half the ingredients with things that completely change it.

The full quantities are in the recipe card below.

Marinating the chicken

The chicken is marinated in lemon juice with a little salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

You don’t need to do anything complicated here. Cube the chicken into reasonably even pieces, combine it with the lemon juice and seasoning and leave it to marinate before you start cooking the rest of the dish.

Keeping the chicken pieces a similar size helps them cook evenly later, rather than leaving you with tiny pieces becoming dry while you’re waiting for one enormous chunk to cook through.

If chicken breast is something you sometimes struggle to get right, my guide to different ways to cook chicken breast has more tips for cooking it without ending up with dry chicken.

Cooking the pasta and asparagus together

One thing I particularly like about this recipe is that the asparagus cooks with the pasta rather than needing another pan.

The penne and asparagus are cooked until the pasta is al dente, then drained. This means the asparagus is ready to go into the sauce at the same time as the pasta later.

Obviously, asparagus tips cook much more quickly than dried pasta, so follow the timings in the recipe you’re making and keep an eye on the asparagus rather than assuming everything needs exactly the same amount of cooking.

If you don’t have penne, another short pasta shape should work well. Fusilli or rigatoni would both hold a creamy sauce nicely, so I wouldn’t make a special journey to buy penne if you’ve already got something similar in the cupboard.

For more pasta dinner inspiration, have a browse through my healthy pasta recipes too.

Making the creamy chipotle sauce

Start the sauce by melting the butter in a large frying pan and cooking the red pepper and onion until they’ve softened. Add the garlic and cook briefly before removing the vegetables from the pan.

The chicken is then browned in olive oil in the same pan. Once it’s cooked, the honey and cooked pepper and onion go back in, followed by the chipotle sauce, double cream and Parmesan.

Let the sauce simmer for around five minutes so everything comes together before adding the pasta and vegetables.

This is where I’d taste the sauce before adding anything extra. Chipotle sauce and Parmesan can both bring quite a lot of flavour, so don’t automatically reach for more salt or chilli without trying it first.

How spicy is chipotle chicken pasta?

I’d describe this as having noticeable heat rather than being ridiculously spicy, but spice is very personal.

The biggest variable is your chipotle sauce. One brand may be fairly mild while another could be considerably hotter, so the amount that works perfectly for one bottle isn’t necessarily going to taste identical with another.

If you’re cooking for children or someone who isn’t keen on spicy food, use a chipotle sauce you already know rather than experimenting with the hottest bottle you can find!

The cream, Parmesan and honey all balance the heat to some extent, but the chipotle should still be noticeable. Otherwise, you’ve essentially made creamy chicken pasta and given the chipotle a brief supporting role.

Can I add different vegetables?

The red pepper, asparagus and peas work really nicely in this pasta, so I’d make it as written the first time before changing too much.

After that, there’s certainly room to experiment according to what you’ve got. Mushrooms would work nicely with the creamy sauce, while spinach could be stirred through towards the end of cooking.

Broccoli could also work with chicken and a creamy Parmesan sauce, although you’ll need to think about when you add it so it doesn’t end up overcooked.

I wouldn’t add vegetables simply for the sake of trying to make the meal “healthier”, though. The asparagus, peas and red pepper already give you a good mixture. If you fancy more vegetables, add them; if you don’t, you don’t need to turn dinner into a competition to see how many you can squeeze into one pan.

Can I use wholemeal pasta?

You can use wholemeal pasta if you enjoy it, although it has a slightly different flavour and texture from standard white pasta.

There’s no need to swap purely because you think you’re supposed to. I’ve spent enough years following diets to know how quickly a perfectly normal meal can turn into a list of foods you should replace with something else.

White pasta, wholemeal pasta and different pasta shapes can all have a place in your meals. Pick the one you actually want to eat.

If you’re interested in the differences rather than simply being told one is “good” and the other is “bad”, my guide to wholegrains goes into more detail.

What can I serve with chipotle chicken pasta?

This is already a substantial meal with pasta, chicken and several vegetables, so you don’t really need to add anything.

If you do fancy something alongside it, a simple salad would give you a fresh contrast to the creamy sauce. Garlic bread would work too, particularly if you’re feeding hungry teenagers or anyone else who regards pasta as merely the first instalment of dinner!

I’d choose what you actually fancy rather than feeling that a creamy pasta dish somehow has to be cancelled out by a bowl of salad.

Can I make it ahead?

You can make the pasta ahead, although creamy sauces are generally nicest when they’re freshly made.

As the pasta sits, it will continue to absorb some of the sauce, so leftovers are unlikely to have exactly the same consistency as they did when they first came out of the pan.

If you’re deliberately preparing it in advance, store it safely in the fridge once cooled and reheat it thoroughly before serving.

How should I store leftovers?

Any leftovers containing cooked chicken should be cooled and refrigerated promptly rather than being left sitting around at room temperature.

Keep them in a covered container in the fridge and follow current Food Standards Agency advice on storing and reheating leftovers. When reheating the pasta, make sure the chicken is thoroughly heated throughout.

A creamy sauce may thicken considerably in the fridge. A small splash of milk can help loosen it when reheating, but add a little at a time rather than accidentally turning your creamy pasta into soup.

Can I freeze creamy chipotle chicken pasta?

You can freeze creamy pasta dishes, but it’s worth knowing that cream-based sauces can change texture after freezing and defrosting.

If you’re freezing leftovers, cool them and get them into the freezer promptly in suitable containers. Individual portions are useful because you can defrost only what you need.

Personally, if I knew in advance that we’d be eating this over two days, I’d keep the second portion refrigerated rather than freezing it simply for the sake of batch cooking.

Can I make it dairy-free or gluten-free?

For a gluten-free version, the most straightforward change would be using a suitable gluten-free pasta and checking the labels on your other ingredients.

My guide to gluten-free pasta has more information if you’re not sure which type to try.

Dairy-free is a bigger change because butter, double cream and Parmesan are all important parts of the sauce. You could experiment with dairy-free alternatives you already know and like, but I wouldn’t promise that coconut cream, nutritional yeast or another substitute will produce the same result without actually testing that version.

Sometimes a substitution is easy. Sometimes you’ve essentially created a different recipe!

More chicken pasta recipes

If chicken and pasta is always popular in your house, have a look at my easy chicken pasta recipes for more family dinner ideas.

My chicken fajita pasta bake is completely different from this one, with peppers, fajita seasoning, tomatoes and cheese, so it’s a good option when you want chicken pasta without another creamy sauce.

There are plenty more ideas in my healthy chicken recipes too, including curries, rice dishes, salads, slow cooker meals and air fryer chicken for those evenings when pasta isn’t calling your name.

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