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This simple One Pot Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta is a summer go-to dinner. Quick, easy, hearty, and so delicious! Pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken in a creamy roasted red pepper, tomato, and basil sauce. Then cooked together with pasta for a quick dinner made in one pot. Truly one of those all-in-one dinners that everyone at the table will love. Great for a weeknight, but equally fun to serve to friends on a summer night get-together.
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And we are finally back with a new recipe! I wasn’t intending to go so long without sharing something completely new. But with the weekend, and then the 4th on Monday, it just worked out that way.
But I’m so excited to be back in the kitchen and cooking summery pasta! I actually made this a couple of weeks ago, before all of my travel, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. This pasta has to be hands down one of my favorites of the summer.
If any of you have the HBH Every Day Cookbook, you may recognize the red pepper sauce from the pizza Diavola recipe (my favorite pizza in the book). I took that sauce and added some fresh cherry tomatoes to the mix. I then tossed the sauce with Italian seared chicken, pasta, and freshly grated manchego cheese.
It took me only minutes to make since I already had a batch of the sauce in the fridge. And turned out so delicious. My family ended up loving it so much that they actually requested I make it again! When you cook as much as I do, that’s rare.
It’s safe to say, we all really love this one.
Here are all the details, hint it’s easy!
For the sauce, everything is blended up in a food processor. Roasted red peppers, toasted walnuts (any nut works though), cherry tomatoes, garlic, parsley, olive oil, a splash of vinegar, smoked paprika, and a touch of cayenne.
It’s a heavily Spanish-inspired sauce and it is heavenly. The only thing different about this sauce versus the one in the cookbook is the cherry tomatoes. Since it’s summer, I wanted to use fresh tomatoes in place of tomato paste. Perfect decision!
Once the sauce is blended together, cook the chicken up in a nice big pot.
While I’m cooking the chicken, I season it with a homemade Italian seasoning blend…dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage. I then add smoked paprika and chili flakes. It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Oh, and I add some parmesan too!
Once the chicken is cooked, pull it out and pour in the water for the pasta. Cook the pasta right in the same pot. Do not drain the water. Then add the red pepper sauce, manchego cheese, and lots of fresh basil.
Toss it until the sauce gets very creamy and warm, then slide the chicken right back in.
I love to top the pasta with fresh arugula, basil, and a bit more cheese.
It’s everything you’d expect out of a multi-step recipe, but all made in way less than an hour – and in one pot too. Simple, simple – just what we love!
You can serve this Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great to serve to friends and family. We’ve enjoyed this a couple of times already this summer! Perfect with a glass of wine or a fun mocktail on a nice summer night.
Looking for summer pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Jammy Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Lemon Rosemary Chickpeas
Simplest Zucchini Parmesan Pasta
One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake
Lastly, if you make this One Pot Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Pot Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 jar (12-ounce) roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fruity champagne or wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound boneless chicken, cubed
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning , (see note)
- red pepper flakes
- 1 cup grated manchego cheese, (or parmesan)
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup arugula
Instructions
- 1. To make the red pepper sauce. In a blender or food processor, combine the red peppers, walnuts, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, honey, 1 teaspoon paprika, cayenne, and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. 2. Set a large pot or skillet with sides over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika, and a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup manchego, cook another minute, then remove the chicken from the pot.3. To the same pot, pour in 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes. Do not drain the pasta water. If needed, add additional water to help the pasta cook. 4. Stir in the roasted red pepper sauce (you may not need it all), manchego, and basil. Toss until very creamy and heated through. Slide in the chicken and any juices left on the plate.5. Serve the pasta topped with fresh manchego and arugula. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Another hit! I should have heeded your advice and added sauce slowly so it was a bit over sauced but still so yummy! I didn’t have Manchego so I used parm and bit of mozzarella.
Hey Anne,
Fantastic! I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was tasty for you! xT
The sauce is amazing! We have made this multiple times now and the whole family loves it. Thanks for a great go-to recipe.
Hi Erin,
Fantastic! I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was tasty for you! xT
This is the best recipe for us. We’ve made it like 15 times already. A weekly staple. Perfect for boyfriends gerd no heavy cream somehow blending the tomato and garlic doesn’t aggravate him. So hard to cook for someone with acid issues and sensitivity to dairy. So thankful for discovering it!!!
Hi Maryann,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe is always tasty, thanks so much for making it so often and sharing your review:) xTieghan
Made this last night! It was sooooo delicious. Instead of shortcut pasta, I used linguine (since I didn’t have any), but it still worked with the instructions given. Family loved it & I would definitely make it again 🙂
Hi Vanessa,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks so much for making it sharing your review:) xTieghan
Just made this for dinner and it was SO good. Surprisingly creamy with the walnuts, and the sauce was so easy and quick to make! We had it with garlic bread, and my boyfriend has vowed to never eat sauce from a jar ever again!
If I were to make this sauce to freeze, would you suggest adding any of the spices that are put on the chicken? or just stick with whats in the sauce only.
Hey Rose,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Sure, you could add the spices to the chicken:) xT
Outstanding!!!! So nice that it uses all one pot, too. This will be a regular meal at our house. Thank you!
Hi Lynn,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Simple to make once you have all of the ingredients!
I subbed Italian sausage for chicken and it was delicious! I used regular paprika and went light on the parsley because that is what I had and I have zero complaints. The basil and arugula really made this recipe.
Hey Hannah,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out:)
This was 100% delicious and all of it surprisingly easy to make. I omitted the red pepper flakes because I’d run out (it still had plenty of kick without it!) and subbed pecans for walnuts because that’s what I had in my pantry. Worked out perfectly! My family of four polished off our plates and I’ll be adding this one into my rotation. To reduce leftovers I used 3/4 lb pasta instead and only used half of the red pepper sauce. So I froze the extra sauce and will use it next week to make this again for a high school cross country pasta night. If my teen liked it, I figure the others will, too! Thanks for the recipe!
PS using just one pot for cooking was a bonus! I used my dutch oven and it worked like a charm.
Hey Shaunna,
Amazing! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! Have a great Monday! xTieghan
Hiya,
Made this the other night and loved it – especially because it has no cream, but is creamy!! I’m not a fan of the smoked paprika – don’t really get why everyone loves it – so next time I’m going to try with just regular paprika instead. Do you think it’ll be okay, or will you hate me? Ha!
Ugh, sorry, forgot to rate it!
Thanks again Mara:)
Hey Mara,
Thanks for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! LOL regular paprika is totally fine to use:) Have the best weekend! xTieghan
I made this last night. Oh it was good! I adore red pepper. I didn’t have the manchego so I used a mix of Parmesan and some other white melting cheese. This was very satisfying and flavorful.
Hey Melissa,
Happy Friday! Thanks a ton for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! ?Tieghan
Delicious & easy pasta dish (even without the chicken).
Another winner that will go on rotation in our house!
Hey Sabrina,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner and really appreciate you making it:) xTieghan
Do you think this would taste weird with pecans? It’s all I have, but in know they can have a distinct flavor. Thanks!
Hey Keri,
Pecans should be just fine for you to use! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! Quick question. I have some tomato paste that I need to use up. Is it possible to sub tomato paste for the cherry tomatoes? If so, how much paste should I use? Looking forward to trying this!
Hey Lauren,
Sure, I think that would be fine to do, I would use 1/4 cup of tomato paste. I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xx
Hi Tieghan – Just made this dish tonight for my husband’s 60th birthday. The sauce … WOW! We don’t eat walnuts so I toasted pine nuts and it worked so well. It will be a staple in my house for other dishes. Not a red sauce fan on pizza, usually do a white pizza, but this must be fabulous on one! I loved the Manchego cheese – would not have thought to use it with a pasta dish but it added a nice nutty flavor and something I’ll do again. Thanks again for another fantastic dish!
Hey Donna,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Birthday to your husband! xTieghan
This looks delicious! My son is allergic to tree nuts, do you think sunflower or pumpkins seeds would work instead of walnuts?
Hey Cassie,
You bet, either of those would be great options! I hope you love the recipe! xx