Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Creamy, spicy, cheesy, and oh so delicious! Here’s my take on Chicken Alfredo pasta, but with a kick. Loaded with garlic and parmesan; make it with pre-cooked chicken for an easy weeknight dinner.
In the time it takes to cook the pasta, you can have this delicious dinner ready to go!
Use this recipe as a base; get creative with your protein and different veggies.
How long does Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta take to make?
Under 30 minutes; this can be finished in the time it takes to make the pasta.
Let’s talk about the ingredients for Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Pasta – I like using different pastas each time I make this, but my favourite has to be penne rigate.
Chicken – By using pre-cooked chicken, this dish is super fast to pull together. I’ve used some leftover grilled chicken breasts in my recipe, but I’ve also used cooked chicken pieces, leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken is good as well.
Parmesan – The star of the show! I do recommend getting the best parmesan you can find and afford. I don’t know if the “green can” parmesan will work very well.
Spices – This dish has a KICK with crushed red peppers, white pepper, and tons of garlic. Like, a LOT of garlic; if this is date night, you may want to reduce or omit the garlic altogether.
Cream – This sauce is silky and rich with heavy cream pulling together the parmesan and spices.
Can I Make Substitutions?
Pasta – For this recipe, I used penne, but you can use all sorts of pasta shapes. The sauce works equally well with fettucine, linguine, and other short pastas like rotini. I have also used tortellini, for a very decadent dish!
Protein – I love grilled chicken with this. You could try salmon, or grilled prawns.
Heavy cream – Sometimes I forget to buy the cream, so a GREAT substitute is an equivalent amount of canned evaporated milk! It works great, and it can be a fantastic way to lower the calories of this dish, if that’s important to you.
Chicken stock – Vegetable stock works just as well.
Veggies – This version is a blank slate upon which you can paint your culinary masterpiece! I have tried numerous combinations of veggies, and my favourites are: spring peas, asparagus, mushrooms, or broccoli.
The Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Method
This dish comes together pretty quickly, in under 30 minutes. You start by getting your pasta going in a large pot of salted water.
Then, you make the sauce. In a large skillet, add butter & oil, then bloom your spices in the warmed fat.
Add the garlic and stir for about a minute, then add the chicken stock and heavy cream.
You cook the sauce until it starts to boil, then add grated parmesan.
Cook the sauce until it starts to thicken. By this time, your pasta should be almost done so you can add it to the sauce to finish cooking and thicken the sauce further. Don’t forget to keep some of the pasta cooking water to help smooth out the sauce at the end of cooking.
Top with your cooked chicken, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and more parmesan.
How to reheat leftover of Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Add about ¼ cup of heavy cream when reheating the pasta, to prevent lumps.
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- cheese grater
- Large skillet
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 8 oz penne rigate pasta
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated, plus more for garnish
- 2 cooked chicken breasts sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh parlsey chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot filled with salted water, cook your penne pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, put a large skillet over medium heat and add butter and olive oil.
- When melted and bubbling, add crushed red pepper and white pepper. Stir until fragrant.
- Add minced garlic, and stir for about a minute but don’t let garlic burn.
- Add chicken stock and heavy cream. Cook until the sauce comes to a boil, then add grated parmesan.
- Stir until smooth and thick. Add almost-cooked pasta and continue cooking until thickened and pasta is cooked through. Remove from heat.
- To serve, divide pasta among four bowls. Slice cooked chicken place equal amounts on top of each bowl of pasta. Top with fresh parlsey and more parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
Other pasta recipes you may like:
