Blackened Chicken Pasta

Best-Ever Pasta with Blackened Chicken

Just when you thought a delicious garlic chicken pasta was the best yet, this Blackened Chicken Pasta appears and claims the throne! This game-changer recipe is a pasta night winner. It’s ridiculously good, packed with nutrition, and ready to serve in 30 minutes. Perfection!

The seasoned chicken has a unique spicy and smoky taste that carries over into the simple tomato sauce… leaving you wondering when you’ll make this chicken dinner recipe again.

Plus, while the pasta is boiling, you’ll pan-sear the chicken and make the sauce, eliminating the temptation of getting dinner delivered or eating out!

What is Blackened Chicken? 

Blackened chicken consists of rubbing the chicken meat with blackened seasoning, a mix of spices that adds flavor to all kinds of proteins. While cooking the chicken in the pan, the spices get slightly charred, resulting in a tasty dark crust, giving it its name.

Here’s what you need to make it happen:

• Fettuccine pasta: or your favorite pasta.
• Chicken breasts: butterflied so it cooks faster and evenly.
• Blackened seasoning: gives the chicken an irresistible and flavorful crust, use my recipe or your favorite storebought.
• Butter: for cooking.
• Onion: adds delicious taste and aroma.
• Garlic cloves: onion´s best friend!
• Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: you can swap them for regular, or Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes.
• Chicken broth or stock: the liquid needed for the sauce.
• Tomato paste: adds concentrated tomato flavor and helps thicken the sauce.
• Parmesan cheese: a final and delicious cheesy touch!
• Parsley: for serving

Remember to grab the ingredient measurements in the printable recipe card below.

Check the step-by-step:

1. Cook the pasta
   Bring water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the package directions. Once ready, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain, and set the pasta aside.
2. Prep the chicken breasts
   On a flat surface, pat dry the chicken breasts. Butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing them horizontally through the middle. 
3. Season the chicken
   Rub/distribute the blackened seasoning on both sides of the 4 pieces of chicken breasts.
4. Cook the chicken
   Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place the chicken breasts on the pan and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts over, and cook for another 4 minutes on the other side. *If using whole chicken breasts, the cooking time will vary to 7 to 8 minutes per side until the internal temperature has reached 165F. Remove the chicken from the pan onto a plate and leave any tidbits on the pan for extra flavor.
5. Cook the aromatics
   Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan and melt it while scraping the tidbits with a spatula. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic, diced tomatoes, and sauté for 2 minutes.
6. Make the sauce
   Add the chicken broth (or stock) and tomato paste and combine to mix the tomato paste into the thick mixture. Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water and the parmesan cheese and combine into the sauce.
7. Combine
   Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine with the sauce. If it’s too thick, slowly add additional reserved pasta water to thin it out to a consistency of your liking.
8. Add the chicken
   Slice the blackened chicken breasts into slices and toss into the pasta right before serving.

How Long Do You Cook Blackened Chicken for Pasta

Butterflied chicken breasts take 3 to 4 minutes per side to cook through. Whole chicken breasts have a typical cooking time of 7 to 8 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. 

The best way to know if the chicken is done is by checking the internal temperature, in the thickest part, with a meat thermometer. Chicken breast meat is cooked and safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 165F.

Recipe Variations

With simple swaps and add-ins, you can customize this recipe to your liking, swap a missing ingredient, or make it gluten-free so everyone can enjoy an out-of-this-world blackened chicken pasta:

Use chicken thighs
You can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts for this recipe. You’ll need 1-1.5lbs of thighs, depending on how chicken-heavy you want to make this dish. Since thighs are thinner, there’s no need to butterfly them. Simply cook the thighs, about 6 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 175F.

Make it gluten-free
You can easily make this recipe gluten-free by swapping regular pasta for your favorite gluten-free brand.

Make it dairy-free
When cooking, swap butter for olive oil and avoid the cheese and you get a delicious dairy-free blackened chicken pasta for dinner!

Swap fire-roasted tomatoes
Don’t you have a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes? No problem. Substitute it for regular diced tomatoes, or Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes.

Add veggies
You can add chopped veggies to this chicken pasta for extra nutrition. When you cook the garlic, add canned or frozen veggies (previously thawed) or those that don’t need much time to be tender, like diced green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, or thinly sliced red bell peppers.

Swap the pasta shape
I love the richness of fettucini for this recipe, but other favorites are penne pasta or spaghetti. Of course, you can use the pasta shape you already have in your pantry.

Build a salad lunch
You can cook more blackened chicken, serve it with pasta for dinner and then use chicken leftovers to pack this delicious Blackened Chicken Salad for work!

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

You can store chicken pasta leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer. To reheat, add one or two tablespoons of water or broth and microwave leftovers for one minute, covered and slightly vented. Stir and microwave for additional time until it is heated through.

What to Serve with Blackened Chicken Pasta

Sides are always great to add more nutrition and variety to your meals. You can serve this chicken pasta just like it is or enjoy it with a fresh and simple side salad, roasted vegetables like these Roasted Broccolini, or fluffy, soft popovers!