Chicken Taco Pasta
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One pot Chicken Taco Pasta recipe is a flavorful dish filled with chicken and veggies. An easy weeknight dinner your family will love!
One pot chicken taco pasta is a delicious take on chicken tacos made to be eaten in a bowl filled with all the flavors of your favorite tacos!
The tender chicken cooks with black beans, crunchy peppers, shell pasta, and the easiest homemade taco seasoning.
This is a simple one pot recipe that takes less than an hour to make and is easy to reheat for lunch and dinner the next day!
Tyler’s Tips for the Best Chicken Taco Pasta
- Frequently stirring the pasta once combined is key to making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. This also helps the pasta cook evenly and absorb the flavors.
- Grate a block of cheese rather than using pre-shredded cheese. We recommend using a block of cheddar cheese and grating it yourself, as pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt as well.
Ingredients:
substitutions
Olive Oil: You could use avocado oil, but we really recommend extra virgin olive oil.
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders, but we like the texture of the chicken breasts the best. We have not tried this with cubed pork tenderloin or pork chops, but that may also work.
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Vegetables: The onions and garlic can be substituted for 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder if needed. The sweet red peppers can be substituted for green peppers or other sweet frying peppers. Pinto beans can be used in place of black beans, and the corn can be omitted if needed. We use frozen corn, but canned corn or fresh corn can be used as well.
Taco Seasoning: We have a great homemade taco seasoning recipe we love to use but any store bought taco seasoning will work just fine.
Pasta: Shells work the best in this recipe, but you can use rotini or farfalle (cook time is all similar). We don’t recommend gluten free pasta for this recipe. This recipe is a one pan pasta recipe, and gluten free pasta can get very mushy. Use at your own risk! If you prefer rice, try our Chicken Taco Rice.
Cheddar Cheese: You can omit the cheese from this recipe to make it dairy free if you’d like, but it really does add flavor! We haven’t tried this recipe with other types of cheeses but I think pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese would be delicious.
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste helps to add flavor to this recipe. You can skip it, but the flavor will not be as rich.
How to Make Chicken Taco Pasta
- Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat, sauté the chicken for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and set aside.
- Sauté the bell peppers, onions, and garlic for 3 minutes or until they begin to soften.
- Add the chicken back to the pot with the stock, pasta, beans, corn, taco seasoning, and tomato paste. Stir, cover, and bring to a simmer, then uncover, reduce to medium, and cook 10–12 minutes, stirring often.
- Once the liquid has reduced by about ¾ or the pasta is al dente, turn off heat, stir in the cheddar, and serve topped with hot sauce or lime.
What to Serve with Chicken Taco Pasta
This Cheesy Chicken Taco Pasta has a great balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, but feel free to opt for one of these fresh side salads: Quick Marinated Vegetable Salad, Spinach Blueberry Salad, Avocado Ranch Salad.
storage
Storing: This healthy Chicken Taco Pasta will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this taco pasta. It can get mushy when frozen.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stovetop. If reheating on the stove add a splash of chicken broth to the pan.
Chicken Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cups diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups dry shells pasta 9 ounces
- 1 15 ounce can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot or sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to the pot and sauté for 10 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides, stirring occasionally as it cooks.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the bell peppers, onions, and garlic to the pot. Sauté for 3 minutes or until they begin to soften.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the chicken stock, pasta, beans, corn, taco seasoning and tomato paste. Stir together and cover with a lid.
- Bring the pot to a simmer. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 10-12 minutes uncovered, stirring frequently to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once ¾ of the liquid has been reduced or your pasta is cooked al dente, turn the heat off and stir in the shredded cheddar.
- Serve in a bowl and top with your favorite hot sauce or a lime wedge!
Looks delicious and easy! Can’t wait to try it! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes with us!
Delicious 😋