If you like spicy chicken, you’ll love this Peri Peri Chicken Pasta. Golden spiced chicken and peppers in a creamy, spicy Peri Peri sauce. It’s hassle free too – everything is cooked in one pan!
You can never have too many pasta recipes up your sleeve, and this is a very popular one in my household.
I came up with this recipe sometime last year. I needed to give my son a hearty dinner before he headed to work for a nightshift. I had my creamy chicken Fajita pasta in mind, but a quick glance in the back of the cupboard led me to a Peri Peri spice rub and sauce I had bought for a recipe but hadn’t used yet.
This easy chicken pasta dish combines the fiery heat of Peri Peri with a velvety cream sauce, golden chicken breast and perfectly cooked pasta. And the thing I like best about it? It’s cooked all in the same pan – even the pasta! That’s right – you don’t need to cook the pasta in a separate pan.
I use my trusty and much loved Masterclass shallow casserole dish for this recipe – it’s the perfect size and shape for an all-in-one pasta dish. You do need a pan with a lid for this recipe to work properly – and ideally, a similar size and shape to the pan I’ve linked above.
What is Peri Peri seasoning?
Peri Peri (or Piri Piri, as it’s also called) seasoning is a spice blend commonly used in African and Portuguese cuisines. It typically contains lemon, paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, garlic, onion powder, tomato powder and chilli flakes. The result is a slightly tangy, spicy multi-purpose seasoning. It works well with chicken, pork, lamb, beef, fish – anything really! It’s also great sprinkled over roasted vegetables.
You can buy Peri Peri seasoning in most supermarkets. I used Nando’s brand. I also use their “medium” Peri Peri sauce to give an extra kick to the sauce!
ingredients for creamy peri peri chicken pasta
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
- boneless chicken breasts. You could use boneless chicken thigh pieces, but chicken breast pieces don’t take as long to cook. When you cut the chicken, try and make sure the pieces are the same size.
- an onion, red or brown.
- one (bell) pepper – any colour of your choice
- two crushed garlic cloves or garlic puree
- tomato puree
- Peri Peri seasoning and Peri Peri sauce in “medium” – I used Nando’s sauce.
- dried pasta – I mostly use Penne or Fusilli pasta in this recipe. Conchilglie (shell pasta) or rigatoni would also work well.
- chicken stock – from a cube is fine, or a stock pot.
- sour cream or Greek yoghurt – please make sure it’s full fat.
- grated mozzarella. What’s a pasta dish without some cheese? If you or anyone in your family can’t eat cheese, you can leave it out. I use the firm “pizza” mozzarella, not a ball which makes the sauce too watery.
How to make Peri Peri Chicken Pasta
1.Place the chicken pieces in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and the Peri Peri seasoning. Mix well to combine.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Add the chicken pieces (in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan) and fry over a medium high heat for 5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon or tongs and transfer to a bowl.
3. Cook the sliced onion and peppers for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes, then stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further minute or two.
4. Stir in the pasta and hot chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and turn the heat down slightly. Simmer for about 12 minutes or until the water has almost evaporated and the pasta is cooked.
5. Add the cooked chicken pieces to the pan. Stir in the Peri Peri sauce, sour cream, grated Mozzarella and the fresh herbs, if using. Let everything bubble away for a couple of minutes before serving. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper, or an extra splash of Peri Peri sauce.
variations
Here are some different ingredients I’ve added that have worked well:
- Add cubes of fried Halloumi cheese
- Stir in 50g parmesan cheese (instead of or as well as the mozzarella)
- Stir in a few handfuls of fresh spinach
- Add a tin of sweetcorn or frozen cooked peas
- Add cooked sliced mushrooms (fry them until golden after you cook the chicken, then add back to the pan when the pasta is ready)
- swap the chicken for prawns – Peri Peri prawn pasta, yes please!! Since prawns take mere minutes to cook, you would add them at the same time as the sour cream and sauce, allowing everything to bubble away for a minute or two to ensure the prawns are properly cooked.
can i make it vegan?
Yes! To make a vegan Peri Peri pasta, swap the chicken for Quorn or another plant-based protein and substitute the cheese and sour cream with suitable plant-based alternatives.
reheating leftovers
This creamy spicy chicken pasta is best served straightaway, but any leftovers should be cooled down, stored in an airtight container with a lid and refrigerated. The pasta should be used up within two days.
Reheat the pasta on the hob in a saucepan. I always add a splash of water and a spoonful of sour cream to loosen the texture – the pasta will have sucked up most of the sauce.
can you freeze it?
Technically you could, but I personally wouldn’t recommend freezing pasta dishes. Something weird happens to the texture of the pasta and the sauce after defrosting that I don’t find pleasant.
But if you’ve previously frozen pasta and had no issues, go for it! I wouldn’t freeze it for longer than two months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating thoroughly.
hungry for more?
If you enjoyed this creamy Peri Peri chicken pasta recipe, you might also enjoy these pasta recipes:
Peri Peri Chicken Pasta
This all-in-one Peri Peri Chicken Pasta is spicy, creamy and packed full of flavour. If you like Peri Peri, you'll love it!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon Peri Peri seasoning
- One onion, peeled and finely chopped
- One Red, yellow or orange pepper, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or 2 tsps garlic puree)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 300g dried pasta (I used Penne)
- 800ml hot chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
- 80ml sour cream or full fat Greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp piri piri sauce (or more to taste)
- 100g grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or basil, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breast pieces in a bowl and season with a little salt, pepper and the Peri Peri seasoning, making sure the meat is well coated in the spice mix.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan ( it's important to use a pan with a lid - I use the Masterclass shallow casserole dish which is perfect for this recipe, and many, many others. Cook the chicken in batches on a medium high heat until golden brown all over, about 7-10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken pieces from the pan and transfer to a bowl.
- Cook the sliced onion and peppers for about 10 minutes or until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for two minutes, then stir in the tomato puree and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Stir in the pasta and chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for about 12 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Most (not all of the liquid should have evaporated.
- Return the cooked chicken to the pan. Stir in the Peri Peri sauce and sour cream or Greek yoghurt, the mozzarella cheese and the chopped herbs, if using. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and more Peri Peri sauce, if you like. Serve immediately.
Notes
This spicy chicken pasta is best served straightaway, but any leftovers can be reheated the next day. You'll need to add a splash of water and a spoonful of Greek yoghurt or sour cream and re-adjust the seasoning (you might want to add more Peri Peri sauce too).
Any leftover pasta should be refrigerated and eaten within two days.
Variations: Feel free to add a few handfuls of fresh spinach (it takes less than a minute of wilt down so add just before serving), a tin of sweetcorn, a handful of frozen peas (cook them in a pan of boiling water first) or some sliced mushrooms (cook them after the chicken and stir them in when the pasta is ready).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 394Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 600mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 21g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.