This creamy, spicy chicken pasta is absolutely bursting with flavor and decadence. With delicious seasonings like sun dried tomatoes, hot sauce, and herbs and spices, and rich ingredients like heavy cream and parmesan cheese, this chicken pasta dish is one you'll devouring!
We like spicy in our house. I counted, and there are currently 13 hot sauces open and in the rotation.
We don't shy away from heat and are always looking to add a little "kick" to our meals with a dash of hot sauce or red pepper flakes.
This spicy creamy pasta recipe has chicken marinated in hot sauce and other spices and then red pepper flakes added to the pasta sauce itself. It's definitely not overly spicy, I made sure to keep ingredient measurements on the mild to medium end. But behind each bite there is a bit of heat that really adds to the dish.
If you are a spicy food lover like we are, feel free to add more hot sauce to the marinade, more red pepper flakes to the sauce, or even use extra as a condiment at the end!
Looking for a fancy pasta with steak? Try a reader favorite, Olive Garden Copycat Steak Gorgonzola. Want a spicy pasta dish without meat? Try Gigi Hadid Pasta or Spicy Fusilli Arrabiata.
Ingredients
Spicy Chicken Marinade
- boneless skinless chicken breasts (chicken thighs would great too)
- olive oil
- hot sauce (your choice! I used Gindo's Truffle Parmesan)
- paprika
- italian seasoning
- garlic powder
- salt
- black pepper
pasta & sauce
- butter
- linguine pasta (or shape of choice)
- sliced sundried tomatoes
- heavy cream
- chicken stock
- red chilli flakes
- yellow onion or shallot
- fresh garlic
- tomato paste
- fresh basil
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
How to make spicy chicken pasta
In a small bowl, combine oil, hot sauce, paprika, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Cut chicken breasts into 1-2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Pour spicy marinade over top and stir to coat. Place in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp. of butter. Add chicken pieces and pan fry until cooked through. Place cooked chicken on a plate to the side.
While preparing the sauce, cook pasta according to packaging instructions, remembering to reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
To the same skillet you cooked the chicken in, add remaining 1 tbsp. of butter. Add diced onions, minced garlic, and sundried tomatoes. Cook until fragrant, approximately 2-3 minutes.
Add tomato paste to the pan and stir to caramelize, around 1-2 minutes.
Deglaze pan with chicken stock and simmer for 2 minutes.
Add heavy cream, along with parmesan, chopped basil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 1 minute until the sauce comes together.
Add cooked pasta and cooked chicken pieces to the pan and stir to bring everything together. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of pasta water a little at a time to thin out the dish.
Recipe Tip
Before you drain the pasta, reserve a cup of the pasta water in a glass or pyrex measuring cup to the side. You may want to add something to the finished sauce to thin it out a bit if it gets too thick and pasta water works beautifully.
Variations and Substitutions
- You can substitute in cream cheese for the heavy cream if you would like. Cream cheese is obviously thicker so you may want to add additional stock or reserved pasta water.
- Substitute some or all of the chicken stock for a quality white wine.
- Instead of chicken, try shrimp!
What to serve with this pasta dish
This chicken pasta dish isn't hard to make, but it does take some time and has a decent amount of ingredients. I like to keep any sides simple and easy.
- a slice of garlic bread
- a caeser salad
- a simple rocca salad (arugula)
More chicken pasta dishes to try
Looking for something a little special for date night or the holidays? These pasta dishes are sure to impress!
- creamy boursin pasta with chicken
- one pan creamy chicken and gnocchi
- chicken spinach alfredo pasta with bacon
- orecchiette with baby chicken meatballs
- Olive Garden crockpot chicken pasta
Spicy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Spicy chicken marinade
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. hot sauce
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt.
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Pasta Sauce
- 2 tbsp. butter
- ½ lb. linguine pasta or shape of choice
- ¼ cup sliced sundried tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- ½ small onion or 1 large shallot (diced)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine oil, hot sauce, paprika, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Pour spicy marinade over top and stir to coat. Place in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp. of butter. Add chicken pieces and pan fry until cooked through. Place cooked chicken on a plate to the side.
- While preparing the sauce, cook pasta according to packaging instructions, remembering to reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
- To the same skillet you cooked the chicken in, add remaining 1 tbsp. of butter. Add diced onions, minced garlic, and sundried tomatoes. Cook until fragrant, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomato paste to the pan and stir to caramelize, around 1-2 minutes.
- Deglaze pan with chicken stock and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add heavy cream, along with parmesan, chopped basil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 1 minute until the sauce comes together.
- Add cooked pasta and cooked chicken pieces to the pan and stir to bring everything together. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of pasta water a little at a time to thin out the dish.
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