Chicken Fajita Pasta is creamy and loaded with flavor! Delicious one pot pasta recipe made with onions, peppers, cheese and chicken.
We love pasta. And we love Mexican food. Combine the two and you end up with this delicious Chicken Fajita Pasta that is absolutely amazing. This easy dinner is made in one pan and is ready in less than 30 minutes!
CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
Chicken Fajita Pasta is made by cooking chicken, onions and peppers with fajita seasoning for the perfect flavor. You can cook fusilli or any other type of pasta in chicken broth before adding lots of cheese to make the whole dish creamy and delicious!
INGREDIENTS IN CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
Pasta: The recipe calls for 8 ounces of fusilli, but you can use any other small sized pasta that you have on hand. Rotini and penne work perfectly as well!
Chicken: You will need 2 medium chicken breasts, cut into strips or bite sized pieces/cubes. If you are using frozen chicken, make sure to thaw it before making the recipe.
Cream cheese: Two heaping tablespoons of cream cheese add so much creaminess to the pasta. Any variety (regular, low-fat, or non-fat) of cream cheese will work great!
Olive oil: Just a few tablespoons of olive oil is needed to cook the veggies.
Fajita seasoning: Most of the flavor comes from the fajita seasoning. You will need about 2 ½ tablespoons. You can find the seasoning near the taco seasoning and other Hispanic spices at the store. I love the Kinder’s brand, but I’ve tried a few other brands and they all are very similar.
Bell peppers: You will need 3 bell peppers. I like to use yellow, red and orange because I like the variety of colors, but you can use any kind you want! Remove all of the seeds and slice them fairly thinly before cooking them.
Onion: Can’t have fajitas without onions, right? Usually white onions are used in fajitas, but you can use a yellow onion if you prefer a slightly milder flavor. I slice mine about 1/2″ thick.
Garlic: You will either need to mince 5 garlic cloves or you can scoop out about about 1 ½ tablespoons of minced garlic. I always have a jar in the refrigerator and it saves a few minutes for recipes like this one.
Chicken broth: The pasta is cooked in chicken broth, adding even more flavor to the meal.
Cheese: Any good melty cheese will do, but you’ll need about ½ cup. You can use shredded Monterey Jack, Colby or any cheddar mix.
Tomatoes: Adding 1/2 cup of fire roasted crushed tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes with chili adds a little bit of flavor and spiciness to the pasta. If you don’t like spice, just use regular crushed tomatoes or regular Rotel.
Salt and pepper: Season to taste!
Optional ingredients: If you’d like to add fresh cilantro and/or ¼ cup Parmesan or cotija cheese, both add some color and flavor to the pasta. Just sprinkle on top right before serving.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
COOK THE CHICKEN
In a dutch oven or a deep skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken strips and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove any excess liquid, return to the pot and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of fajita seasoning. Stir to combine and cook for another 1 minute. The chicken should be cooked through at this point, but if you have thicker pieces, you may need to cook a little bit longer. Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165° to be safe. Set aside.
COOK THE VEGGIES
In the same skillet saute the bell peppers and onions with 1 tablespoon of fajita seasoning until they start to become soft (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside.
COOK THE PASTA
Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and fusilli to the pot. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is al dente. At this point you will have a little extra water in the pot (it will not evaporate completely). That’s totally fine!
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!
Add dollops of cream cheese, stir to combine.
Return the veggies and chicken to the pot, taste for seasoning and add some salt and pepper if needed. (If you want even more flavor, you can add a little smoked paprika, cumin, and cajun spice.) Stir in shredded cheese. If desired, serve with fresh cilantro and parmesan or cotija cheese sprinkled on top.
NOTES
Traditionally fajita meat is cut into strips but you can cut the veggies and chicken into bite size pieces, especially if using smaller pasta. Easier to eat:)
Don’t overcook the pasta, it will continue to cook in the pot once you add the rest of ingredients.
This pasta has plenty of Mexican flavor but should only be mildly spicy. This will also depend on fajita seasoning.
CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
Ingredients
- 8 oz fusilli or favorite pasta
- 2 medium chicken breasts cut into strips or bite sized pieces/cubes
- 2 heaping tablespoons cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoon fajita seasoning
- 3 bell peppers tri color, sliced into thin strips
- 1 large white onion sliced about ½ inches thick
- 5 garlic cloves minced (about 1 ½ tablespoons minced)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup monterey jack, colby or cheddar mix cheese shredded (any good melty cheese will do)
- ½ cup fire roasted crushed tomatoes or rotel tomatoes with chili for some added heat
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- OPTIONAL : Fresh cilantro and/or ¼ cup Parmesan or cotija cheese for serving
Instructions
COOK THE CHICKEN
- In a dutch oven or a deep skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken strips and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove any excess liquid, return to the pot and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of fajita seasoning. Stir to combine and cook for another 1 minute. The chicken should be cooked through at this point, but if you have thicker pieces, you may need to cook a little bit longer. Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165° to be safe. Set aside.
COOK THE VEGGIES
- In the same skillet saute the bell peppers and onions with 1 tablespoon of fajita seasoning until they start to become soft (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside.
COOK THE PASTA
- Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and fusilli to the pot. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is al dente. At this point you will have a little extra water in the pot (it will not evaporate completely). That’s totally fine!
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!
- Add dollops of cream cheese, stir to combine.
- Return the veggies and chicken to the pot, taste for seasoning and add some salt and pepper if needed. (If you want even more flavor, you can add a little smoked paprika, cumin, and cajun spice.) Stir in shredded cheese. If desired, serve with fresh cilantro and parmesan or cotija cheese sprinkled on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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HOW LONG IS THIS CHICKEN PASTA GOOD FOR?
You can keep the leftovers from this pasta dish in an airtight or well covered container for up to 3 days in the fridge or for up to 3 months if stored in the freezer.
IS CHICKEN FAJITA CASSEROLE GLUTEN FREE?
If you swap out the fusili with a gluten free pasta, this casserole is gluten free! Gluten free pasta is much easier to find these days – I have tried quite a few varieties and they all taste great in this dish. To be completely honest, gluten-free pasta does not taste exactly the same, but there are so many other flavors and textures in the recipe that you probably won’t even be able to tell that the pasta is not “regular” at all!
NEED MORE DELICIOUS PASTA DINNER RECIPES? CHECK OUT THESE WONDERFUL FAMILY MEALS
- CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
- FIESTA RANCH CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
- SAUSAGE PEPPER PASTA
- PIZZA PASTA SALAD
- MEXICAN CHICKEN ALFREDO PASTA BAKE
- CREAMY LEMON CHICKEN PASTA
- PASTA W/ GARLIC ROASTED VEGETABLES & (THE EASIEST) CREAM SAUCE (EVER)!
- TACO STUFFED PASTA SHELLS
- GRILLED ITALIAN CHICKEN & PASTA
- PASTA FAGIOLI RECIPE
- SPINACH CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
- CREAMY GARLIC PARMESAN PASTA
- CHICKEN BACON RANCH PASTA
- PIZZA PASTA CASSEROLE
Chicken Fajita Pasta is creamy and loaded with flavor! Delicious one pot pasta recipe made with onions, peppers, cheese and chicken.
Dana says
My kids loved this meal (so did the grownups)! The dish has so much flavor without being too overwhelming for the kids. We are definitely adding this to our recipe rotation, can’t wait to have it again!
Katherine says
This is such a family-pleaser, and so easy too!