I’m a big fan of many different types of food and something I’m always drawn to in cooking is fusion of different cuisines. Chicken fajita pasta is a recipe that I absolutely love because it’s so comforting. It’s got that gorgeous Mexican fajita flavour but is shaken up a bit with pasta as the carb instead. You can view the original recipe from Kevin & Amanda here.
***Please note: This is a recipe review and not a recipe created by myself. The link to the original recipe is below!***
Serves: 4 (however we made it stretch to 6 with ease)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Suitable for: Omnivores and non-allergy only, but you can use soya cream to make it dairy-free
Ingredients & Cost
The ingredients, taken directly from the website, are as follows:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 envelope (3 tablespoons) taco or fajita seasoning (I use this Homemade Taco Seasoning)
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 whole onion)
- 2 cups diced bell peppers (2–3 bell peppers)
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
- 8 oz (about 3 cups) penne pasta
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
There aren’t too many ingredients in this Chicken Fajita Pasta recipe and they’re all easy to buy which is exactly how I like it. You’ll notice that the recipe calls for a homemade taco seasoning, and I think this is what sets the flavour apart from other fajita-inspired recipes.
Kevin and Amanda use a recipe from Picky Palate which can be found here – we use this seasoning for loads of other Mexican-inspired recipes too. If you’re struggling to find garlic salt then you can make your own using 3 parts garlic powder to 1 part salt. We made one swap in this recipe, choosing a regular can of tomatoes instead of ones with added chilies as I’m allergic to them! If you use regular tomatoes then you can add chili powder or cayenne to get that extra kick, but if I’m honest it doesn’t need it.
We bought all of our ingredients from Aldi, and we already had the spices and garlic in the cupboard. The total price of the meal came to £6.12, which works out at £1.53 per person if you’re assuming it serves four. As we managed to get six meals out of it, and it worked out at just £1.02 per portion!
The Cooking Experience
The recipe isn’t hard however the first time we made wasn’t good – it ended up very starchy. I couldn’t work it out at first, but then my partner pointed out that this particular recipe had a very American way of cooking pasta – boiling it in the broth and then adding in everything once the liquid is absorbed. It made us wonder if British pasta is starchier than American as it really didn’t work as intended!
If you are British like me (or you know that your pasta is particularly starchy) then I’d suggest cooking the pasta separately in a saucepan and then adding it to the frying pan with the tomatoes and cream once the chicken and vegetables are cooked. I also fried the seasoning with the chicken and vegetables rather than adding it straight into the sauce to release the flavours over the heat.
One thing to note – you’re going to need a big frying pan for this one! Even with our large wok it was hard not to spill pasta over the sides once we’d added everything together. If you don’t have a large frying pan then I’d suggested halving the recipe to make it easier. Plus it also makes it far less messier!
The End Result
We’ve made this multiple times so I knew it would turn out well, and this time was no different. The balance of cream and seasoning is perfect and by changing the cooking method it didn’t come out starchy. It’s one of those lovely, moreish recipes where you can’t help but gorge on it, and it leaves you feeling really satisfied as it’s definitely filling. We’ve never had any sides with it but I imagine garlic bread would work well.
Final Thoughts
I love this Chicken Fajita Pasta recipe and it will always be one of our go-to meals. It’s great for shaking up our Mexican-inspired cooking a bit. It’s easy enough to make on a weeknight with little stress and one of those recipes that the whole family will love. Although it may not be the healthiest recipe ever due to the cream it’s hearty and flavoursome, which sometimes is what you really need.
If you make this chicken fajita pasta then share below and let me know how it went! Don’t forget to also like and pin if you enjoyed this review. You can read some of my other recipe reviews here:
Vegan Pancakes – American Or British Style
Indulgent No-Bake Toblerone Cheesecake
Spicy Potato Soup by Gary Rhodes – Easy & Budget Friendly
That’s a great looking recipe – clean and fresh…the pasta issue is interesting, I might cook mine separately to try and control it better but yours looked great!
Thank you! Yeah it definitely worked best for me not with the all-in-one method… I only every use that method for traybakes, I much prefer doing separate pasta (even though it of course makes more washing up which I don’t like so much)
When I make dinner for my wife, as I love to cook, I will routinely use 4-5 burners simultaneously…and yes, that means a lot of clean up as well!
I only do that when I know it’s my partner’s turn to wash up 😉
HA!
This looks so yummy! Definitely a recipe I need to try out. Im always looking for new recipes to try!
I love pasta and I love fajitas so I am soo up for this! It looks really tasty, I really appreciate blog posts that involve food. I just wish I was eating it!
Me too, they make me so hungry! I guess I get to eat the meal to review it, but then I have to sit there writing it up and trying not to salivate!
Gotta make this!
Let me know how it goes!
I love pasta too!! This is look great
Would love to try it x
Jess
It’s so cheap and easy to make, you definitely should 🙂
Yes I will x
It sounds and looks yum!
Thank you, yeah it’s one of my favs!
That looks so delicious! Definitely different for me since all I put in my pasta is sauce and cheese. I cant wait to try this.
Let me know how it goes! I think it’s nice to mix it up a bit, and this one doesn’t even need cheese to taste good!
This looks amazing! I am a huge pasta-lover and can’t wait to give this recipe a whirl.
https://www.makelifemarvelous.com/
I’m glad you like the look of it!
this loks soosos delcious and not even too bad for you!!
Rosie
The cream isn’t the healthiest but the rest of it is pretty good!
This looks great. I’ve got quite a few of the ingredients already, so I might give it a try during the week. Thanks for the advice on the pasta – I hadn’t thought of that.
George – https://britvoyage.com
Let me know how it goes!
Great post! This looks delicious, and like something my husband and I would really enjoy. Can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing!
Thank you! It definitely makes a change mid-week 🙂
Two of my favorite cuisines in one meal- love it! I will definitely be trying this especially since it uses a small number of ingredients!
Glad to hear! 🙂
I make pasta SO MUCH but I don’t really do anything to it other that splash some Worcester sauce on it! So this sounds like the perfect recipe for me to try!
Ugh, I wish I could eat carbs. This looks absolutely delicious!
Can you get carb-free pasta, perhaps? Might be quite nice with a veggie alternative!
I actually already eat quite a bit of pasta, but I just like tuna pasta or something plain, so I’ll have to give it a go. I loved that you shared the costing for it. Its great and so budget friendly
Kayleigh Zara | http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
In always on the lookout for budget meals so this one definitely caught me eye! It’s interesting how many people have commented on their habit for making pasta quite plain – looks like I need to review lots of pasta recipes!
OMG yum. Pasta is my fave and this dish sounds right up my street! I’ll deffo be trying this one out
Let me know how it goes!
I am definitely making this!! It’s really easy, though I always have a problem with broth.. Would a stock cube boiled in water do the trick?
That’s how I make broth! I use either a chicken or vegetable stock cube for this and both work just fine.
This looks so delicious. I’m a sucker for anything with Mexican-style, and this sounds incredible. I’m going to try it this week!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
Let me know how it goes 😊
I like chicken fajitas but I never thought to make it into a pasta dish. It’s like you get three dishes in one: Mexican, Italian and American cuisine! Great idea 🙂
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com/
Fusion dishes are my favourite!