Pasta with Smoked Chicken
Pasta with smoked chicken is one of those dishes you can make at home very quickly. Fry strips of chicken briefly in flavored olive oil, toss them with herbs and tomatoes, and the sauce is done. Making it takes no longer than boiling the pasta. I showed how to make the sauce without drying out the chicken in the recipe for pasta with chicken in a creamy sauce; for variety, try pasta with chicken breast in tomato sauce.
Almost any store sells lightly smoked chicken breast, often vacuum-packed in plastic. You can also buy smoked chicken legs, where the meat is more tender.
For dishes like this, use a short pasta such as penne, fusilli or tortiglioni, and cut the chicken to match the size of the pasta, into thick strips. To fry the chicken, flavor the olive oil first by cooking garlic in it (you can keep it or discard it afterward) along with a little fresh chili. Add herbs to the sauce, parsley or basil if you have them. Before serving, sprinkle the pasta with grated Parmesan.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Short pasta 200 g
- Water for cooking the pasta 2 l
- Salt for the pasta water 5 g per 1 l of water
- Smoked chicken breast 150 g
- Cherry tomatoes 8-10
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Garlic 1-2 cloves
- Hot chili pepper 1
- Grated Parmesan 2 tbsp
(14 g) - Salt, black pepper to taste
Step-by-step recipe
Pasta with smoked chicken is simple and quick to make. If you bought ready-made breast, just cut it into sticks or strips. For smoked chicken thighs, remove the skin and bones. With a whole chicken, take off all the meat; if you are cooking for several people, a whole chicken is the best option. If you have no cherry tomatoes, seed large tomatoes and dice them.
I recommend flavoring the olive oil. Pour the amount you need into a skillet. Peel the garlic and chili and chop them coarsely. Don’t worry that you will taste too much garlic later, because frying largely removes its flavor and aroma, and the pieces of chili won’t add heat. Fry the chili and garlic in the hot oil. After a few minutes you can discard them or leave them in, as you like.
While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, fry the meat and make the sauce. We usually use penne or fusilli, which are ideal, and the chicken can be cut to match them. Any short pasta you can buy will work. Cut the chicken into strips the size of your chosen pasta. Fry the chicken in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.
To make the pasta with smoked chicken fragrant, I recommend seasoning the meat generously with freshly ground pepper and, if needed, a little salt. If the pasta isn’t ready yet, lower the heat and cover the skillet so the meat stays hot. Make sure it doesn’t burn.
As soon as the pasta is ready, drain it. Chop the parsley very finely and add it to the smoked chicken. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the skillet too. Stir the meat with the vegetables, and after 1 minute add the cooked pasta and stir again. Don’t heat the herbs and tomatoes any longer, they should stay almost cold.
Divide the pasta with smoked chicken among plates and top generously with grated Parmesan. Serve right away, while the meat is still warm. If you like, use fresh basil instead of parsley, but keep in mind that it is very aromatic and has a pronounced flavor. With parsley, you can taste the smoked meat in the dish.
As an alternative, you can use spaghetti instead of short pasta. In that case, cut the chicken into cubes and use more olive oil. Parmesan can be replaced with any hard cheese, such as Grana Padano or pecorino.
Calories and macros
660 kcal
Serving ≈ 400 g
- Protein40 g25% of kcal
- Fat20 g28% of kcal
- Carbs75 g47% of kcal
100 g167 kcalProtein 10.2 gFat 5 gCarbs 19 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
Pull chopper for garlic and onionAliExpress
Oil sprayerAliExpress
Kitchen scale up to 5 kgAliExpress
Vegetable chopper with handleAliExpress
Measuring cups and spoonsAliExpress
Peeler with wooden handleAliExpress