This spicy chicken pasta is big on flavour, but easy on effort and time. Perfect for a mid week supper. Recipe commissioned by Schwartz.
I love big, strong, gutsy flavours. My cupboards are full of spices and condiments and I am always adding a bit of this and that to add a hit of flavour to a dish. My friend Anna is even bigger on flavour than we are; verging on liking overpowering flavours, and we’ve frequently witnessed her spread a heaped teaspoon of Marmite on to a slice of toast. As keen as I am on Marmite and flavour, I am not quite that keen. The first time she did it, Ed & I watched with a mixture of fascination verging on horror, now it just amuses us and I make a mental note to add a new jar to my next online shop.
This recipe for a spiced chicken pasta is flavoured, and given its character, from a mix of black pepper, garlic and paprika, which all come together to a tasty and satisfying whole. The flavour is balanced but there is plenty of depth to the dish without it being overpowering. I think it would also work well with leftover roast chicken, or with pork. Swap the spinach for a different vegetable, leave out the feta and add a sprinkle of Parmesan or Grana Padano and you will have lots of variations and riffs on this dish. Toss the chicken in the spice mix the morning or night before for extra depth of flavour.
- 1 large chicken breast – cut into 2cm cubes
- ½ tsp Garlic Granules
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 40 g butter
- 150 g spaghetti – cook as per packet instructions
- A large handful of spinach
- 50 g feta – crumbled
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Place the cut chicken pieces, garlic granules, ground black pepper and paprika into a bowl, mix well and cover and leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
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Pour the olive oil, into a non-stick frying pan, and fry the chicken over a medium heat until starting to brown and cooked all the way though. Remove from the heat and start to cook the spaghetti.
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When the spaghetti is nearly cooked, add half the butter to the chicken along with 50ml of the pasta cooking
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water, reheat and bring to a simmer and allow to reduce to make a sauce.
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Once the spaghetti is cooked drain into a sieve, and shake well. Add the remainder of the butter, and the spinach to the pasta pan, then the cooked spaghetti. Cook over a low heat, stirring well until the butter is melted and the spinach is wilted.
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Stir in the chicken mixture and feta into the pasta.
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Serve immediately.
This recipe for spicy chicken pasta was commissioned by Schwartz for a e-book of Bloggers’ Flavour Favourites, which includes recipes from some of my favourite blogger colleagues. Download your copy here. All opinions our own.
You’ve made me realise that we rarely eat chicken with pasta, it’s normally cheese/mince or cheese/veg combo. Believe it or not, but I’ve got leftover roast chicken from last night sitting in the fridge ( Neil was going to take it to work but didn’t have time). Now I’m thinking spicy chicken pasta – it’s meant to be. :)
Sounds like the perfect Monday supper!
Great idea – Would be good to see the kids eating spicy chicken on something other than pizza. Marmite on toast is the BEST! (Thinly spread though – its potent)
This is so easy to make! I love Marmite, but not quite that much.
I share the same thoughts about pasta and adding various spices to the recipe. Your version looks very colourful and I can tell from the images that the outcome is so light and delicious. Love it!
Thank you Krystallia, it is such a quick and delicious supper dish.
I love easy weeknight meals like this! You have some gorgeous flavours going on in this dish, I really must make it soon!
Thanks Annie, so so easy. It would work with rice too.
What a lovely pasta dish. I think the spicy chicken would add the best flavor to the dish and preparing the chicken ahead of time allows you to pull it together quickly. Perfect for a busy weeknight!
You could also spice it and then freeze the chicken. I love to be prepared.
Was reading this and wondering how to make it veggie… then got to the end and realised you’d already thought of that! Butternut squash it is! Sounds delish :-)
I’ve got you covered! At a pinch salmon would work too.
Garlic and chicken is just such a great flavor combo ! Combined with Pasta and you’ve got me drooling . YUM!
This recipe is going to become a regular!
This looks delicious. I love pasta dishes like this, all mixed together.
So quick and easy Rachel.
A lovely looking plate of quick and simple food.
Absolutely!
It sounds gorgeous! My 2 children could eat marmite like your friend does – I have to stop them all the time!
I think I might have said “It’s not chocolate spread you know”
Love me some Italian food! This looks like a fab dish and relatively easy to prepare so I’m bookmarking it for future reference!
Enjoy it when you make it.
What a great flavour combination and as a huge spice and herb fan I would love to re-create this dish at home. I’m with you on the marmite though!
We loved this one Laura. So easy, but so tasty.
Simple and delicious. We all love Italian food at home and the subtle spices sound lovely here.
So quick and easy, as well as delicious!
We love quick and easy pasta recipes and spicy garlic black pepper sounds a great flavouring!
So quick, delicious and falvour packed.
So quick, delicious and flavour packed.