Creamy and Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta with a bite from cayenne pepper. This is a favorite of ours when we’re feeling indulgent. Not exactly calorie friendly, but amazing taste and so worth a bit of extra time at the gym!
The Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta Details
Yes, it has a full pint of heavy cream, almost 3/4 stick of butter and a 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese… but those just pull the chicken, artichokes, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes together. The creamy deliciousness from the calorie dense sauce works perfectly with the bit (to a lot if you choose to go to the full amount of cayenne!) of heat and the great flavors of the other ingredients.
We used a rotisserie chicken and shredded it to get our two cups of chicken. It’s an easy way to get the chicken if you don’t have pulled chicken in the freezer!
I like to drain the artichoke hearts and cut them into smaller pieces. Chop the sundried tomatoes into pretty small pieces. Break the mushroom slices in half as well so they spread further through the recipe instead of making each bite different flavors. Up to you on how you want to incorporate into your dish!
Note on the cayenne. We have made this one with a 1/2 tsp, a full tsp and up to 2 tsp of cayenne. You’ll notice that we really like heat in our dishes, but 2 tsp is a bit much for us. We tend to fall around 1-1/2 tsp as our enjoyable heat standard. At 1/2 tsp, you barely even know it’s there. There is a lot of difference in the levels from a small amount of the spice. You can always start small and add a bit more after tasting the sauce, but you can’t take it out once it is in.
The Spicy Sauce
The sauce is the key that pulls everything together. Make sure your pan isn’t too hot when you add your cream. It can curdle. You can always turn the heat up to slowly bring it to a boil with the melted butter. It’s better to start low than to wish you had.
Please read the note above on cayenne. If you’re sensitive to spice at all, take care on how much you add!
The Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta All Together
So many amazing flavors combine to make this an absolute favorite. I know it says it makes 4-6 servings, but we can finish it with the two of us (not comfortably after the fact…) so you might think about doubling it. Leftovers are great, and it freezes well!
Start the pasta water about the same time as the sauce. It should be boiling about the time you pull the sauce off and start folding the cheese in. I didn’t get it done while filming for the video just because of all the extra steps with running the camera, but that would be ideal. Add your pasta to start the 11-12 minutes it will take then add your cheese. You’ll be ready to go right to the dish instead of waiting for your pasta to get done!
This dish is also great if you cut the chicken in half and add cooked Italian sausage, shrimp, or other meat to make up for the cup of chicken you took out.
We also made this video if you would like more information!
Wine Time
The wine pairing for this dish really depends on how much cayenne you add. If you’re adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, then an Italian wine like Dolcetto or Chianti would be great. If you’re adding more, then you probably need a stronger wine like a Spanish Rioja or a Cotes du Rhone GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) type of blend to stand up to the heat!
Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta
Course: Chicken, Entrees, Pasta, RecipesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings15
minutes40
minutes1066
kcal55
minutesCreamy chicken pasta with a bite from cayenne pepper. This is a favorite of ours when we’re feeling indulgent. Not exactly calorie friendly, but amazing taste and so worth a bit of extra time at the gym!
Ingredients
- Sauce
1 pint Heavy Cream (minus 1/8 cup reserved for the dish)
4 Tbsp Butter
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Cayenne Pepper – 1/2 tsp up to 2 tsp depending on your heat tolerance
- Dish
10-12 ounce package of Bowtie Pasta – cooked according to al dente package directions and drained
1-1/2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Sliced Mushrooms – broken to bite size pieces
1 small jar Artichoke Hearts – drained and chopped
2 cups precooked Shredded Chicken
1/8 cup Sundried Tomatoes – chopped
1/8 cup Heavy Cream reserved from the pint for the sauce
Directions
- Sauce:
- Melt butter in a medium stockpot over medium low heat.
- Add cream, salt and pepper and increase heat to medium to bring to a low boil.
- Remove from heat and fold in cheese and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
- Dish:
- In a large skillet or chef’s pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Stir for a couple minutes until mushrooms have cooked through.
- Add artichokes and precooked chicken. Stir to combine and heat chicken.
- Stir in 1/8 cup cream and half of the sauce. Add cooked bowtie pasta and then the rest of the sauce.
- Stir gently so you don’t break up the noodles and serve once the noodles are coated in sauce.