Easy Chicken Pasta Recipes for Family Dinners
Chicken and pasta are one of those combinations that can solve the “what are we having for dinner?” problem without needing anything particularly complicated. Add peppers and fajita seasoning and you’ve got one meal, use smoky chipotle flavours and you’ve got something completely different, or turn it into a cheesy pasta bake when you fancy proper comfort food.
Chicken pasta recipes are also easy to adapt around what you already have. Different pasta shapes rarely make or break a family dinner, vegetables can usually be swapped around, and you can choose chicken breast, thighs or leftover cooked chicken depending on the recipe.
I don’t eat chicken myself, but Stuart and Ben do, and chicken pasta recipes are always an easy option when I’m cooking for them. If pasta isn’t what you fancy tonight, there are plenty more healthy chicken recipes including curries, rice dishes, slow cooker meals, air fryer chicken and fakeaways.
Easy chicken pasta recipes to try
There are so many different directions you can go with chicken pasta recipes that it doesn’t have to mean the same creamy pasta dinner every week.
Chicken fajita pasta bake
My chicken fajita pasta bake combines chicken, peppers, tomatoes, pasta and fajita seasoning with cheese for a filling family dinner.
It’s particularly good if you like fajitas but want something a bit different from wraps. You can adjust the seasoning depending on how spicy everyone likes their food and change the vegetables according to what you have available.
Chipotle chicken pasta
For something with a little more heat, chipotle chicken pasta has a lovely smoky flavour and plenty of vegetables alongside the chicken and pasta.
Chipotle is quite different from simply adding chilli because it brings that distinctive smokiness as well as heat. If some members of the family aren’t quite as keen on spicy food, it’s easy to adjust how much you use.
What chicken is best for pasta?
Chicken breast is probably the most obvious choice for chicken pasta recipes because it’s easy to dice or slice and works with almost any sauce. The main thing to watch is that it doesn’t become dry, particularly when the chicken is cooked first and then spends more time cooking in a sauce or pasta bake.
Chicken thighs can be a good alternative. They have a slightly different texture and work particularly well with richer sauces and dishes that cook for a little longer.
Leftover cooked chicken is handy too. A relatively small amount can be stretched into another family meal once you add pasta, vegetables and a sauce. If you’ve got more chicken than you know what to do with, my leftover chicken recipe ideas have plenty of other suggestions.
Chicken mince can also be used with pasta, particularly in tomato-based sauces where you might otherwise use beef or another mince.
If you’re starting with frozen chicken, check my guide to defrosting chicken safely before cooking it.
Which pasta goes best with chicken?
You don’t need to buy a particular pasta shape simply because that’s what’s shown in a recipe photo. If a recipe uses penne and you’ve got fusilli in the cupboard, in many dishes it’s absolutely fine to use what you already have.
Penne, fusilli and rigatoni are particularly useful for chunky chicken pasta sauces because the pieces of chicken, vegetables and sauce get caught in and around the pasta. Shorter shapes are also handy for pasta bakes because they’re easy to combine with the other ingredients.
Spaghetti and linguine suit smoother sauces, while smaller pasta shapes can work well in cold pasta salads.
White and wholemeal pasta are both options, so choose whichever you prefer. If you need something different because of an allergy or intolerance, or you’ve discovered the pasta packet in the cupboard is practically empty, my alternatives to pasta guide has some other ideas.
There are also lots more healthy pasta recipes if you’ve got pasta to use but don’t necessarily want chicken.
Chicken pasta bakes
Chicken pasta bakes are especially useful for family dinners because the chicken, pasta, vegetables and sauce all come together in one dish.
Peppers, onions, mushrooms, courgettes, spinach, peas and sweetcorn can all work depending on the sauce and seasoning you’re using, so a pasta bake can also be a good way of using vegetables that need eating.
My chicken fajita pasta bake uses peppers and fajita seasoning for plenty of flavour, but there are lots more ideas in my pasta bake recipes collection too.
What vegetables go well with chicken pasta?
Peppers are great with fajita, chipotle and tomato-based chicken pasta dishes, while mushrooms work particularly well with creamy sauces.
Spinach and peas are easy additions because they don’t need much preparation. Courgettes, onions, broccoli, sweetcorn and tomatoes can all work too, depending on the sauce you’re making.
Frozen vegetables are worth remembering as well. I nearly always have something useful hiding in the freezer, which can save a meal when the fresh vegetable drawer isn’t looking particularly inspiring.
There’s no need to sneak vegetables into meals just for the sake of it. If your family hates courgettes, hiding one in their pasta isn’t necessarily going to make dinner any better! Use the vegetables people actually enjoy and try different combinations when you fancy them.
Creamy chicken pasta or tomato chicken pasta?
Both can make lovely family meals, and they give you very different options using essentially the same chicken and pasta.
Tomato sauces work well with garlic, herbs, peppers, mushrooms, chilli and smoky flavours such as chipotle. You can keep them quite simple or add plenty of spice.
Creamier sauces pair nicely with mushrooms, spinach, peas, garlic and cheese. There’s no rule saying a creamy pasta dish has to be ridiculously rich either; you can adjust the sauce according to the meal you’re making and what you enjoy.
Pesto is another easy option with chicken and pasta, particularly when you fancy something completely different from your usual tomato or creamy sauce.
Can I use leftover chicken in pasta?
Leftover cooked chicken can be perfect for pasta because it turns a small amount of meat into another substantial meal.
Rather than cooking it from scratch again, add cooked chicken at an appropriate point so it can heat through without spending ages cooking and becoming dry.
Obviously, it needs to have been cooked, cooled and stored safely in the first place. If you’re unsure how long cooked chicken has been sitting in the fridge, it’s not worth taking a chance with it.
My leftover chicken recipe ideas have more ways to use cooked chicken if you’ve got quite a bit left.
Can you make chicken pasta ahead?
Some chicken pasta dishes are better suited to making ahead than others.
Pasta bakes are particularly useful because you can prepare parts of the meal earlier and finish the dish when you’re ready to eat. Cold chicken pasta dishes can also be handy for lunches.
Saucy pasta can thicken as it sits because the pasta continues to absorb moisture, so you may find the texture is slightly different when you come back to it later.
Prepared food should always be cooled and refrigerated appropriately rather than being left sitting at room temperature.
Can you freeze chicken pasta?
Many chicken pasta dishes can be frozen, although some sauces cope with freezing better than others.
Tomato-based dishes and pasta bakes often freeze well. Creamy sauces can sometimes separate or change texture slightly after freezing and defrosting.
Freezing meals in useful portion sizes makes life much easier. A couple of individual portions or one family-sized portion are generally more practical than one enormous container.
And label them. A freezer full of mysterious orange tubs seems like excellent organisation until nobody can remember whether they’re pasta sauce, curry or soup!
How do I stop chicken drying out in pasta?
Chicken breast can become dry when it’s overcooked, and it’s particularly easy to do in pasta dishes if you cook the chicken completely and then continue cooking it for ages in a sauce or in the oven.
Think about the whole cooking process rather than each stage separately. Using evenly sized pieces also helps because you don’t end up waiting for one huge piece to cook while all the smaller pieces become dry.
If dry chicken is a regular problem, my guide to different ways to cook chicken breast looks at pan frying, oven cooking, slow cooking, air frying, barbecuing and poaching.
Do I need to use wholemeal pasta?
No. Wholemeal pasta contains more fibre than standard white pasta, but that doesn’t mean every pasta dinner needs to use it.
If you enjoy wholemeal pasta, great. If you prefer white pasta, that’s fine too.
I’ve spent enough years following weight-loss plans to know how easily an ordinary dinner can turn into a complicated collection of rules about what you should and shouldn’t eat. I’d much rather look at the meal as a whole and make something the family will actually enjoy.
How to cook chicken safely
Raw chicken needs to be handled carefully and cooked thoroughly.
Don’t wash raw chicken before cooking it, as splashing water can spread bacteria around the kitchen. Wash your hands after handling it and clean anything that has been in contact with the raw meat before using it for other food.
A food thermometer can be useful for checking the thickest part of the chicken, particularly when you’re cooking larger pieces. Follow current Food Standards Agency guidance on cooking chicken safely rather than relying purely on appearance or assuming every piece of chicken will cook in exactly the same amount of time.
The same care is important with leftovers. Cooked chicken should be cooled, stored and reheated safely, particularly if you’re deliberately making extra for another meal.
More easy chicken dinner ideas
Chicken pasta recipes are only one option when you’ve got a packet of chicken waiting in the fridge.
My healthy chicken recipes include curries, rice dishes, salads, traybakes, slow cooker recipes, air fryer chicken and fakeaways, so there are plenty of alternatives when nobody fancies pasta.
If it’s definitely pasta you’re craving but chicken isn’t essential, have a browse through my healthy pasta recipes instead for plenty more family meal ideas.
