Salsa Verde Chicken Pasta

Cheesy, creamy pasta with a smoky kick from salsa verde chicken, it’s ridiculously good and comes together in one skillet.

Yes, you read right this entire recipe comes together in one skillet AND less than 20 minutes. Does dinner get ANY better?

What Makes Salsa Verde So Good?

Salsa verde is a smoky, vibrant, and healthy sauce perfect for dipping with tortilla chips or to use in some of our favorite Mexican recipes like enchiladas, huevos, and my Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos. It’s one of my favorite recipes from the Taco Tuesday Cookbook! The chicken is so tender and soaked in the tangy, smoky salsa verde….

Using leftovers is a no-brainer and while I usually use them for more tacos or burrito bowls, one day I felt like experimenting with pasta. The results? Pasta and chicken with a smoky, tangy, cream sauce made in less than 20 minutes in one skillet.

This is the kind of recipe you serve to impress people and treat yourself.

This recipe is one of those situations where you can create two meals from one recipe, and we LOVE those right? In this case, it’s the slow cooker salsa chicken, one night its tacos, and the next, a delicious pasta. Recipes like this help you stay prepared and eliminate the recurring question of ‘what to make for dinner’?

You’ll find more just like it in the Meal Prep’d Book, which has over 70 recipes that you can cook ahead and use for quick dinners or pack for lunches throughout the week.

What is in Salsa Verde?

This one-of-a-kind sauce is made with tomatillos, as well as peppers, cilantro, onion, and spices. Unlike pico de gallo or regular salsa, all the veggies are roasted then blended together into a smooth sauce.

I have my own recipe for this sauce which I included in the Taco Tuesday Cookbook, but if you are just too busy this week to make the sauce, I’ll let you in on a little secret- the jarred version works just fine.

Since we add lime juice and taco seasoning to the slow cooker chicken, it really brightens the flavor of the sauce, even if it comes from a jar.

How to Make Salsa Verde Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Combine all ingredients in the dish of a slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until the chicken is falling-apart tender. From there it’s ready to be added to tacos or this easy pasta recipe.

If you want to work ahead, combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight. The next day, set it to cook and you’re all set!

Can you Make Salsa Verde Chicken Pasta Ahead?

This pasta is definitely a make-ahead type of meal. It’s easy to whip up and will last for 3 days in the fridge and is wayyyyy better than paying for an overpriced premade pasta meal from the grocery store.

Be aware, that the pasta and sauce with ‘set’ once cooled, so you’ll need to add a bit of extra liquid like water or chicken broth when reheating to bring the sauce back to the right consistency.

What else can you make with Salsa Verde Chicken?

Anything that you’d use regular salsa for like burritos, taco bowls, and chicken enchiladas. A lot of people also enjoy it with scrambled eggs or breakfast dishes like huevos rancheros and Huevos Verdes.

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