This Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta is so simple to make, yet absolutely bursting with flavour. Say hello to your new go-to creamy pasta recipe!
Reader, Katrina says: ‘Absolutely AMAZING!! So very easy, time efficient and totally scrumptious!! This will definitely be a new “go to” for nights that I work ★★★★★’
Creamy Chicken Mushroom Pasta
I love this recipe for so many reasons, but here’s why I’m confident you’ll love it too:
- Flavourful – I find lot of creamy pasta recipes out there lack in flavour. With a few simple tips and carefully tested ingredients, this creamy pasta will not disappoint your palate!
- Soft and Juicy Chicken – Instead of dicing up chicken and frying it, I’ll show you in just a sec how to get mouthwateringly juicy chicken in the pasta.
- EASY! – Yup, this chicken mushroom pasta couldn’t be easier to make.
Chicken Breast
For this recipe, we’ll be using boneless skinless chicken breasts. Instead of dicing the chicken up and frying it, I actually like to slice them into cutlets, pan-fry them and then slice them. This way you can get some nice, even slices of chicken. Better still, the chicken will be softer and juicier because it will have cooked more evenly.
Process shots: slice chicken (photo 1), coat in seasoning and oil (photo 2), add to pan (photo 3), fry (photo 4).
Recipe Tip #1
When it comes to slicing, ensure you slice at a slight angle and make sure you slice against the natural grain of the chicken. This will ensure your chicken is as soft as possible!
Creamy Chicken Mushroom Sauce
When it comes to the sauce itself, there are a couple of nifty tricks to consider.
The first is using a small amount of white wine. This will cut through the richness of the sauce and once reduced down, adds a gorgeous background flavour to the sauce. It’s also great to help scrape the flavour off the pan! Just ensure it’s a dry white wine, not sweet.
The second is of course using parmesan for a nice, rich, savoury flavour. Just ensure it’s freshly grated, not the powdered stuff you can get. The powdered stuff can leave the sauce with a grainy texture.
Finally, creamy pasta sauces do dry up very quickly. I recommend scooping out some starchy pasta water and using it to thin out as needed. The starch molecules help emulsify the sauce.
Process shots: melt butter (photo 5), add mushrooms (photo 6), fry then reduce down wine (photo 7), simmer stock, cream then stir in parmesan, parsley and seasoning (photo 8), stir in pasta (photo 9), stir in chicken (photo 10).
Perfect Mushrooms!
Right, we’ve discussed chicken, we’ve talked about the creamy sauce, now let’s talk mushrooms. I go into how to perfectly pan fry mushrooms in my creamy mushroom pasta recipe in a lot more detail, but for now, here’s a quick summary:
Tips for how to pan-fry mushrooms
- Don’t overcrowd – space out the mushrooms in the pan so they don’t steam.
- Leave to brown – try not to frequently move the mushrooms around, you want them to caramelize on both sides. Constant contact with the pan will encourage this.
- Salt after – season them when they’re nearly cooked. Adding salt at the start will pull out water and prevent the mushrooms from browning efficiently.
Recipe Tip #2
I personally like Chestnut Mushrooms for this recipe. I like their ‘meaty’ texture/taste and when quartered, they really hold their own against the chicken. However you can use any mushroom you fancy, I’ve personally used button, shiitake and diced portobello for this recipe and all work great!
Serving Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
As you toss the pasta through the sauce, if you notice it drying out at all, just toss through some pasta water. The end result should be a creamy, silky sauce that clings to the pasta. It shouldn’t be watery at all.
From there, I love serving with extra parsley and parmesan, but that’s totally optional!
Love a chicken and mushroom combo? Check out these recipes!
Chicken and Mushroom Recipes
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken
- Chicken and Mushroom Pie
- Garlic Butter Chicken & Mushroom Orzo
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Chicken Schnitzels & Mushroom Gravy
Alrighty, let’s tuck into this creamy chicken mushroom pasta recipe shall we?!
How to make Chicken and Mushroom Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Colander (for pasta)
- Jug (for stock)
- Fine Grater (for parmesan)
Ingredients
- 2x 200g/7oz Chicken Breasts, brought close to room temp
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Dried Thyme, Salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper (plus more to taste)
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 250g / 9oz Chestnut Mushrooms, quartered (or variety of choice)
- 60ml / 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 300ml / 1 1/4 cups Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
- 300g / 10.5oz Short-Cut Pasta of choice
- 60g / 2oz freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley, plus extra to serve is desired
Instructions
- Horizontally slice each chicken breast right through the centre to make 4 equal sized breasts. Coat in olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, salt and black pepper.
- Fry over medium-high heat for a few mins each side until golden and just cooked through the centre. Remove from pan and allow to rest. Just before needed, slice your chicken into thin strips, ensuring you cut at a slight angle and against the natural grain of the chicken.
- Melt in the butter then add the mushrooms. Fry until they build up a nice golden crust. Try not to move them about too much, you want them caramelised on all sides. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper towards the end.
- Pour in the wine and let it reduce until mostly evaporated. This is important so it doesn't overpower the sauce. Pour in the chicken stock, then stir in the cream. If the stock is rapidly bubbling lower the heat before you pour in the cream, otherwise it may curdle.
- Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to thicken for around 7-10mins. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Retain a cup of starchy pasta water before draining.
- Stir the parmesan and parsley into the sauce until well-blended. Season to taste, then stir in the drained pasta. Add the chicken (alongside any resting juices) and stir until the sauce thickens around and clings to the pasta. Stir in some pasta water to loosen it up if you need to. Serve with more parmesan & parsley and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
Chicken Mushroom Pasta FAQ
Most, if not all of the alcohol will burn off, but if you can’t use it then just leave it out.
You can, just use boneless skinless thighs and pound them to even thickness before pan-frying. From there, just thinly slice and toss through the pasta. Keep in mind they’ll take a little longer to cook through than breast. I actually prefer the texture of breast in pasta though, so go for that if you can.
It will thicken – promise! Just keep simmering and stirring away.
Double/heavy cream is important to create a rich and thick sauce. Something like milk will be too thin, unless you use a thickening agent. Something lighter like crème fraîche could work, but you won’t get that fuller, richer flavour that this recipe aims for.
Hi Chris, I’ve just found this recipe and am so excited to try another one of your amazing dishes. I was just seeing if there was a slightly less calorific option that I could use in this recipe instead of the double cream please? I’ve just had a baby so I’m trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy size so any recommendations would be massively appreciated 🙂
Hey Alex! Congrats on the new addition 🙂 Could you do single cream instead? Typically about half the calories. It’s a little thinner so you might need to simmer a little longer to thicken. C.
Such a great recipe. I cooked it as instructed and it was delicious. All I added was a pancetta crumb over the top and garlic bread. What I like about this recipe is that the chicken and mushrooms are treated individually and so are perfect in the sauce. I also love that you add the wine as it really does lift the whole dish. Thank you for this recipe
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Julie! 🙂 C.
Wow oh wow !!! Traditionally we treat ourselves to a New Years Eve Thai meal from a very good local restaurant (a rare but important treat) but both full of cold we didn’t feel up to it tonight
Don’t feel sorry for us as we won having searched for a quick easy new recipe that we had the produce already in for we found this one … having always been nervous of cooking with cream read through the comprehensive notes & went for it … both agree would have been happy to have been served this at restaurant prices but will now be a regular in our home, win win
Gotta go as a busy 2025 ahead checking out your other recipies, thank you & Happy New Year to you & all your many followers
Thank you so much for such a lovely review, Julie! I’m so pleased it went down so well. Happy New Year to you too 🙂 C.
I found this recipe after a disappointment with a creamy mushroom and chicken pasta I got delivered one day. It costed 17€, but was really worth 7€ tops. Very blend and, honestly, not tasty.
And then I wanted to prove myself that even I (not a great cook) could do better. This is how I stumbled upon this website. And yes, I would definitely pay for this padta 17€ without a single regret. It’s soooo tasty!
Chris, thank you for boosting ny cooking. My boyfriend (who, unlike me, is a great cook) claimed that this pasta was the most delicious meal I have ever made. And I definitely agree.
I tried a couple of other recipes, they were just as amazing.
From now on I know for sure I could trust Chris with my life, let alone dinners
Thank you for such a lovely review, Veronika! So pleased it went down well 🙂 C.
Hello again! Thank you for this recipe, I’m absolutely loving it!
So for all this time I have been making this dish in Germany, where you can’t get “double cream”, you can have “cream 7%, 15% or 33%”. And after doing easy math, I decided that you meant 15% cream (obviously!).
But this week I’m visiting friends in London, and wanted to make this dish for them. And surprise-surprise, I could actually get double cream at a local supermarket!
That’s when I found out that British double cream must be over 33% fat and is muuuch thicker.
And after comparing, I just wanted to say that I kinda prefer 15% cream, because then you can taste wine and stock, to me double cream was slightly overpowering. So if you happen to find a cream with lower fat content, it might be just as good!
Once again thank you for your recipes, they are amazing!
Really great. First time my creamy pasta has not been dry or sticky. I trusted the method and it really worked. My husband says he dislikes rosemary but I still used it and he loved the flavour, though I still didn’t say what it was. Will definitely cook again for friends.
Thanks so much for popping back for a review, Jill! 🙂 C.
I’m not really a fan of white sauce but this one is an exemption! I replaced thyme with Rosemary since that was the only one available in the kitchen. Thank you for sharing your recipe❣️
Thanks so much for the review, Em! 🙂 C.
So simple and so very tasty! I’ve made this a few times and it’s a favourite.
Great to hear, Sammi! Thanks so much for the review! C.
Really hit the spot! And wow, that chicken rub was delicious! I think I’ll use that in other recipes in future.
Also to all those reading, fork out for the nicest white wine in the supermarket;) you deserve nice things.
Note: I added a squeeze of lemon, tiny splosh of white wine vinegar, oregano and thyme to the sauce:) I used rigatoni pasta. Bloody delicious
This is so lovely to read! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 C.
Ah glad to hear it! Haha I keep thinking about this recipe. Going to make it v soon I think!
Some yummy recipes here to try. Thank you
Thanks, Barbara!