My family loves this easy Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta dish made with penne noodles, chicken and asparagus tossed in a creamy parmesan sauce.
When people find out about my blog, they often always, “do you cook every night?!”
My answer is “yes”, but I like to keep things simple too! Tacos, spaghetti, and tomato basil mozzarella toasts are dinner rotation regulars. Most nights I choose from one of my favorite 30-minute meals.
I’m a believer that cooking for your family at home can be just as easy as picking up a pizza or ordering take-out. (It’s less expensive and healthier too!) This Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta can be ready, fridge to table, in 30 minutes.
How to make Chicken and Asparagus Pasta:
Start by cooking the pasta in boiling water. I add the asparagus towards the end, so that it can cook in the boiling water and I don’t have to dirty another pan. You could roast or grill it as well, and then add it to the finished pasta at the end. You could also substitute another vegetable, or add more vegetables.
Next, brown the chicken. Add garlic and dry spices.
Add the chicken broth and half and half. Half and half is just a mixture of half milk, and half heavy cream. You can buy it at the store, or just mix heavy cream and milk. You could also substitute regular milk for a healthier substitute, but the sauce wont be quite as creamy.
Add the cream cheese and half of the parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until everything is melted and combined, and the chicken is cooked through.
Add the cooked pasta and asparagus to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce. Add remaining parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.
Consider trying these other popular pasta dishes:
- One Pan Baked Ziti
- Lemon Parmesan Chicken
- Pasta Primavera
- Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes
- Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta
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My family loves this easy pasta dish with penne noodles, chicken and asparagus tossed in a creamy parmesan sauce.
- 12 ounces penne pasta , or other bite size pasta
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut in small pieces
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus spears , ends removed
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons garlic , minced
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup half and half , or substitute whole milk or cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese , cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package instructions. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the asparagus to the water. Drain pasta and asparagus.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes, browning it on all sides.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic, onion powder, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, half & half, cream cheese, and half of the parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined. Cook until cream cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.
Add cooked pasta and asparagus toss to combine.
Add remaining parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste.
Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. You could also add a splash of milk or chicken broth to thin the sauce, if needed.
Adapted from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
I originally shared this recipe in July 2014. Updated January 2018.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later! says
I absolutely love all of your pasta creations! So many on my “to make” list!
Nagi@RecipeTinEats says
Nice! And your other pasta salads look awesome too! Love the name of your blog 🙂
Meg S. says
Just made this tonight. Super yummy! Thanks for the great recipe!
Lauren Allen says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for your comment!
Leigh Powell Hines says
This looks great, too. Always on the look out for easy things during the week.
Kim Y. says
Making this right now for my husband and I to take to work. Looks and smells amazing!! Thank you for the recipe!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Kim! Hope you both love it!
Shannon says
All of my favorite things in one dish, I can’t wait to try this. It looks so delicious!! I also have a food blog and I am hoping to become more prominent in the blogging world. I would love if you checked my blog out as well http://shansthecollegecookbook.blogspot.com/. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Melissa Viera says
Omg! Absolutely wonderful! My husband and kids don’t do pasta dishes especially anything with vegetables…but they had double servings and still wanted more! This dish definitely gets there attention!
Lauren Allen says
Love to sneak veggies in for the kids 🙂 Glad they liked it!
Nicole says
I picked up a bunch of asparagus because they were on sale and was looking for an easy and family friendly recipe. I made this tonight just as described above. Very easy and tasty weeknight meal. I precut the chicken and asparagus and easily put together after work. My vegetable averse toddler had a serving without asparagus and he loved it…everyone was happy.n looking forward to leftovers!
Lauren Allen says
Happy to hear you liked it and it fit into your busy weeknight! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Kristi says
Eating this right now!! Delish!!!! Love it! So glad I found your blog! Every dish has been amazing!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Kristi! I love when you comment and let me know what you’ve tried! 🙂 Hope you guys are doing well.
Beverly Fritsche says
Made this for dinner today. Have been trying to make new recipes at least once a week. This was delicious!!. I doubled the sauce, added fresh green beans and spinach along with the asparagus. Bought tri-color pasta too. My husband loved it!!!
Lauren Allen says
Delicious–I love your adaptions! Glad everyone liked it!
Patti says
This was a family favorite! Will definitely make this one again!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks so much Patti! <3
Susan says
Just made tonight and made as called but added bell pepper and onion to the chicken for additional flavor. It was amazing and will be made again.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Susan! I love those addition ideas. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Traci says
Was great. Definitely will make again!
Jerri says
This is a 100 star recipe! Thank you. I had roasted chicken and fresh asparagus in the fridge and didn’t want the same old dinner with chicken, side, and salad. Trying to use up everything and not waste food because we are going on vacation next week – so I googled chicken + asparagus and ran across your recipe. I had all of the ingredients – and it snowed today, so this is the perfect lighter type comfort food for a fast family meal. It is delicious and everyone asked for seconds. A keeper – and thank you so much!!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks so much Jerri! I’m happy your family enjoyed it, and I’m so happy you found me. Hope you get to try some more of my recipes.
Kim says
Just finished making this meal not too long ago, and just wanted to comment that it was better than I expected it to be! I doubled the sauce recipe (the broth, half&half, cream cheese) but followed everything else to a T including boiling the asparagus with the Penne. It was SO good. Definitely going to be making again in the near future!
Lauren Allen says
So happy you liked it! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Cyndy says
The basil and oregano were all wrong, as they completely overpowered the fresh spring taste of the asparagus. In addition, they looked just awful floating around in the sauce–when I make this recipe again, I will leave them out completely.
On the plus side, the sauce had a rich, creamy texture and coated the pasta beautifully. The recipe was quick and easy to assemble and the tip about cooking the asparagus with the pasta was genius.
Chuck says
I had to reply..i found this last week..was looking for something to do with extra asparagas..i had a heart attack in 2014….at 43 yrs old..i started paying attention to what i was eating..and i started to cook..im not great..but its now my dirty little habit..a lot of baked chicken..brown rice..olive oil..vegs..fruits..the whole deal..my first break thru that i was all excited about was chicken marsala..no flour..lots of mushrooms..and i add onions..but i love the smell of my kitchen lol..like i said..i found this recipe last week and tried it..followed your recipe to the letter…i have no words lol.AMAZING..i made it again..just now..i did tweak a little..i added a SMALL amount of turkey bacon..a handful of chopped red onions..i did cut the cream cheese down a little…other than that…holy macaroni..im walking around licking my spatula lol ..a great recipe..THANK YOU. I took pics of everything..i dont know what i like more..cooking it or eating it lol
Chuck says
PS…i used veggie pasta also…
Lauren Allen says
What a great story, thank you so much for sharing with me Chuck! I’m really happy you’ve learned to enjoy cooking, and I’m glad you’ve gotten to play around with this recipe. Your adaptions sound delicious! Thanks for your comment, and I hope you get to try more of my recipes soon.
H. Wagner says
What a great, fresh Pasta entree! I had to make it without chicken but it was just as delightful as a vegetarian dish! At the table we added just a touch of lemon zest and a bit more Parmesan. My husband and boys all went back for more pasta! Thank you for sharing this great recipe.? HMWagner
Kevin C. says
Excellent recipe. So easy to make and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly says
I thought it was great but hubby was not so keen of the cream cheese. So I was wondering if you could substitute sour cream for cream cheese?
Lauren Allen says
Sure, it may just be a little more runny 🙂