Creamy Chicken Pasta

This easy to make, creamy chicken pasta dish is another go to recipe for several reasons: it’s quick, filling and is great as a leftover, too. A creamy white cheese sauce covers tender pasta shells and chunks of seasoned ground chicken. A definite hit with the kids and family alike.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

This is great mid-week for that quick, on the table dinner and is a fantastic leftover to take to work or serve another evening.

Before leaving San Diego to move up here to the Portland area I made a few batches and taste tested this on a friend’s daughter who was over. BTW, she also helped art direct the photos here. “More green in the background, it needs to pop!” were her words. So in went some parsley in the background. Thanks Kenna! 🙂

Instead of using ground beef as in my Creamy Beef Pasta, this uses ground chicken and has a different flavor profile.

What’s in this chicken pasta recipe?

Ground chicken, white cheddar cheese and pasta shells are the main ingredients here.

I deglaze the pan with white wine, am using white cheddar cheese and celery is chopped and the highly underused leaves are as well.

Those leaves are fantastic in salads like my Citrus Pepper and Celery Salad, this Matchstick Apple and Celery Salad or sprinkled on top of my Baked Crunchy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs or Slow Cooker White Bean Soup. Try it!

This Creamy Chicken Pasta is a favorite and so easy. Comfort food that’s tasty and not overly sauced. Enjoy!

Other wonderful chicken pasta dishes to try:

• Pasta with Vodka Sauce
  All you need is tomato paste, heavy cream and a quick sauté with a few ingredients and MAGIC happens in minutes!
• Tuscan Chicken Pasta
  This is for cheese lovers and with the savory taste of the sun dried tomatoes blended in the cream sauce, it’s a dream pasta dish.
• Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
  Browned chicken cut into chunks, sautéed mushrooms and onion, a simple deglaze of the pan with chicken stock, pesto and some cream!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

This easy to make, creamy chicken pasta dish is a go to recipe for three reasons: it's quick, filling and is great as a leftover, too. A creamy white cheese sauce covers tender pasta shells and chunks of seasoned ground chicken. A hit with the kids and family alike. Feel free to omit white wine if you prefer, but the alcohol does burn off.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30 minute dinner, creamy chicken pasta

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 507kcal

Author: Kevin Is Cooking

Ingredients

• 8 oz shell pasta
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 4 ribs celery sliced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 14.5 oz chicken stock
• 8 oz white cheddar cheese shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp celery leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp parsley chopped

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil and cook pasta for 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain pasta. Do not rinse. Set aside and toss with some olive oil to help the shells not stick together.
• In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the diced onion, celery and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more, stirring often. Add ground chicken and Italian seasoning. Break up the chicken with a spoon and cook until no longer pink. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up bits on bottom of pan. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the flour over the chicken mixture. Stir to cook for a minute and add the heavy cream, chicken stock and pasta water. Stir to mix thoroughly and lower heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, sauce will thicken. Add the cheese and stir to incorporate.
• Add the cooked pasta to the meat sauce and stir to combine. Cook another 3 minutes on low, season to taste and serve immediately. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top (optional).

Notes

1. If reheating leftovers, add 1/4 cup milk to loosen it up and get saucy as the pasta absorbs.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 634IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 331mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made this recipe? Let me know on InstagramTag @KevinIsCooking and hashtag me #keviniscooking!