Spicy Chicken Pasta

⏱ 15 min prep · 🍳 30 min · 🍽 4

Spicy Chicken Pasta – served and ready for dinner – recipe from Zenframe

Chicken pasta is where a lot of weeknight rotations go to die — chicken and cream, chicken and cream, chicken and cream, until nobody at the table can taste it anymore. This one earns its spot back with a dry spice rub, smoked paprika, cayenne, and garlic, worked into the chicken before it sears hard and fast in the pan. From there it simmers in a tomato-and-cream sauce built on onion, pepper, and celery, while the pasta finishes cooking right in the sauce instead of waiting off to the side for it.

Cayenne carries almost all the heat, and it's easy to dial around: spoon out a kid portion of the sauce before the cayenne goes in heavy, then keep seasoning the rest for the adults. The paprika and garlic do the work of making the flavor sit inside the chicken itself, rather than just floating in the cream on top of it.

Cold stove to table, this runs about 45 minutes — a solid pick for a night you've already got chicken and cream sitting in the fridge anyway.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bland marinadekrydder (paprikapulver, cayennepepper, pepper, hvitløkspulver og salt) med olivenolje, halvér kyllingbrystene og dekk dem godt med marinaden.

  2. Svi kyllingen kjapt på begge sider på høy varme, og sett til side.

  3. Finhakk løk, paprika og selleri, og stek til løken er myk.

  4. Tilsett tomatpuré og hvitløk, og kok noen minutter.

  5. Hell i kyllingkraft og fløte, og la småkoke i 5–10 minutter til sausen tykner.

  6. Kok pasta til den er litt underkokt, fullfør kokingen i sausen, og tilsett kyllingen skåret i strimler.

  7. Småkok i 5 minutter, ta av varmen, og rør inn revet parmesan og finhakket persille.

  8. Server umiddelbart.

This is a good one for the week when pasta's already shown up twice on the dinner rotation and nobody wants to hear the word again — the spice rub carries enough flavor on its own that the dish doesn't read as "just another pasta night." Split the pot before the cayenne goes in heavy if there are younger kids at the table, then keep building heat in the rest for the adults. Families who make this on a Tuesday tend to say the next day's lunchbox leftovers are the ones their kids actually ask for, instead of the ones that come back home untouched. It also holds up well packed cold or reheated at a desk, which most cream sauces don't.

FAQ

Can I make this milder for the kids?

The heat comes almost entirely from the cayenne, so spoon out a kid portion of the sauce right after the tomatoes go in, before you season the rest of the pot for the adults. Start with about a teaspoon of cayenne in the kid portion and adjust from there next time. Grated parmesan on top mellows the perceived heat and works just as well as a plain topping for anyone who wants extra richness.

How long does it keep, and can I freeze it?

Stored in a sealed container in the fridge, it holds for about 3 days, and the cream sauce doesn't split the way a plain cream sauce would since the tomatoes buffer the acidity. It freezes for up to 2 months, though the sauce may separate slightly on thawing — whisk it back together over low heat with a splash of extra cream or milk. Cook the pasta fresh when reheating instead of freezing it in the sauce; it turns rubbery otherwise.

Can I swap the chicken for something else?

Turkey breast cooks in roughly the same time and takes the rub just as well, so it's a straightforward swap. Chickpeas or grilled eggplant work for a vegetarian version, though you'll want to cut back the liquid in the sauce a little since there's no meat releasing juices into it. Shrimp can't take the same cook time, so add it right at the end, just before serving.

Which pasta shape works best here?

Tube shapes like penne or rigatoni hold the sauce best because it collects inside the tube instead of sliding off. Fusilli or elbow macaroni do a fine job too if that's what's in the cupboard. Spaghetti, on the other hand, slides through a sauce this thick without picking much up, so it's worth skipping here.

How do I fit this into a busy weeknight?

Onion, pepper and celery can all be chopped the night before and left ready in the fridge, and the chicken is fine sitting with the rub on it from morning until dinner. Slot it into the meal plan for a night you already have chicken and cream on hand so it doesn't add an extra grocery trip mid-week.

What goes well on the side, and does it work for guests?

A simple green salad with a lemon dressing, or a tray of roasted vegetables, balances out the rich sauce without much extra effort. For guests, put chili flakes and extra parmesan on the table so everyone can adjust the heat themselves rather than cooking to one level. Good crusty bread takes care of whatever's left in the bottom of the bowl.

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