This is a simple and delicious Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake recipe.
It’s loaded with all of your favourite fajita flavours – tasty chicken, delicious peppers with a creamy, cheesy pasta sauce – making it perfect for a quick family friendly midweek meal.
Chicken Fajitas are such a delicious, fun and sociable meal, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit and bring that oh-so-tasty flavour to a really simple one-pot meal.
This Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake recipe sticks to our favourite and familiar flavours, but involves zero faff and is quick and easy to whip up during the week (it’s ready in about 30 minutes).
I’d also thought I’d add another string to my fajita bow – I’ve covered how to make Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas and Oven-Baked Chicken Fajitas, so here’s the pasta bake equivalent, just so we have all bases covered!
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Family favourite flavours
⭐️ Simple, low cost ingredients
⭐️ So delicious and so quick
About Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake
Fajitas originate from a TexMex dish that has travelled the world and adapted into many different recipes – including a pasta bake for modern-day pasta lovers!
While I’m not trying to stick to original TexMex cooking here, I have had a good go at trying out plenty of different fajitas in restaurants, both here and in Mexico, and I do find this wholly satisfying for a shortcut recipe.
It’s also perfect for when you really fancy fajitas but don’t have any wraps in the cupboard. If you have pasta I urge you to give this adaptation a try instead!
What you’ll need
- Dried pasta – Type of your choice but anything delicate might break up!
- Sunflower oil
- Chicken breast
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Mild chilli powder
- Chicken stock
- Garlic powder – Fresh is fine if that’s all you have
- Onion – You can use fresh or pre-chopped frozen
- Red peppers
- Cream cheese
- Chopped tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cheese – I use cheddar but again, go for what you like or have in
- Spring onions
How to make it
1. Fry the chicken until brown all over and add the onions, peppers and spices. Stir well and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the pasta, stock and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Stir and pop the lid on for 15-18 minutes. Stir in cream cheese, sprinkle with grated cheese and grill for 3-5 minutes.
Hint: Cook the pasta until al-dente. Stop cooking when the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
Leftovers
In the fridge This is great for lunch if you have leftovers. Keep it in the fridge for no longer than 3 days.
In the freezer I tend not to freeze pasta as it can go a little mushy, but the sauce will freeze well on its own.
However, if you have plenty left there’s no need to waste it. Freezing it for a lunch is fine – just remember if might not be quite as good as when it’s fresh or reheated from the fridge.
Top tips
Sauce
Make a little extra stock up so you can add more liquid at the end to make it more saucy (if you prefer it this way).
To serve
I like to serve this with sliced avocados, sour cream (or yoghurt) and sprinkled with chopped spring onions and cheese.
FAQ
If you stick to lean chicken breast, use wholewheat pasta and omit the cheese, you could reduce the fat content and increase the fibre content.
I have done my homework on one-pan pans because I use them so often and having one that ticks all the boxes is a must for me. This tried-and-tested pan review reveals my findings, which I hope you’ll find useful!
Chicken Fajita Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Sunflower oil
- 500 g Chicken breasts Skinless, boneless and cut into small strips
- 1 Onion Peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 Red peppers Deseeded and cut into strips
- 3 tsp Cumin
- 3 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Mild chilli powder
- 3 tsp Garlic powder
- 250 g Dried pasta
- 750 ml Chicken stock
- 400 g Tinned tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
To serve
- 100 g Cream cheese
- 75 g Cheddar cheese
- 4 Spring onions Chopped (Optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in over a medium heat in a large saucepan or saute pan, and add the chicken breast and fry for 5 minutes until browned all over.
- Add the onion, peppers, paprika, cumin, chilli powder and garlic powder. Give everything a good stir and cook for a further 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the dry pasta, the stock and the tinned tomatoes, along with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir.
- Place a lid on and cook for 15-18 minutes, until the pasta is cooked al-dente. Stop cooking when the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
- Preheat your grill to high.
- Turn off the heat under the pasta, stir in the cream cheese. Sprinkle grated cheese over the pasta and put under the grill for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with the spring onions if using.
Trudie Thompson says
Hi there
Lovely recipe!
Does the cream cheese get mixed in with the pasta or spread on top?
Thanks
Sarah Barnes says
Mixed in! Sorry I will make it clearer in the recipe, thanks so much Trudie, hope you enjoy it 🙂
Trudie Thompson says
Many thanks! Making this tomorrow for a big family getogether!
Sarah Cooper says
This sounds delicious! Definitely going to try this!
Jenna Griffiths says
This was a very tasty dish, I came across your website the other day and chose this recipe on a whim . Me and my family loved it especially my girls. Definitely trying out more recipes.
Sarah Barnes says
Ahh thanks Jenna, so pleased to read this! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Claire says
Just made this for dinner tonight! Looks amazing…Can I just put it in the oven when the kids are home from school?
Sarah Barnes says
Yep! Hope they enjoyed it 🙂
Claire Smith says
Made this last night for dinner. Really easy to make and looked and tasted delicious – thanks!
Marlene says
Great Saturday night dinner. Really delicious and super easy
Anna says
I’ve recently stumbled across your website and I absolutely love your recipes! As a family we were getting stuck in a routine of cooking the same meals all the time so finding this has been brilliant.
This was delicious! Thank you 😊