This 30-minute meal is perfect for those busy back to school weeknights or impromptu dinners with friends.
Tender chicken in a cheesy, southwestern sauce is mixed with pasta and done in 30 minutes. One whiff of this and your family will be headed for the table!
For this recipe you'll need: Shape pasta, butter, olive oil, boneless chicken breast, salt, pepper, onion, jalapeno, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes with chiles, all-purpose flour, evaporated milk, cumin, smoked paprika, Pepper Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, cilantro
We eat a lot of pasta around here, especially now that back to school season is upon us. Those long, lazy days of summer are just a foggy blur of memory for me - I swear it went April, May, August this year!
I like making pasta because not only is it comfort food, I mean really - it's pasta, but it's nice to be able to have a dinner that everyone loves on the table thirty minutes after I close the computer for the day, you know?
Pasta is forgiving, too. If it's one of those nights where everyone is going in different directions at different times this Southwest Chicken Pasta waits patiently to be warmed up as needed.
Give this a try and see what you think - I know you'll love this family pleasing Southwest Chicken Pasta! Be sure to give the Tex-Mex Pasta Salad a try, too!
Southwest Chicken Pasta
Print SaveIngredients
- 1 lb Texas Shape pasta, or your favorite - cooked and drained
- 2 tablespoons butter, , may need a little more
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion, , large - finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, cleaned and diced small, optional
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes and chiles
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 cup PepperJack cheese, grated
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, , chopped plus more for garnish
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Instructions
- Mix the cheese together and set aside.
- Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a frying pan over high heat.
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the hot pan, turn to medium high, and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 7 minutes per side.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly while you're preparing the sauce.
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan and turn the heat to medium.
- Add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent.
- Cube chicken.
- Transfer the onion mixture into to the bowl with the chicken.
- Add more butter to the pan if needed. Add the flour to the pan and whisk for 2 minutes.
- Whisk in the evaporated milk, cumin, and smoked paprika.
- Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens, whisking constantly.
- Whisk in the cheese, cilantro, and tomatoes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the pasta and cook until it is tender.
- Drain.
- Add the pasta, chicken mixture, and cilantro to the sauce.
- Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.
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