Chicken Fajita Pasta

Light yet hearty, this easy Chicken Fajita Pasta makes the perfect dinner for a family night or a casual get-together with friends. You’ll love this colorful meal made with juicy chicken and tender veggies.

A Tex-Mex-Inspired Pasta Dinner Everyone Will Love!

Pasta night is always welcome at my house, and so is taco night. I’m sure plenty of you guys can relate! Well, this easy recipe combines the best of both worlds: tender, filling pasta and spicy Tex-Mex flavors. Chicken fajita pasta might just be your new favorite recipe.

Plus, this recipe is quick to cook, taking only about 30 minutes total of cooking time. You can have this meal on your table and ready to eat in well under an hour, making it a great choice for weeknights or for weekends when you’d rather be out and about than making a complicated meal. However you serve it, it’s sure to be requested again and again.

The Ingredients

Just like a big skillet of fajitas, this recipe is chock-full of gorgeous bell peppers, onions, and strips of well-seasoned chicken. Tender penne pasta gets cooked in the juices from these ingredients, as well as canned tomatoes and seasonings, so it’s extra flavorful. Here’s what you will need:

• Chicken: Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. I find kitchen scissors useful for this task. 
• Fajita Seasoning: You can use homemade fajita seasoning or a store-bought packet.
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Veggies: Onion and bell peppers. I like to use red onion, plus red, yellow, and green bell peppers. 
• Chicken Broth: Using chicken broth to cook the pasta makes this dish extra flavorful. I usually go with low-sodium chicken broth, but you could also use regular broth or bone broth.
• Canned Tomatoes: Don’t drain the tomatoes, since the juices will help flavor the cooking liquid for the pasta.
• Penne Pasta: Medium pasta like penne goes well with bite-sized pieces of chicken and vegetables.
• Garnishes/Toppings: Fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

How to Make Chicken Fajita Pasta

Chicken fajita pasta is a skillet dinner, making it so great for quick cleanup. Grab your favorite pan, and let’s cook!

• Season and Cook the Chicken. In a small bowl, mix together the fajita seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper. Coat the chicken pieces with this mixture, and then heat up some oil in a large skillet. Cook the chicken in the hot oil for about 3 – 4 minutes per side, or until done and golden brown. Place the cooked chicken on a plate and set it aside.

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• Cook the Veggies. Next, let’s cook the veggies. In the same skillet, saute the onion and bell peppers for 4 – 5 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender. Place the cooked veggies with the cooked chicken.
• Cook the Pasta. Next, add the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and their juices, and dry penne pasta to the skillet. Bring these ingredients to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and cover it with the lid. Let the pasta cook for about 15 minutes, until it is al dente and the liquid has mostly been absorbed.

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• Finish the Dish. Once the pasta is cooked, return the cooked chicken and veggies to the skillet, and stir to combine.
• Enjoy! Serve the chicken fajita pasta hot, garnished with parmesan and fresh basil if desired.

Do You Cut Chicken Fajita Meat Before Cooking?

I definitely recommend cutting the chicken into small pieces before cooking it. This gives each bite more surface area to soak up those yummy seasonings! If you’d like to minimize the cutting and chopping you need to do, you can cut each chicken breast into two thin, flat cutlets and pan-fry those instead of bite-sized pieces.

What Are Common Fajita Toppings?

Serving this dish is as easy as, well, putting it on a plate! I like to add parmesan and basil to give it even more flavor, but you can really be as creative with toppings as you want. Here are just a few for inspiration:

• Sour cream
• Diced avocado
• Pico de gallo
• Finely chopped jalapenos
• Tomato salsa or tomatillo salsa
• Sauteed mushrooms

Recipe Tips

But wait, there’s more! Even more tips and helpful hints, that is. Keep reading for my best tips for making chicken fajita pasta that you won’t want to resist.

• Pasta: You can use any type of pasta that you like in this recipe. Penne is a good choice because it holds up well to the sauce, chicken, and veggies, but you can also use spaghetti, fettuccine, elbows, rotini, or any other type of pasta that you have on hand.
• Add Heat: If you prefer a spicier dish, you can add some diced jalapeños or red pepper flakes to the skillet with the vegetables.
• Add Cream: For a creamy pasta dish, try adding half a cup or so of heavy cream to the pasta as it finishes cooking. 

Yummy Serving Suggestions

To make this dish a well-rounded meal, just add your favorite side dishes, similar to how you would serve pasta alfredo or spaghetti. These dishes are great:

• Salad: A leafy green salad would be great, or you could go big with this bold, colorful Avocado Tomato Salad. It’s full of healthy fats and tangy, fresh flavor.
• Green Beans: Green beans might just be the easiest side dish ever, especially these Sauteed Garlic Butter Green Beans. 
• Cornbread: Okay, this isn’t typically a dish you serve with pasta, but there’s no doubt that cornbread is super delicious with spicy Tex-Mex food! My Homemade Cornbread Recipe includes a creamy cinnamon topping – yum.

Storing and Reheating

• If you have leftovers, they are easy to store. Put the chicken fajita pasta in airtight containers or food storage bags, and place in the fridge for two to four days.
• To reheat, place the desired amount in a covered skillet over low heat. If the pasta is dry, stir in a splash of broth or water.

Can I Freeze This?

• I actually don’t recommend freezing this pasta dish because the veggies tend to turn mushy when frozen and thawed. However, if you do want to freeze it, be sure to cool it down and store it in airtight freezer bags or containers.
• Freeze for up to three months, and thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

More Flavorful Chicken Recipes

• Pecan Crusted Chicken
• General Tso’s Chicken
• Homemade Chicken Chimichangas