Description
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pasta combines tender Cajun-spiced chicken, colorful peppers, and jalapenos in a creamy, tangy hot pepper sauce. This vibrant and flavorful pasta dish delivers a perfect balance of heat and creaminess, making it an easy and satisfying dinner ready in just 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta
- 300 g (10.5 oz) pasta shapes (such as penne)
Chicken and Seasoning
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 chicken breasts (chopped into bite-size pieces, about 525g or 18.5oz)
- 1 tbsp Cajun spice mix
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 chicken stock cube (crumbled)
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1 onion (peeled and sliced)
- 1 red pepper (sliced)
- 1 yellow pepper (sliced)
- 2 jalapenos or medium heat green chillies (sliced)
- Small bunch spring onions (roughly chopped)
- 1 jalapeno or medium heat green chilli (sliced, for topping)
Sauce
- 60 ml hot pepper sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) double (heavy) cream
- 50 g (1/2 cup) parmesan cheese (grated)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Once cooked, drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water for later use.
- Heat oil and cook chicken: While the pasta cooks, heat sunflower oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped chicken breasts to the pan, sprinkle with Cajun spice mix and black pepper, and stir to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is sealed and nearly cooked through.
- Add stock cube and vegetables: Crumble the chicken stock cube over the chicken and stir well. Add the minced garlic, sliced onion, red and yellow peppers, and sliced jalapenos to the pan. Stir together and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens slightly.
- Add sauce ingredients: Stir in the spring onions, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, double cream, and grated parmesan cheese. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Combine pasta and sauce: Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the chicken and sauce, stirring well to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add splashes of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen it to your liking.
- Serve and garnish: Divide the pasta between serving bowls and top with the sliced jalapeno for an extra spicy kick. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
- Cajun spiced chicken combined with colorful peppers and jalapenos in a creamy, tangy hot sauce creates a vibrant, flavor-packed dish.
- This recipe takes just 20 minutes from start to finish, making it perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
- You can adjust the heat level by varying the amount of jalapenos or hot pepper sauce to your taste.
- Using pasta cooking water helps maintain a smooth, cohesive sauce.
- Parmesan cheese adds a nice salty richness balancing the heat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 693 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1085 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 68 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 53 g
- Cholesterol: 154 mg
