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This Chili Lime Chicken with Creamy Garlic Penne is warm, flavorful, and so simple to make. The marinated chicken is on point!
Penne noodles in a creamy garlic sauce, topped with a chili lime rubbed chicken. This pasta is definitely going in the “keepers” folder!
Pasta is my favorite comfort food. I could eat spaghetti any day, any time. So when summer comes, and I'm always coming up with new pasta dishes to serve with grilled chicken and fresh vegetables! This Chili Lime Chicken with Creamy
Garlic Penne Pasta was one of my dinner experiments that I questioned about half way through, but it ended up being amazing! I loved it, kids loved it, and husband LOVED it. That's what we call a winner folks! I love this dish with fresh garden tomatoes, and I'll often throw in fresh spinach and grilled zucchini if I've got them on hand.
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Chili Lime Chicken with Creamy Garlic Penne
Ingredients
Chili Lime Chicken
- 5-6 chicken tenders, (or 2-3 breasts)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
For the Pasta
- 16 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 onion, , chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic, , minced
- 2 heaping Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces cream cheese, , cubed
- 2 tomatoes, , diced
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley, , minced
- freshly grated parmesan cheese, , optional
Instructions
For the chicken
- Whisk marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl. Add chicken and marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the penne pasta according to package directions and drain.
- Turn grill to medium heat. Place the chicken on the hot grill, cover with grill lid and cook for a few minutes or until brown on bottom side.
- Flip chicken, cover and cook until cooked through. Remove to a plate to rest.
For the Sauce:
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour and stir well.
- Add chicken broth and milk and whisk until smooth.
- Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add cooked pasta, tomatoes and parsley to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Add grilled chicken on top. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
My husband, who only tolerates chicken once every three weeks or so, asked that this be put in the weekly rotation. Pretty tall cotton here! I used cheese-stuffed spinach tortellini and therefore did not use the Parm; sautéed the chicken in a skillet without draining the marinade, it made the sauce – made in the same skillet – all the tastier. Served the tortellini and chicken/sauce separately to please picky DH, but they would be excellent combined. Also would be good with some chopped fresh spinach or kale, enough to color. This has just enough spice and heat, and is easily tweaked to your liking. I added extra minced garlic because we are fiends. Yep, a keeper for sure!
The tortellini addition sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your adaptions–I’m so happy it got the thumbs up from your husband!
If you’re on the fence about making this I have one thing to say. Just. Do. It. Pinterest has left me with some good recipes, some so-so recipes, some real bombs, and every once in awhile an, OMG I need to post and thank this person and see what other goodies they have. Thank you Lauren for a great meal!
Your comment made me smile and laugh–Pinterest can truly be hit and miss!– But I’m so happy you found me, and thank you for your sweet comment 🙂 I hope you get to try more of my recipes soon!
Made it for dinner – fabulous! I would highly recommend and am thinking it would be great with shrimp instead of chicken too!!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I pan fried the chicken and it was still great. Too cold to heat up the grill. Thank you for a great homemade and easy recipe!
Thanks so much for coming back to comment! Happy you liked 🙂
I probably eat too much red meat. Chicken bores me. But this recipe turned out great. Very tasty.
We made this for dinner tonight and it was a total winner! The marinade on the chicken is delicious. I cooked the chicken on a grill pan and it turned out perfect. I also added cooked spinach which was to die for!
Your recipe for Chili-lime chicken with creamy garlic penne pasta is beyond amazing!! It looked delicious but it was out of this world amazing! Love the taste of the marinated chicken on the grill alongside the creamy garlic sauce (I added a little more garlic and only had one tomato so I used that along with halved cherry tomatoes–which added an extra kick!). Now that I have made it, it is the #1 requested meal. Love it!!!
Thanks so much Kristin, you’re so sweet! I’m really happy you and your family liked it. Thanks for coming back to comment 🙂
Looks amazingly delicious! yum yum.must try
This is to DIE for! I wonder how adding cilantro instead of parsley would taste? My husband and I are die hard cilantro fans! I cannot wait to try this, pinning for later! Thanks!
Adding cilantro would be delicious! Thanks Dara!
OMG!! I’m drooling all over my keyboard, these all look so amazing! I gotta try every single one of these!