Perfect for busy weeknights, this easy paprika chicken pasta recipe is tasty, hearty, and best of all, ready in just 30 minutes!
Serve with roasted Tenderstem broccoli or air fryer asparagus and clean plates are guaranteed!
Tender chicken pieces and pasta enveloped in a creamy paprika-spiced sauce is one of our very favourite recipes!
👩🍳 Love easy pasta recipes? Try my creamy chorizo and prawn pasta!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Filling and hearty pasta recipe.
- Easy to make.
- Add extra vegetables.
🥘 Ingredients
Chicken Breasts - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces. Use free-range chicken if you can.
Bacon - smoked streaky bacon for the best flavour.
Olive Oil - a light olive oil for frying the chicken and bacon
Pasta - penne or another short pasta such as rigatoni.
Garlic - fresh cloves AND granules for an extra garlicky hit!
Wine - a good quality dry white wine gives the dish a wonderful depth of flavour and cuts through the creaminess of the sauce.
Flour - helps to thicken the paprika sauce.
Paprika - a combination of hot paprika and smoked paprika gives the dish a wonderful flavour boost.
Stock - 500ml of chicken stock from a stock pot or cube. Use fresh stock if you have it.
Cream - double cream (heavy cream) for a silky smooth finish.
Lemon - a squeeze of lemon juice helps to cut through the richness of the sauce.
Parmesan - finely grated for extra flavour.
Parsley - freshly chopped parsley for a colourful garnish.
Sea Salt and Pepper - for seasoning.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, drain and set aside.
Two: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a shallow casserole and fry the chicken pieces and chopped bacon for three minutes until the chicken starts to brown.
Three: Turn down the heat, add the fresh garlic and stir for one minute before adding the wine (100ml). Stir until the wine has almost evaporated.
Four: Add in the flour, hot and smoked paprika and garlic granules.
Five: Mix everything together so that the chicken is coated in the paprika spices.
Six: Pour in the stock and cream and simmer for 10 minutes, then add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Seven: Stir through the cooked pasta, half the Parmesan and chopped parsley. Season and serve with the remaining Parmesan and parsley.
🍴 Serving suggestions
The paprika pasta is delicious as it is, but if you want something more substantial, green vegetables such as air fryer broccoli Parmesan, air fryer asparagus, or peas are perfect. A crispy green salad with a lemony dressing would also work well.
Freshly baked focaccia is another tasty accompaniment and can be used for mopping up that delicious paprika sauce.
📖 Variations
- Like it hot? Add a chopped red chilli at the same time as the fresh garlic.
- Try using cubed pork or turkey instead of chicken.
- Make it vegetarian by using Quorn pieces in place of the chicken and omitting the bacon.
- Up the veggies by adding frozen sweetcorn and peas to the dish, 5 minutes before serving.
- Use fresh basil or oregano to garnish, rather than parsley, or why not try a combination of all 3 herbs?
🥡 Storage
Store: The paprika chicken pasta is best eaten fresh, but it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Reheat: In the microwave until piping hot. Leftovers make a delicious lunch the next day!
❓ FAQS
Paprika is a ground spice made from a mixture of dried peppers in the Capsicum anuum family, including hot chilli peppers, cayenne peppers, poblano peppers, aleppo peppers, and sweet peppers. There are 3 different types of paprika - regular sweet, hot and smoked - and they are all quite distinctive in taste, heat, and colour.
Paprika chicken pasta can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Defrost thoroughly in the microwave before reheating in the microwave until piping hot.
😋More pasta recipes
- Salmon and Prawn Pasta
- Rasta Pasta
- Hot Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Pasta
- Baked Tortellini
- BBQ Chicken Pasta
- Boursin Pasta
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Easy Cheesy Pasta
More tasty recipes from the blog!
Recipe
Easy Paprika Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Kitchen Scales
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Pasta Pan
- Shallow Casserole
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 250 g Pasta use a short pasta like penne or rigatoni
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Chicken Breasts cut into bitesize pieces
- 4 Streaky Bacon Rashers chopped into small pieces
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 100 ml Dry White Wine
- 1 tablespoon Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Hot Paprika
- 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Granules
- 500 ml Chicken Stock
- 150 ml Double Cream
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice from a fresh lemon
- 50 g Parmesan grated
- 2 tablespoon Parsley finely chopped
- Salt and Pepper to season
Instructions
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.250 g Pasta
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a shallow casserole or frying pan and fry the chicken pieces and bacon for 3 minutes on a high heat, stirring all the time.2 tablespoon Olive Oil, 2 Chicken Breasts, 4 Streaky Bacon Rashers
- Turn down the heat to medium and add the chopped garlic cloves. Stir for one minute.2 Garlic Cloves
- Pour in the wine and cook until nearly evaporated (it should only take a minute or two).100 ml Dry White Wine
- Add the flour, hot and smoked paprika and garlic granules and stir for one minute.1 tablespoon Plain Flour, 1 teaspoon Hot Paprika, 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 1 teaspoon Garlic Granules
- Pour in the stock and cream, give everything a good mix and simmer on a low to medium heat for ten minutes. After ten minutes stir through the lemon juice.500 ml Chicken Stock, 150 ml Double Cream, 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Add the cooked pasta, half the grated cheese and half the chopped parsley and stir to combine.50 g Parmesan, 2 tablespoon Parsley, Salt and Pepper to season
- Season and serve with the remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Notes
- Like it hot? Add a chopped red chilli at the same time as the fresh garlic.
- Try using cubed pork or turkey instead of chicken.
- Make it vegetarian by using Quorn pieces in place of the chicken and omitting the bacon.
- Up the veggies by adding frozen sweetcorn and peas to the dish, 5 minutes before serving.
- Use fresh basil or oregano to garnish, rather than parsley, or why not try a combination of all 3 herbs?
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Michelle
This was such a delicious chicken pasta dish! I added a little chili to make it even spicier 🙂 Yum!
Kechi
This looks amazing and creamy! I will like to try it for a dinner this weekend! Can’t wait!
Beth
Oh wow! This pasta looks so delicious and very tasty! My family is going to love this for dinner! Very excited to give this a try tonight!
Alisa Infanti
This dish did not last long in my house. So good it was gobbled up in minutes... absolute silence at the table.
Dannii
I love paprika pasta. So much delicious smokiness to it.
Louise anderson
Really delish! Added some coriander on top to garnish.