Smoky Chicken Pasta with Cream Sauce
One pan (plus a pot for the pasta 😉), tons of flavor, and a little spice make this an easy and satisfying dinner everyone will love.
A complete meal in one (maybe add a salad), this is super affordable but tastes like a restaurant dinner.
Smoky Chicken Pasta {Firebird’s Chicken Pasta}
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked penne pasta
- 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins or pounded thin
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 1¼ cups chicken broth divided
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
To serve
- Shredded parmesan
- Chopped parsley or basil optional
- Diced red onion or tomato optionl
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Instructions
- Cook the bacon. In a very large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels, crumble and set aside. Dispose of most of the bacon grease, but do not clean the pan.
- Cook the chicken. Heat the pan over medium-high and cook the chicken breast 3 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through. Remove to a cutting board, cover with foil, and let rest while you prepare the sauce. (This is a good time to start cooking the penne.)
- Cook the veggies and spices. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the same large skillet.. Add the salt, sugar, smoked paprika, cayenne, and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute more.
- Add liquids. Add 1 cup of chicken broth, scraping the pan to incorporate all the seasonings. Add the cream and milk and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the sauce reduces slightly. (Meanwhile, slice the cooked chicken)
- Thicken sauce. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken broth with the flour and add to the sauce to thicken it. Add the grated parmesan. Simmer over low heat while stirring until cheese is melted.
- Assemble and serve. Pour the cooked pasta into the sauce, stir, and add the bacon, cooked chicken, additional parmesan and any herbs or fresh veggies you’d like. . Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
🧂 about the Ingredients
You’ll need the following for this simple + yummy dinner:
- olive oil
- salt
- sugar
- smoked paprika
- cayenne pepper
- chopped shallot
- chicken broth divided
- heavy cream
- milk
- flour
- grated Parmesan
- large saute pan or stock pot
🥫 Storage instructions
Store any leftover pasta in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a saucepan with a little additional milk or chicken broth. It won’t be perfect, but it will still be good.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Do not overcook your pasta. It is ok if the pasta is on the firm side as it will continue to cook a little if added to the sauce.
- For this recipe, it’s helpful to have everything pre-measured and chopped since it will move fast.
- Use a pan that is large enough to hold all the sauce plus all the cooked pasta. I like a wide, deep sauté pan, but a large saucepan will work as well.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
Any green salad will work well on the side of this meal
And of course, you must serve bread! This soft Italian bread recipe would be perfect.
An easy, creamy dessert like vanilla cream pie is just the right balance.
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
This was very good but a slight change would make it so much better. Instead of cooking with the bacon grease, dump most of it out while leaving the crust and a minor amount in the pan. Replace the cup of grease you dump out with an extra cup of chicken broth and another tablespoon of olive oil. The way it is now, the amount you can eat is limited as the bacon grease coats everything so thoroughly and becomes overwhelming after a few bites.
Otherwise, great recipe and will be making it again.
hi Kevin, I think that makes a ton of sense. I’m making this on Tuesday so I’ll try it your way and update the recipe depending on how it goes. thanks so much. 🙂
The best pasta!
The ingredient list states 2 cups chicken broth divided, but the directions only mention 1 and 1/4 cups. Where does the extra 3/4 go?
Tasted absolutely amazing, only things I changed is used leftover whole chicken cooked in the smoker & rigatoni pasta instead of penne (because that’s what I had laying around!) it was perfect, one of my new favorite meals ❤️
Made this for supper tonight – so good! The chicken came out tender and moist and everything was very flavorful together. Easy to put together even while I had multiple things going on. Added in some sautéed cubanelle peppers and topped off bowls with the bacon, chopped tomatoes, shaved parm , and fresh basil. A keeper! Thanks, Katie 😁
So happy you gave it a try! Have a great weekend Robin ❤️