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This Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Recipe is an easy weeknight meal that your family will love. Pasta is mixed with diced chicken, ground chorizo, red bell peppers, roasted red peppers, diced tomatoes, cream and Parmesan cheese to create a flavorful, comforting pasta dish.
This Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta comes together in about 30 minutes. Cubed chicken and chorizo are seared until the chorizo crisps and releases its fat, then simmered with tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and cream into a rich, lightly spiced sauce tossed with pasta. The result is a smoky, comforting dinner that reheats well, which makes it a solid pick for a busy weeknight or for meal prepping a few lunches ahead.
I don’t cook with chorizo often, but every time I do, I’m reminded how much flavor it brings to a dish with almost no extra effort. This one is in regular rotation in our house alongside my One Pot Enchilada Pasta and One Pot Chickpea Kale Pasta, and I actually think the leftovers taste even better the next day once the flavors have had time to settle in. Today’s chicken and chorizo pasta is often in rotation with this One Pot Enchilada Pasta, One Pot Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli, One Pot Chickpea Kale Pasta and this One Skillet Cheesy Hamburger Pasta.
Why You Will Love This Chorizo Chicken Pasta
Searing the chorizo before adding liquid lets the fat render out, which is what gives the sauce its smoky depth instead of tasting flat. Reserved pasta water thins the sauce without watering down the flavor, since the starch helps it cling to the noodles. Simmering the tomatoes before the cream goes in keeps the sauce from breaking or turning grainy.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s an overview of the simple ingredients we’re using. Jump to the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and printable instructions.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: Chicken breasts are juicy, easy to cube, and cook quickly. You can also use chicken tenderloins or thighs.
- Ground Chorizo: Spanish chorizo adds the most flavor, but any chorizo works. You can also substitute with sweet or spicy Italian sausage.
- Pasta: Medium-sized pasta (like penne or rigatoni) works well for soaking up the sauce and balancing the chicken and chorizo.
- Vegetables: This recipe uses red bell pepper, sweet onion, diced tomatoes, and roasted red peppers.
- Spices: Italian seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper add warmth and spice. Omit the cayenne for a milder version.
- Heavy Cream: Adds richness and creaminess. For a lighter creamy cajun sauce, use half and half or omit entirely.
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan melts into the sauce and works as a garnish.
Ways to Modify This Creamy Chorizo Pasta
- Pasta: This recipe uses butterfly pasta, but medium shapes like penne, rigatoni, rotini, or fusilli work well. For smaller options, try orzo or elbow macaroni.
- Vegetables: Boost flavor and nutrition with add-ins like broccoli, mushrooms, red onion, carrots, jalapeños, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, or peas.
- Greens: Stir in spinach, arugula, or kale while simmering so they wilt into the dish.
- Cheese: Top with mozzarella, goat cheese, Parmesan, or Pecorino Romano.
- Herbs: Fresh basil, parsley, dill, or oregano add brightness.
- Spices: Customize with Greek seasoning, smoked paprika, chili flakes, Cajun seasoning, or thyme.
- Protein: Swap in grilled chicken, shrimp, ground beef, Italian sausage, smoked sausage, andouille sausage, chorizo, or tofu.
How to Make This Recipe:
Step 1. Cook the Pasta: In a large pot bring water a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling add the pasta and cook until al dente reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Step 2. Sauté the Vegetables and Meat: While the pasta cooks heat a large skillet add olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion with the Italian seasoning, oregano, paprika and cayenne red pepper and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and garlic and sauté for 4 more minutes. Add the roasted red peppers, the cubed chicken and the chorizo and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the chorizo is no longer pink.
Step 3. Add the Tomatoes: Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes and mix well. Turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
Step 4. Simmer: Turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
Step 5. Add the Cream: Stir in the cream and the pasta and mix well. If the pasta is too thick you can stir in some of the reserved pasta water. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using cured Spanish chorizo like raw Mexican chorizo. Cured chorizo should be sliced or diced, not crumbled, and needs less cook time since it’s already fully cured
- Adding the cream to a hard boil, which can cause the sauce to separate. Bring it to a gentle simmer instead
- Overcooking the pasta before it goes into the sauce, since it keeps cooking once combined
- Skipping the reserved pasta water, which is the easiest fix for a sauce that turns too thick
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: This sauce is cream-based and can separate when frozen and thawed, so freezing isn’t recommended. If you do freeze it, expect the texture to change slightly.
- Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of milk or reserved pasta water to bring the sauce back together. Microwaving works too, in short intervals, stirred between each.
Recipe FAQ
Let the chorizo render its fat fully before adding the other ingredients, since that fat carries most of the flavor through the dish. A splash of smoked paprika or a pinch more cayenne also deepens the smokiness.
Stir in reserved pasta water a couple tablespoons at a time until the sauce loosens to the consistency you want. Plain milk or extra cream also works if you’re out of pasta water.
Spanish chorizo is cured and firmer, closer to a dry sausage, and should be sliced rather than crumbled. Mexican chorizo is raw and soft, and crumbles and browns more like ground sausage. Either works in this recipe, but the prep and cook time differ slightly.
More Pasta Recipes
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Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried penne
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, (add more according to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 6 ounces Spanish chorizo
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 – 16 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, (and more for serving)
- Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
- Crushred red pepper, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot bring water a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling add the pasta and cook until al dente reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- While the pasta cooks heat a large skillet add olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion with the Italian seasoning, oregano, paprika and cayenne red pepper and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the red bell pepper and garlic and sauté for 4 more minutes.
- Add the roasted red peppers, the cubed chicken and the chorizo and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the chorizo is no longer pink.
- Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes and mix well. Turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and the pasta and mix well. If the pasta is too thick you can stir in some of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate up to 4 days. Not recommended for freezing since the cream sauce can separate when thawed.
- Chorizo Type: If using cured Spanish chorizo, slice rather than crumble. If using raw Mexican-style chorizo, crumble and cook through like ground sausage.
- Dairy-Free: Leave out the cream and Parmesan for a lighter, non-creamy version. The sauce will be thinner but still flavorful from the chorizo and tomatoes.
- Thin the Sauce: Add reserved pasta water a couple tablespoons at a time if the sauce is too thick.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a family favorite and packs a lot of flavor.
Julia, your Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Recipe sounds like a delicious and versatile weeknight meal! The combination of flavors and the option to customize it to personal preferences is fantastic. Plus, the idea that it tastes even better as leftovers is a bonus! Thanks for sharing this mouthwatering recipe.
Your welcome! I hope you enjoy it!