Go Back
quick dinner ideas for family

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Silky creamy pasta with golden chicken pieces that tastes like it took hours but comes together in 20 minutes. This quick dinner idea for family disappears every single time I make it. The pasta water trick makes the sauce absolutely incredible.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian American
Calories: 560
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g penne pasta
  • 400 g chicken breast diced
  • 200 ml heavy cream
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup parmesan grated
  • Half cup pasta water reserved
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Half teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt and black pepper generous
  • Fresh parsley to serve

Method
 

  1. Step 1: Cook pasta in heavily salted water reserve half cup water before draining
  2. Step 2: Season chicken generously with salt pepper and garlic powder
  3. Step 3: Heat olive oil in large pan over medium high heat
  4. Step 4: Cook chicken 5 to 6 minutes until golden and cooked through remove to plate
  5. Step 5: Same pan add butter and garlic cook 1 minute
  6. Step 6: Add cream bring to gentle simmer 2 minutes
  7. Step 7: Add parmesan stir until melted into sauce
  8. Step 8: Add pasta and pasta water toss until sauce coats everything silkily
  9. Step 9: Return chicken to pan toss everything together
  10. Step 10: Serve immediately topped with extra parmesan and fresh parsley

Notes

— Pasta water is magic here
the starch makes sauce
clingy and silky
— Don't let cream boil
hard or it will split —
gentle simmer only
— Add baby spinach in step 8
wilts in 1 minute and
adds color and nutrition
— Rotisserie chicken works
perfectly here to save
even more time