This creamy pasta with chicken is perfect for all you Tex-Mex lovers. Tender chicken, corn, tomatoes, and chiles in a zesty, creamy sauce create a pasta dish loaded with southwestern flavors that brings everyone back for more.
Growing up in southern California, I developed a love of really good Mexican food early on. Then I moved to Texas and found that I’m, of course, a big fan of Tex-Mex food as well.
I love taking classic dishes and giving them a Mexican twist. Dishes like Mexican lasagna, Mexican street corn pasta salad, and this Taco Bell Mexican pizza recipe are always in my rotation.
This Tex-Mex chicken pasta salad follows that trend with zesty Tex-Mex flavors, a creamy, cheesy sauce, and tons of chicken. It’s a full meal that’s perfect with a side of cheesy cornbread.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This dish relies on simple ingredients like chicken, broth, cream, cheese, and seasonings for its flavor, so it’s all basic stuff.
- Super Easy: Everything is cooked in one pan and only takes about 30 to 45 minutes from start to finish.
- Tons of Tex-Mex Flavor: This recipe uses Rotel, enchilada sauce, chiles, southwest corn, and other Tex-Mex ingredients to create a pasta dish loaded with zesty flavor.
- Customizable: It’s easy to change up this recipe to create unique versions.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Veggies: Onions, Southwest corn, green chiles, and Rotel tomatoes add tons of bold, aromatic flavor to the dish.
- Vegetable Broth and Heavy Cream: Vegetable broth and heavy cream create a sauce that’s thick but not TOO thick.
- Green Enchilada Sauce: Green enchilada sauce gives the pasta a kick of Tex-Mex flavor.
- Cheese: Cheddar and Parmesan cheese make this dish ooey and gooey with an earthy note.
- Pasta: I recommend shell pasta for this dish because it holds the sauce nicely.
Variations
- Meat: Use ground beef for creamy ground beef pasta, cubed pork, cubed beef, Italian sausage, or chorizo to create different dishes. You can even use shrimp.
- Spicy: Try adding sliced jalapenos for a kick of heat.
- Enchilada Sauce: Use red enchilada sauce for a sweeter version with a bit less heat.
- More Veggies: Mushrooms, black olives, and bell peppers all work very well in this dish.
Creamy Pasta with Chicken
- Cook the chicken, onions, and seasonings in butter over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are fragrant.
- Add the Rotel, green chiles, corn and enchilada sauce and stir.
- Add the broth and heavy cream and bring to a low boil.
- Add the Parmesan and pasta and continue boiling until the pasta is tender.
- Stir in the cheddar cheese.
- Serve in bowls topped with sour cream, green onions, and cilantro (optional).
Expert Tips
- Cook the chicken and veggies over medium heat to avoid burning the onions.
- Keep the pasta at a low boil after adding the cream. A hard boil can cause the sauce to break.
- Be careful not to overcook your noodles. Test them at the time called for on the box and only cook them further if they’re still on the crunchy side.
- Stir in the cheddar cheese at the end of the cooking process for the perfect ooey-gooey texture.
- Don’t try freezing this pasta for later. The cream in the sauce will break when reheated. Yuck!
Creamy Pasta with Chicken FAQs
Heavy cream is best for creamy pasta with chicken. Its high fat makes it resistant to curdling while the pasta boils, and it adds extra richness to the sauce.
The beauty of this recipe is that the noodles will be boiled after the rest of the sauce is made. So as long as your chicken is white and your onions are soft, you can continue on with the recipe with full confidence that your chicken cubes will be fully cooked.
This dish will last for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Freezing is not recommended due to the cream used for the sauce.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
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Creamy Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 cup diced onions
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon slap ya mama seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 11 ounce southwest corn, drained
- 10 ounce Rotel tomatoes and peppers
- 4 ounce diced green chiles
- 15 ounce green enchilada sauce
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 32 ounces vegetable broth
- 16 ounce small shell pasta
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Optional toppings: sour cream, green onions, cilantro
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add diced chicken, onions, and seasonings to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Next, add Rotel, diced green chiles, corn, and enchilada sauce. Stir.
- Pour vegetable broth and heavy cream into the pan, stir, and bring to a boil.
- Add parmesan cheese and pasta shells. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook until pasta is tender.
- Once pasta is tender, add sharp cheddar cheese.
- Serve and add toppings like sour cream, green onions, and cilantro, if desired.
Notes
- Cook the chicken and veggies over medium heat to avoid burning the onions.
- Keep the pasta at a low boil after adding the cream. A hard boil can cause the sauce to break.
- Be careful not to overcook your noodles. Test them at the time called for on the box and only cook them further if they’re still on the crunchy side.
- Stir in the cheddar cheese at the end of the cooking process for the perfect ooey-gooey texture.
- Don’t try freezing this pasta for later. The cream in the sauce will break when reheated. Yuck!
Nutrition
This Creamy Pasta with Chicken is so good! I love the addition of cheese!
Such a delicious and easy weeknight meal for the family. This is truly comfort food…so good and easy!
I cooked this tonight and it was so good. The sauce came out creamy and the chicken stayed tender. Simple but delicious.
Tasty! The only thing I changed was adding some diced jalapenos. Om nom nom.
This is so good! I made it last night, and even the kids loved it. It’s warm but not too hot.
This was a Tex-Mex dream, and it was so easy! It’s a new favorite!
I love that kick of spice and all that cheese! Great recipe.