This Chicken Fajita Pasta combines juicy marinated chicken, colourful peppers and onions, and a creamy, cheesy fajita-inspired sauce. It’s all made in one pot for an easy weeknight dinner with minimal washing up!
No, this recipe isn’t just a fad fusion recipe. It’s truly delicious – promise! In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that this dinner is going to end up on your rotations and never leave. Follow me…
Fajita Chicken Pasta Ingredient – Notes
The awesome thing about this recipe is that it only uses a simple selection of store-bought ingredients. The full quantities are down in the recipe card, but just to quickly go over what we’re using:
- Chicken – we’ll be using breast for this recipe. Breast is great because you can slice it into cutlets and then further slice into thin strips once cooked (more on this in a sec).
- Pasta – any short-cut pasta will do the trick; I’ve always just used Farfalle for this recipe.
- Sauce – the sauce is made up from chicken stock and cream, then deepened with a good dollop of tomato puree (paste).
- Veg – peppers and onion to mimic the classic fajita!
- Seasoning – you can whip up a batch of your own Fajita Seasoning, or use store-bought (which I did to film this), and it works just as well.
- Extra goodies – a good helping of cheese adds a gorgeous silky texture and loads of flavour. I also like a squeeze of lime juice in the chicken marinade and a squeeze to serve too.
Fajita Chicken
The chicken makes up a good bulk of the dish, and we really want it to shine. As such, I recommend marinating it. You can leave it as you prep the other ingredients if you’re in a rush, or if you want to plan ahead of time you can leave it overnight in the fridge. Either way, all you need is a simple combination of olive oil, lime juice, fajita seasoning, salt and pepper.
Slicing the chicken
You’ll want to butterfly the breasts right through the centre to make 2 even-sized cutlets. This will not only ensure the chicken cooks quicker and more evenly, but also ensure more of the surface area is coated by seasoning.
Frying the chicken
You’ll want to fry over a fairly high heat, just so you can get some light char on the chicken. This will mimic that smoky flavour you’d get from classic Fajitas. The chicken won’t take long to cook through; keep in mind it’ll carry on cooking as it rests and when added back to the pasta.
Process shots: add sliced chicken to marinade (photo 1), coat then marinate (photo 2), add to pan (photo 3), fry then remove (photo 4).
Recipe Tip #1
Once you’ve fried the chicken, you’ll be left with some gorgeous char in the base of the pan. This is flavour, do not wipe it out. The excess moisture from the veg will help lift it from the pan.
One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
The absolute beauty of this recipe is that it’s all done in one pot. And you know I love a One Pot Pasta Recipe. The benefit of this is not only that you reduce washing up (woo hoo!), but the starch from the pasta helps create a creamy sauce. I mean yes, there’s already a cup of cream in this, but you get the gist 🤣
Sauce consistency
You should have the perfect amount of liquid to cook the pasta. However, if you find yourself with uncooked pasta and no liquid left, you can very easily adjust by adding in more stock (or even just hot water). You should be left with a creamy, silky sauce that clings to and wraps around the pasta.
Process shots: fry veg (photo 1), fry seasoning and tomato paste (photo 2), add liquid (photo 3), add pasta (photo 4), cook (photo 5), stir through cheese and chicken (photo 6).
Recipe Tip #2
As the chicken rests to one side, you’ll likely notice a pool of juices form around it. Don’t waste this! You can add this to the pasta sauce for an extra boost of flavour.
Chicken Fajita Pasta Serving Suggestions
Once everything is combined, serve it up right away because the sauce will continue to thicken. For some final finishes, consider any of these:
- Lime – a squeeze of lime juice livens up the dish and cuts through the rich sauce.
- Coriander/Cilantro – only add this if you know you love it. Alternatively, parsley works as a nice pop of flavour and colour.
- Cheese – I won’t judge if you grate over more cheese at the end!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this chicken fajita pasta shall we?!
How to make Chicken Fajita Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Chicken Fajita Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Zip Lock Bag or Bowl & Cling Film (to marinate chicken)
- Large Deep Pot & Wooden Spoon
- Jug (for stock)
- Cheese Grater
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
Fajita Chicken
- 2x 9oz/250g Chicken Breasts
- 1 tbsp Fajita Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Fajita Pasta
- 3 small Peppers, diced (preferably different colours)
- 1 medium Red Onion, finely diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp Fajita Seasoning
- 1 heaped tbsp Tomato Paste (Tomato Puree in UK)
- 3 cups / 720ml Chicken Stock
- 1 cup / 240ml Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
- 10.5oz / 300g Short Cut Pasta of Choice (here I use Farfalle)
- 1 cup / 100g Cheddar (see notes)
- Olive Oil, as needed
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
To Serve (optional)
- Fresh Coriander/Cilantro or Parsley
- Lime Juice
Instructions
- Horizontally slice both of the chicken breasts right through the centre to create 4 even-sized cutlets. In a zip-lock bag, whisk together the oil, lime juice and seasoning. Add the chicken and toss to combine, then lock the bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for as long as you have time for (up to overnight). If you're pushed for time, just rest at room temp as you prep the other ingredients. You can also do this in a bowl and cover with cling film.
- Bring the chicken close to room temp if it was marinated in the fridge. Place a large deep pot or pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the cutlets and fry both sides for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly charred and piping hot/white right through the centre. Remove and place on a plate to one side. Slice into thin strips just before needed.
- Add a drizzle more oil to the pan, then add the peppers and onion. Fry until soft and golden, then stir 1 tbsp fajita seasoning and fry for a minute longer. Stir in the tomato paste and fry for another minute or so, then pour in the stock, cream and pasta.
- Give everything a good stir, then bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until the pasta is al dente. You'll want to stir fairly frequently to prevent sticking and try to keep the pasta submerged as best you can. If you run out of liquid before the pasta cooks, just add in a splash more stock or hot water to help cook it through. If you have any resting juices from the chicken, stir that in now for added flavour.
- Turn the heat off and stir through the cheese until melted, then stir through the sliced chicken. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and more fajita seasoning if needed (all brands will be different, so gradually work in the final 1/2 tbsp if you find it needs more).
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of coriander/cilantro or parsley, then tuck in 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 Fajita Pasta FAQ
Make sure you’re using Double (UK) or Heavy (US) cream. Also make sure it’s room temp (fridge cold cream can sometimes split if it hits hot liquid). Finally, just make sure you’re not simmering too aggressively throughout.
This will depend on the seasoning you use, but in general, it shouldn’t be too spicy. The cream, cheesy sauce helps balance any spice in the seasoning. If you at all wary, just start with less seasoning and work your way up.
Yes! It reheats really well, making it a great option for meal prep. Just allow it to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave. Add a splash of milk if needed to loosen the sauce.
You can, although creamy pasta sauces can change texture slightly once thawed. It’s still perfectly safe to eat, but the sauce may not be quite as silky. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating gently.
If you’re looking for more fajita recipes then check out my Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas and Chicken Fajita Nachos!
For more similar recipes gives these a ganders too:
One Pot Dinners
- One Pot Meatballs and Rice
- One Pot Creamy Mushroom Orzo
- One Pot Spanish Chicken Orzo
- One Pot Pasta with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Bacon
- One Pot Spicy Rigatoni
- One Pot Spicy Sausage Tortellini
- One Pot Taco Spaghetti
Made this for dinner tonight, the family and I loved it! This is going in our favorites section (:
So happy to hear it went down well! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂
Hi! Made this for dinner and followed it exactly, came out absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Yasmine
That’s awesome to hear, Yasmine! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂