Creamy, tasty and perfect for weeknights, this creamy paprika chicken pasta packs a real punch in flavour and is on the table in just 30 minutes!
Serve with roasted Tenderstem broccoli or asparagus for a filling and hearty meal. I guarantee clean plates all round!
This rich and creamy paprika chicken pasta dish is one of our favourite pasta recipes. Full of flavour and perfect for the whole family!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Filling and hearty
- Easy to make
- Family favourite pasta recipe
- Can be customised to suit your own tastes
🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces. Use free range organic chicken if you can.
- Bacon - use smoked streaky bacon for the best flavour.
- Olive Oil - use a light olive oil for frying the chicken and bacon
- Pasta - penne or use another short pasta is best for this recipe.
- Garlic - I use 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 sauce.
- Paprika - a combination of hot and smoked paprika to give the dish a wonderful hot smoky punch.
- Stock - 500ml of chicken stock from a stock pot or cube. Use fresh stock if you have it though!
- Cream - use thick double cream for a silky smooth finish.
- Lemon - a little squeeze of lemon juice helps to cut through the richness of the sauce.
- Parmesan - finely grated for that tasty cheesy hit, every pasta dish should have!
- Parsley - freshly chopped parsley gives the dish a lovely freshness and adds a vibrancy to the finished pasta.
- 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 instructions, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in shallow casserole and fry the chicken pieces and chopped bacon for three minutes until the chicken starts to brown.
Two: 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.
Three: Add in the flour, hot and smoked paprika and garlic granules.
Four: Mix everything together so that the chicken is coated in the paprika spices.
Five: Pour in the stock and cream and simmer for 10 minutes, then add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Six: Stir though the cooked pasta, half the Parmesan and parsley. Season and serve with the remaining Parmesan and parsley.
🍴 Serving suggestions
The paprika pasta is delicious served just as it is, but if you want something more substantial, green vegetables such as broccoli, 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 silky smooth 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
The paprika chicken pasta is best eaten fresh, but it can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheated 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 chili 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.
😋Related recipes
Delicious pasta recipes to try!
- Creamy Sausage Pasta
- Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Baked Tortellini
- BBQ Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Boursin Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Easy Cheesy Pasta
- Cheesy Tuna Pasta Bake
More tasty dinner recipes from the blog!
Tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Recipe
Paprika Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 g Pasta use a short pasta like penne or rigatoni
- 2 tbsp 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 tbsp Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Hot Paprika
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
- 500 ml Chicken Stock
- 150 ml Double Cream
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice from a fresh lemon
- 50 g Parmesan grated
- 2 tbsp 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.
- 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.
- Turn down the heat to medium and add the chopped garlic cloves. Stir for one minute.
- Pour in the wine and cook until nearly evaporated (it should only take a minute or two).
- Add the flour, hot and smoked paprika and garlic granules and stir for one minute.
- 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.
- Add the cooked pasta, half the grated cheese and half the chopped parsley and stir to combine.
- 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.