Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta (Copycat)

Ingredient Notes

The simple ingredients you need to make this Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta recipe include:

• Olive oil or avocado oil: I love to use avocado oil because it can withstand high heat without, smoking but both are great options.
• Chicken breast: trim them then cut them into 1-inch chunks.
• Kosher salt: I always cook with kosher salt and finish dishes with sea salt.
• Chipotle powder: level up the spice and chipotle flavor with a little ground seasoning.
• Honey: grab a raw honey if possible!
• Yellow onion: this is the start of the pasta and chipotle pepper sauce and starts to build the flavor.
• Bell peppers: the original recipe uses 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper, but you can use any bell peppers you have on hand.
• Garlic: fresh garlic makes all the difference!
• Short cut pasta: We used a penne pasta like the restaurant version, however, any short cut pasta works.
• Chicken broth: this adds to the sauce flavor and helps the pasta cook right in the pan.
• Frozen peas: no need to thaw them before adding them to the pasta!
• Chipotle Adobo peppers: we're using the sauce around the chipotle peppers, rather than the peppers themselves. This is the spice in the spicy chipotle sauce.
• Coconut cream or heavy cream: I love to use coconut cream to keep it dairy free, but heavy cream is what the original calls for.
• Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast: these ingredients are what make up the spicy chipotle parmesan cream sauce. It's rich and spicy at the same time! Use nutritional yeast if you want to keep it dairy free.
• Asparagus: this ingredient adds to the medley of veggies featured in this recipe. Not many recipes have 3-5 veggies in one pot!

How to Make Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta

The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you have a clear idea of what to expect with this easy pasta recipe. These step-by-step instructions will make sure it turns out every time.

Cook the honey glazed chicken

1. Dice the chicken and season generously with kosher salt. Heat 1 tablespoons of avocado oil or butter in a large skillet (make sure it's deep!) over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot and rippling, add the chicken chunks and stir to sear the sides until golden brown. 
2. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the the honey, coating the chicken and letting it glaze the chicken. When the chicken is completely cooked, remove it to a separate plate or bowl.

Make the pasta and cream sauce

3. Add the other tablespoon of avocado oil to the pan and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and diced peppers and cook over medium heat until softened and fragrant. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Pour the uncooked pasta and chicken broth into the pan and stir gently. Cover with a lid and turn the heat up to medium-high to bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 6-7 minutes or until the pasta is just al dente. Open the lid and stir occasionally to avoid any burning on the bottom of the pan.
5. Open the lid and add the chipotle adobo sauce, cream, and parmesan cheese to the cooked pasta and stir to combine. 

Steam the veggies

6. Finish by adding the peas and chopped asparagus on top of the spicy chipotle cream sauce, without stirring. Close the lid and steam for 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is tender.
7. Add the cooked chicken on top then remove from the heat. Garnish with cilantro and crushed tortilla strips. You can also top it with cracked black pepper and a squeeze of fresh lime juice or lemon juice.