Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
A creamy buttery and cheesy pasta full of garlicky flavor, a kick of heat and tender chunks of chicken. This recipe is a crowd pleaser and easy enough for a quick weeknight dinner. I've also included instructions for preparing in a crock pot.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Homemade Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- 1 stick butter
- 6 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1-3 tablespoons hot sauce depending on your heat preference
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
Chicken, Pasta & Cream Sauce
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast or tenders
- 2 tbsp poultry seasoning or all-purpose seasoning **see notes for my blend
- 8 oz block cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated or shredded
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Optional: garlic bread or breadsticks
Instructions
- Prepare the garlic parmesan sauce by heating butter in a medium bowl until partially melted. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Place chicken in a bowl or large zip-top bag along with a few tablespoons of olive oil, tossing them to coat. Add in a few spoonsful of your preferred chicken seasoning** and rub it into all sides of the chicken.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook chicken about 3-4 minutes until well browned. Flip once, reduce heat to low. Add a heaping spoonful of garlic parmesan sauce into the skillet allowing it to melt into the chicken as it cooks.
- Once internal temp reaches 165 degrees (about 6-8 minutes total), toss the chicken in the butter sauce. Set aside under tented foil to rest, then dice into large chunks.
- In the same skillet over medium low, add in the remaining garlic parmesan sauce and the softened cubed cream cheese and heavy cream. Cook until cream cheese melts, stirring occasionally.
- Add the diced chicken into the cream sauce tossing well until combined, continuing to simmer. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of salted water according to the package instructions for al dente. Into the cream sauce add the pasta water and cooked pasta. Toss everything together until well coated.
- I like to add in extra parmesan cheese, minced parsley and red pepper flakes before serving. Serve warm with garlic bread or breadsticks.
Notes
**I use a combination of 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Crock Pot Instructions:
Add seasoned chicken into the crockpot. Cover the chicken with the garlic parmesan sauce, cubed cream cheese, and cream. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. The chicken should now easily fall apart with two forks, break up the chicken into chunks and toss all ingredients together until combined and sauce is smooth. Keep crock pot on warm.
Cook penne pasta to al dente in salted water then add the pasta directly into the crock pot. Add a handful of extra parmesan along with more minced parsley and red pepper flakes. Serve warm with garlic bread.