This easy chicken and chorizo pasta is a tasty and quick weeknight dinner that you can make in less than 20 minutes. Chicken, chorizo and penne is coated in a creamy sauce with creme fraiche, garlic and sun dried tomatoes.
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Why you'll love it
- Quick and simple recipe
- Packed with protein, nutrients and flavor
- Adjust the seasoning to suit your preferences
- Made in less than 20 minutes
- Pair it with a variety of side dishes
Ingredients
Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs in this recipe. If you're using frozen chicken, make sure to defrost or thaw it before use.
Pasta: Any types of pasta will work, such as penne, fusilli, spaghetti or rotini.
Seasoning: A combination of salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and basil tastes great in this dish. See the variations section below for more seasoning suggestions.
Garlic + sun dried tomatoes: Add flavor to the dish.
Chorizo sausage: Chorizo is a really flavorful sausage, and a key component in this dish.
Creme fraiche: This is the base of the creamy sauce. Creme fraiche is lighter than heavy cream, and gives the dish a lovely texture. You can use low fat creme fraiche if you wish.
Instructions
This dish is easy to make, and only requires a few steps.
Start by boiling the pasta in water according to package instructions. Depending on the type of pasta you use, this typically takes 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the chicken chorizo sauce. Dice chicken into bite sized pieces, and sauté in a skillet with some cooking spray or vegetable oil, as well as all the seasoning.
When the chicken is almost cooked through, add diced sun dried tomatoes, garlic and chorizo. Sauté for another minute, or until fragrant. Finally, add creme fraiche, and remove the dish from the heat.The creme fraiche will heat up, but does not have to be boiling.
As soon as the pasta is done cooking, drain off most of the excess water, leaving only a few tablespoons worth of liquid in the pot. Add the chorizo and chicken pasta sauce, and stir to combine the pasta thoroughly.
Top tips
- You can use any pasta for this recipe. Gluten free pasta, wholemeal pasta, regular pasta or special pastas like black bean pasta all work well.
- You can adjust the seasoning to taste. I like to add extra red pepper flakes to make the dish spicy.
Serving suggestions
Serve chicken and chorizo for lunch or dinner. This is a complete meal, but I love to serve it with flavorful side dishes. Here are some of my favorite recipes to pair it with:
- Salad: Olive Salad, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad, Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Lemon Kale Salad
- Bread: Easy Homemade Croutons
- Vegetables: Mediterranean Roast Vegetables, Instant Pot Carrots, Air Fryer Cauliflower
- Toppings: Roasted Walnuts, chopped basil, or grated Parmesan
Variations
Spicy chicken and chorizo pasta: Double or triple the amount of red pepper flakes if you want to make the dish spicier.
Cheesy: Add shredded Parmesan or mozzarella to make it cheesy.
Pasta bake: Make chicken chorizo pasta bake by adding the finished dish to a casserole dish, topping it with shredded cheese, and baking it at 400 F / 200 C for about 15 minutes.
Creamy tomato sauce: Add a can of diced tomatoes (a tin of chopped tomatoes) to the sauce if you want to make a tomato based pasta dish.
With pesto: Add a few tablespoons of pesto to the sauce. This is an easy way to add lots of flavor to the sauce!
Leftovers
Store leftover chicken and chorizo pasta in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 3 days. I would not recommend freezing this dish, as it could ruin the texture.
Reheat the pasta in a microwave, or in a pot or skillet on the stove top, and serve it warm.
You might also like these recipes
- Creamy Fajita Pasta with Chicken
- Pasta with Broccoli and Chicken
- Salmon and Creme Fraiche Pasta
- Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
- Sausage Pasta Bake
- Instant Pot Chicken Pasta
- Halloumi Pasta
- Chicken Curry Pasta
- Hummus Pasta
If you make this recipe, make sure to post a photo to Instagram with #hintofhealthy!
Recipe
Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups penne
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- ½ cup diced chorizo
- 3 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 cup creme fraiche
- 3 sun dried tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Boil pasta in a pot of water following the package instructions.
- Dice chicken into bite sized pieces, and sauté in a skillet with some cooking spray or vegetable oil, as well as all the seasoning.
- When the chicken is almost cooked through, add diced sun dried tomatoes, garlic and chorizo. Sauté for another minute, or until fragrant.
- Finally, add creme fraiche, and remove the dish from the heat. The creme fraiche will warm up, and does not have to be cooked.
- Drain off most of the excess water from the cooked pasta, leaving only a few tablespoons worth of liquid in the pot.
- Add the chorizo and chicken sauce to the pasta, and stir to combine thoroughly.
Video
Notes
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a microwave, and serve warm.
Kerry Ellen Darlow
Really enjoyed this. It has loads of flavour. You could also have it cold with some salad.
Helen Burton
I made this tonight for the first time and it’s definitely going to be on my favourite pasta dish list.
I threw in some sliced leeks and courgettes when sautéing the chicken and added tablespoon of tomato purée. Then I poured it all into a casserole and stirred in the cooked pasta and scattered some grated mature cheddar on top. A 15 minute bake in a hot oven finished it off.
Absolutely delicious.