This Creamy Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta recipe seriously tastes like something you would order at an Italian restaurant. With creamy pasta loaded with red peppers, mozzarella cheese, and topped with grilled chicken, it’s as hearty as it is delicious.
My whole family absolutely loved it (which is always a win!), but I loved it because it was ready in less than 25 minutes. The whole recipe comes together while your pasta boils.
It’s a great recipe for using leftover grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or when we’re really in a pinch, we use the frozen, pre-cooked chicken and heat it in the microwave before throwing it in the recipe.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make Creamy Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, you will need the following ingredients:
- Bow tie pasta
- Butter
- Onion, diced
- Garlic, minced
- Half and half, slightly warmed
- Chicken broth
- Seasoning salt
- Shredded Mozzarella cheese
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- Jar roasted red peppers, (sliced)
- Chopped parsley, optional topping
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
Red peppers – jarred vs homemade
This recipe calls for 12 ounces of roasted red peppers. We almost always used jarred mostly just because of how easy it is (you can see our favorite below), but you can use homemade roasted red peppers.
If you don’t know how to make your own roasted red peppers, remove the seeds and membranes. Broil on a baking sheet, rotating until all the sides are charred. Remove from the oven and cover with plastic wrap until cool, then peel off the skins and slice.
How to make Creamy Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While it cooks, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic till soft. Whisk in half and half and chicken broth. Stir in seasoned salt and mozzarella. Lower the heat to keep the sauce from boiling.
- Add the chicken and red pepper slices to the sauce. Stir frequently and keep and eye on the heat so it doesn’t boil. Drain the cooked pasta and stir it together with the sauce.
- Add chopped parsley before serving.
Enjoy More Delicious Pasta Recipes
We’ve rounded up some of our best pasta recipes, including creamy tomato rigatoni, puttanesca, macaroni and cheese, and more. Check out our comprehensive collection of pasta recipes here.
- Baked Spaghetti Casserole
- Beef and Noodle Casserole
- Cheesy Pizza Pasta Casserole
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna
- Chicken Pasta Casserole
- Creamy Chicken Lasagna
- Homemade Lasagna
- Instant Pot Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Loaded Mac and Cheese
- Skillet Lasagna
Creamy Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces bow tie pasta
- 4 Tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup half and half, slightly warmed
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- 1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, (sliced)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley, optional topping
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While it cooks, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic till soft. Whisk in half and half and chicken broth. Stir in seasoned salt and mozzarella. Lower the heat to keep the sauce from boiling.
- Add the chicken and red pepper slices to the sauce. Stir frequently and keep and eye on the heat so it doesn't boil. Drain the cooked pasta and stir it together with the sauce.
- Add chopped parsley before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
This looks divine! Pinning it and making it soon!!
Amanda
I love roasted red peppers!
This looks SO yummy!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Michelle
This sounds yummy, Camille! We love roasted red peppers at our house and use them quite a bit. Definitely trying this! Thanks!
I’m getting pretty hungry, it’s almost dinner time here. And, I think I just found what I’m making! Yum!
Stopping by from Think Pink Sundays!
Im so glad I found your blog. This pasta dish looks so delish.
Would luv for my readers to see this awesome idea, will you please join our weekly party
Looks very tasty! I love creamy pastas! Thanks for sharing this & all the other fun things @ Show & Share. I love your support, you gals are so sweet!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was ok as is. Next time I will add a second jar of peppers, a 1/2 tsp of black pepper, and use 1/2 Cup of mozzarella and a 1/2 C of parmesan instead of 1 cup of mozzarella.
I’m trying this tonight and I’m not even a cook-EVER! I’m very excited. Looks delicious. Thanks Sisters!!!!
Tried this last night and made a few changes based on what I had and it was great! I pureed 1 1/2 roasted red peppers (I roast mine on the stove) and added the puree to the sauce before adding the pasta. Then I added another 1 1/2 roasted red peppers chopped. I didn’t have any seasoned salt so I just used kosher salt, ground black pepper and sweet paprika. I only had 1/2 cup fat free shredded moz which doesn’t melt very well so I used that and another half cup of shredded 6 cheese italian blend. All that with some crispy browned skillet chicken with a tiny bit of chipotle powder – YUM!
Sounds yummy! I think this might be supper tonight with a tossed salad and garlic bread! Thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight for dinner and the sauce never really thickened up and seemed to be a little oily. Did I do something wrong? Otherwise, pretty good!
Sorry that it never thickened up for you! I haven’t had that problem. I would suggest just cooking it a little big longer at a low temperature and see if it thickens up? And as far as it being oily, I don’t know why! Sorry about that!
MIne didn’t thicken either, but when I added a slurry of cornstarch and some of the liquid it turned out perfect.
Any suggestions on what to use instead of half and half to make it a little healthier?
I googled this for you and there were a few helpful ideas –
one is regular milk can be substituted but the dish will not be as rich. Another is for one cup of half and half use 7/8 cups of milk and 7/8 Tablespoon melted butter (cooled). Can also used canned evaporated milk. A recipe calling for half and half requires the additional butter fat content it has over milk. So, even if you use canned evaporated milk as a substitute you will need to increase the butter fat by adding butter. Mix about 1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter into each cup of milk used. You still won’t get the exact result called for in the recipe but hopefully it will pass.
Good luck with your healthier version of this recipe! 🙂
-The Six Sisters
Awesome thank you so much! I can’t wait to try it.
I made this tonight and had the same problem. It never thickened up! The taste was great, but it was more like soup! 🙁
I made this tonight and it was AWESOME. Even my kids were saying “YUM” while eating it. Great recipe!!
I just made this and it never thickened up. Good flavor, but very soupy.
How many does this dish serve? Thanks!
Whoops! I just saw the number at the top! I am so sorry!
I’ve been making this for probably 8 or 9 years. So delicious, it’s a bad thing too because I don’t usually want to finish the entire pot but this 😋. I also skip the mix of seasonings and chicken broth I just use chicken bouillon powder on any recipe calling for broth. It brings all the seasonings. The roasted red pepper is a must.
Really underwheling. The sauce turns to soup and mozerella doesnt melt. It just turns into clumpy spiderwebs that make the dish unappealing.
So sorry that it didn’t turn out for you. Some readers have suggested making a simple cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce a bit. We also find cooking it a bit longer at a lower temperature helps it to thicken
I made this recipe for a relative who just had open heart surgery. I used lower sodium chix broth and seasoned w/Italian seasoning and no salt. I also used whole wheat pasta to make it healthier. It came out delicious! He called me to say it tasted just like an Olive Garden dish . Haha…I’ll be making this again as recipe calls for my husband. P.S. I added a little Parmesan cheese!