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overhead shot of chicken and mushroom pasta with parsley to garnish
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5 from 20 votes

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

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!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, British
Servings: 4
Calories: 600kcal
Cost: £3 / $4

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

a) Pasta - You can really use any pasta you want. I quite like the shorter, chunky pasta with the big chunks of chicken/mushrooms. But a longer cut pasta would also work great.
b) Mushrooms - Again, feel free to use any variety you like. I like the 'meaty' taste of the chestnut mushroom, but others work fine. Whatever you do make sure you don't overcrowd the pan and move them about too much. Both of these things will steam the mushrooms instead of browning them.
c) Wine - I highly recommend using this. They sell mini bottles in most grocery stores for next to nothing. The alcohol will burn off, but if you don't want to use it just sub more chicken stock.
d) Consistency - Ensure you thicken the sauce before adding the parmesan, don't use the parmesan to thicken the sauce. The sauce will thicken, so just keep simmering until it does. With the same token it does dry up very quickly, so use your starchy pasta water to thin out when this happens (important the pasta water is starchy and seasoned, otherwise will dilute the flavour).
e) Leftovers - Creamy pastas are notorious for not reheating well as they often go greasy. So don't use the microwave. Heat it up in a pan with a splash of cream or milk to retain it's 'sauciness'
f) Calories - based on sharing between 4 people.

Nutrition

Calories: 600kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.27g | Protein: 29.58g | Fat: 41.77g | Saturated Fat: 22.936g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.528g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13.385g | Trans Fat: 0.126g | Cholesterol: 196mg | Sodium: 737mg | Potassium: 496mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 3.71g | Vitamin A: 1499IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 195mg | Iron: 2.07mg