Two of our favourite family meals combine in this easy, cheesy chicken fajita pasta bake! A delicious weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Tender strips of chicken are marinated in my special fajita seasoning, before being cooked with peppers, onions, and passata and mixed with cooked pasta.
The dish is then topped with grated cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips for the ultimate melty cheese finish.
This dish was a happy accident! I'd put some chicken in the fridge marinating in my special fajita spice mix all ready to make chicken fajitas when the kids got home from school. It turns out they were all craving pasta bake instead!
Not wanting to waste the chicken, I came up with this cheesy chicken fajita pasta bake recipe, which turned out to be a real crowd pleaser and an accident I will be repeating often!
👩🍳 Love pasta bakes? Try my cheesy chicken and broccoli pasta bake!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Comforting and hearty pasta bake.
- Combines 2 family favourite meals.
- Easy to make.
- Can be frozen.
🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts - boneless and skinless chicken breasts cut into long thin strips.
- Fajita Spice Mix - my homemade fajita spice marinade combines salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Alternatively use a ready-mixed blend from the supermarket.
- Pasta - any short pasta will work. I used rigatoni.
- Onion - 1 large white onion, or you could substitute for a red onion if you prefer.
- Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled and chopped.
- Peppers - red, orange or yellow peppers.
- Passata - or use 1 tin of chopped tomatoes.
- Sugar - balances the acidity of the tomato passata.
- Cheese - extra mature cheddar or use a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella instead.
- Tortilla Chips - crush a handful of plain salted tortilla chips for the crunchy topping.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Marinate the chicken strips in the fajita spice mix for at least 10 minutes (or preferably overnight for the best flavour).
Two: Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onions, garlic, and peppers for 3-4 minutes until tender.
Three: Add the fajita spiced chicken strips and fry until the chicken changes colour.
Four: Turn down the heat and add the passata and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.
Five: Cook the pasta according to instructions, drain and add to the chicken fajita mix.
Six: Spoon the pasta into an oven proof dish and top with the grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Seven: Bake in a preheated oven for 12- 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
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💭 Top tips
- Get ahead and marinate the chicken in the fajita spices the night before and leave it in the fridge until needed.
- Use a store-bought fajita spice blend to save time.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the fajita pasta bake with sour cream, sliced avocado and a green salad. Roasted sweet potatoes are another tasty side that goes well with this dish.
You might also like to try my easy leftover chicken tacos too!
📖 Variations
- Use beef or pork strips instead of chicken.
- Make it vegetarian by replacing the chicken with extra peppers.
- Like your food spicy? Add 1 chopped red chili at the same time as the onion and garlic.
- Feeding a crowd? Double or triple the recipe!
🥡 Storage
The fajita pasta bake can be made up to the point of baking and then stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bake as directed in the recipe.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheated in the microwave until piping hot.
The chicken fajita pasta bake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. I prefer to freeze it unbaked. Defrost in the fridge thoroughly before baking the dish in the oven.
❓ FAQs
This dish is relatively healthy, but by making some minor tweaks you could make it even healthier! Use wholemeal pasta instead of white pasta, reduce the amount of cheese in the topping to lower the fat, and up the number of veggies in the pasta bake itself.
Fajita seasonings vary by brand but my homemade fajita seasoning contains salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne.
😋Related recipes
More delicious pasta recipes to try!
- Creamy Paprika Chicken Pasta
- Tuna Pasta Bake
- Smoky Meatball Pasta Bake
- Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake
- Creamy Sausage Pasta
- BBQ Chicken Pasta
🍽️ More family-friendly recipes
Dinner inspiration from the Effortless Foodie kitchen!
Recipe
Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake
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Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breasts cut into thin strips
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Onion peeled and sliced
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 2 Peppers cut into strips
- 400 ml Passata
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 200 g Pasta rigatoni or penne
- 150 g Cheddar grated
- 5 Tortilla Chips crushed
Fajita Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in the homemade fajita spice blend. I ltry and do this the night before but try for at least 10 minutes. If leaving overnight, place the chicken in the fridge in a sealed contianer.
- Preheat the oven to 200°c (180 fan/ Gas 6/ 400F)
- Cook the pasta according to instructions, drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions, garlic and peppers for 3-4 minutes on a high heat.
- Add the chicken strips and cook until the chicken changes colour.
- Add the passata, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Mix the cooked pasta into the fajita sauce and then spoon into an oven-proof dish.
- Sprinkle over the grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Notes
- Get ahead and marinate the chicken in the fajita spices the night before and leave in the fridge until needed.
- Use a store-bought fajita spice blend to save time.
- Use beef or pork strips instead of chicken.
- Make it vegetarian by replacing the chicken with extra peppers.
- Like your food spicy? Add 1 chopped red chili at the same time as the onion and garlic.
- Feeding a crowd? Double or triple the recipe!
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Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
What a delicious pasta dish! My family love pasta and they love chicken fajitas so this sounds like an amazing combination!
Jill says
Great dinner idea. Putting this on our menu for next week!
Gina says
We all loved this recipe, such a crowd-pleaser. Adding it to our go-to list!
Jenn says
I've never thought of combining the flavors of fajitas with pasta but this dish is pure genius! I'll have to make it again soon cause we ate it all up with no leftovers!
Andrea says
Love the mexican flavors in this fantastic pasta bake. My family will be asking for seconds on this.
Susan says
My husband said this recipe was "awesome ". High praise from him.