25 Chicken Pasta Recipes for Winning Weeknight Meals

This roundup of our 25 most crave-worthy chicken pasta recipes is going to kick you out of your dinner time rut.

By
Marta Rivera
Marta Rivera
Marta has 25 years of experience in the food service industry and has been developing recipes for 3 years. She is the author of Taste & See Cooks: Recipes to Inspire, Equip and Enjoy.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
and
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
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Updated January 12, 2023
13 Crave-Worthy Chicken Pasta Recipes for Winning Weeknight Meals

Simply Recipes

Chicken is THE white meat and pasta is THE ultimate comfort food for many of us. When combined, the two make epic dinner fellows. This roundup of our most crave-worthy chicken pasta recipes is going to kick you out of your dinner time rut. With a plethora of flavor pairings, like thyme and mint, or tamarind, you’ll want to cook all of these recipes in one night.

Are you ready to hear the best part? Most of these chicken pasta dishes are ready in about 30 minutes, some even quicker. Get ready to face some hard choices on which of these 25 crave-worthy chicken pasta dishes will be the first you make. We're warning you; it won’t be easy.

Robin Shreeves joins Marta Rivera in compiling this list.

  • Chicken Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta

    Chicken Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta
    Aaron Hutcherson

    Chicken scampi with angel hair pasta is a 20-minute meal that’s bursting with flavors. Bright lemon juice combined with acidic white wine creates a light pan sauce. If you’re not a fan of cooking with wine, replace it with chicken stock. This is a true pantry meal as most of its components come from your kitchen cabinets.

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  • One Pot Chicken and Orzo

    Skillet Chicken and Orzo
    Elise Bauer

    One-pot chicken and orzo is a succulent twist on arroz con pollo. Devote a little over half an hour to this one-skillet meal, and you’ll be rewarded with fewer dishes and tons of flavor. Speaking of time, you can sub out the bone-in, skin-on thighs for boneless, skinless thighs for a quicker cooking time.

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  • Chicken Carbonara

    Chicken carbonara

    Alison Bickel / Simply Recipes

    Eggs, Parmesan cheese, and pasta sauce create a creamy sauce for this simple pasta dish. The sauce goes over spaghetti with chicken and bacon (or guanciale or pancetta), and it all comes together in 30 minutes.

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  • Rasta Pasta with Jerk Chicken

    Rasta Pasta with Jerk Chicken in a Bowl with a Fork

    Simply Recipes / Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse

    A popular Caribbean dish that’s perfect for a weeknight meal, Rasta Pasta is sort of an Italian-meets-Jamaican dish. This recipe calls for penne pasta, but you can use whatever pasta you want. However, the jerk part with its heat is mandatory.

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    Continue to 5 of 25 below.

  • Chicken Pad Thai

    Chicken Pad Thai Recipe
    Alison Conklin

    Chicken Pad Thai brings your favorite Thai takeout home. Taking less than a half-hour to make, this dish will become part of your weekly dinner rotation.

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  • Tuscan Chicken Pasta Skillet

    Side view of a plate of one pot chicken pasta dinner. A large skillet is behind the plate of pasta and grape tomatoes, basil and seasoning are in the upper right.
    Jessica Gavin

    Tuscan chicken pasta skillet is a true one-pot dish, though you can serve it with a green salad on the side for a heartier meal. If you marinate the chicken a day ahead, you’ll have less prep come dinnertime. Use linguine, spaghetti, or even fettuccine in this skillet meal.

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  • Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce

    Chicken Pasta with Thyme and Mint
    Elise Bauer

    Chicken pasta with thyme-mint cream sauce is infused with floral thyme and bright mint, and it’ll be ready in less than an hour. Use chicken breasts or thighs, depending on your preference. If you don’t have chicken stock, just replace it with some pasta water.

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  • Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

    Bowl of Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Next to a Kitchen Towel and a Small Bowl of Cheese

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    Penne pasta, chicken, and broccoli combine to make one tasty dish. The secret to the full flavor is flavorful boneless, skinless chicken thighs plus some white wine and Parmesan cheese. Don't forget to save some of the pasta water to make the sauce silky.

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    Continue to 9 of 25 below.

  • Skillet Chicken Parmesan

    Baked Chicken Parmesan in a Skillet
    Nick Evans

    Use an oven-safe skillet like cast iron to go from stovetop to oven seamlessly with this skillet chicken parmesan. Eliminate the breading for a low-carb chicken parm option. If you have a bit more time, make your pasta sauce from scratch. You’d be remiss if you didn’t turn leftovers into a chicken parmesan sandwich for the following day’s lunch!

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  • Roast Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta

    Roasted Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta in Casserole Dish
    Sheryl Julian

    Roast chicken on angel hair pasta is a true meal-in-one, but you can bulk it up by serving it with warm, crusty bread. Chicken legs and breasts bake over the pasta that comes out tender—like magic. The chicken juices and tomatoes seep into the pasta to make an effortless sauce on its own.

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  • Chicken Piccata Pasta

    Lemon Chicken Piccata Recipe
    Nick Evans

    Chicken piccata pasta has basically elevated chicken nuggets, which means it's especially kid-friendly. Its bright lemony sauce is punctuated with briny capers. This recipe makes a lot, so you can enjoy leftovers the following day.

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  • Easy Chicken Parmesan

    Cheesy Chicken Parmesan

    Sally Vargas

    The classic breaded chicken cutlet—topped with a quick homemade sauce and bubbly, melted cheese—sits on a bed of spaghetti. It's as satisfying and delicious as it sounds.

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    Continue to 13 of 25 below.

  • Pasta Skillet with Chicken Sausage, Cheese & Spinach

    Skillet Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Cheese & Spinach
    Lisa Lin

    Pasta skillet with chicken sausage, cheese, and spinach is another great one-skillet meal, with only 5 ingredients. This rich, tomato-y dish is ready in 30 minutes—that’s faster than ordering and receiving your takeout. But you can make it even faster by using a jarred marinara sauce.

    Chicken Sausage and Pasta Skillet
    FEATURED IN:

  • Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

    Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta
    Elise Bauer

    Chicken Florentine pesto pasta is a mashup of chicken Florentine and pasta with herbaceous pesto that’s ready in 30 minutes. Choose a broad pasta, like penne, farfalle (bowties), or conchiglie (shells), to hold all of that luscious sauce. You can use fresh spinach or grab a pack of frozen spinach and thaw and strain it before using it in the recipe.

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  • Lemon Chicken with Pasta, Olives, and Herbs

    A horizontal image of two plates of yogurt marinated lemon chicken with pasta, olives and herbs. Each plate has a golden brown roasted chicken breast, roasted lemon wedges, sliced red onion, shell pasta and herbs scattered over top. The left plate has a knife and fork on the right side of the plate. The right plate is in partial view and has a fork on the left side of the plate.
    Sally Vargas | Banner Art Credit: Elena Resko

    Lemon chicken with pasta, olives, and herbs features tender, yogurt-marinated chicken breasts, which you can marinate a few hours ahead. The chicken bakes in the oven while the pasta cooks on the stove, so you can kill two chickens with one stone.

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  • Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

    Pasta with Chicken and Asparagus
    Elise Bauer

    Creamy chicken and asparagus pasta has extra tang thanks to goat cheese. A hint of nutmeg adds more warmth and excitement to an already flavorful cream sauce, but you can go a step further and add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicy. If it isn’t asparagus season, swap green beans for them.

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    Continue to 17 of 25 below.

  • Rotisserie Chicken Alfredo

    easy chicken alfredo with linguine
    Nick Evans

    Rotisserie chicken alfredo snatches help from the grocery store to make a (less than) 30-minute dinner. You’ll find that the creamy alfredo tastes richer when made from scratch, so be sure to use a wider noodle, like fettuccine or linguine, to hold the sauce. If you don’t feel like picking up a rotisserie chicken from the store, use poached boneless, skinless chicken breast instead. Toss in a couple of handfuls of peppery arugula or green spinach for a complete meal.

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  • Skillet Chicken with Cheesy Orzo and Zucchini

    Skillet Chicken Breast with Orzo and Zucchini
    Kerri Brewer

    Skillet chicken with cheesy orzo and zucchini is a one-pot, stand-alone meal. Everything cooks in the same skillet, which you can also serve straight from the pan. You can always swap the zucchini (if it’s not in season) for broccoli florets, sliced asparagus, or haricot verts. Add another level of tang to this cheesy meal by adding 1/4 cup of finely shredded pecorino cheese to the fontina or Havarti.

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  • Chow Mein Noodle Chicken Salad

    chicken chow mein salad in a bowl
    Elise Bauer

    This American salad uses some traditional Asian ingredients in the dressing—soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil—plus chow mein noodles that give the salad some great crunch. If you already have cooked chicken, it's a quick, easy, and satisfying salad.

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  • Easy Chicken Mac and Cheese

    mac and cheese with chicken and breadcrumbs in a bowl with a spoon
    Nick Evans

    Use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or quickly poach chicken breasts to add to macaroni and cheese made with a homemade cheese sauce that includes onions and garlic. Roasted cauliflower makes a great side. The family will love it!

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    Continue to 21 of 25 below.

  • Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

    slice of buffalo chicken lasagna
    Aaron Hutcherson and Emma Christensen

    If you love chicken wings or buffalo chicken dip, you'll love this lasagna. Shredded chicken covered in hot sauce and a creamy blue cheese sauce is piled between layers of lasagna noodles. It's all topped with mozzarella cheese. Yum.

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  • Chicken Minestrone With Basil Pesto

    Chicken Minestrone with Basil Pesto
    Sally Vargas

    Chicken and pasta get the soup treatment. This healthy soup has fresh vegetables and beans, too. It's topped with a drizzle of basil pesto to pump up the flavor of the soup.

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  • Chicken Noodle Casserole

    chicken noodle casserole
    Sally Vargas

    A sauce made from stock thickened with beurre manie (butter and flour) takes the place of canned cream soup in this classic casserole that's sure to hit the spot. It's a great way to use up leftover chicken.

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  • Rotisserie Chicken Stroganoff

    Chicken Stroganoff Recipe
    Nick Evans

    Rotisserie chicken is the hero of so many meals, including this stroganoff with mushrooms, butter, onion, and sour cream. It all tops light and fluffy egg noodles.

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    Continue to 25 of 25 below.

  • Chicken Udon Soup with Bok Choy

    chicken udon noddle soup with bok chou in a bowl
    Sally Vargas

    This chicken soup with a twist is full of chewy udon noodles and gochujang chicken. Ginger and garlic flavor the broth and bok choy and scallions add some greens. It's an out-of-the-norm way to use up leftover chicken.

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