Creamy Penne Pasta and Chicken 
This creamy penne pasta and chicken was a HUGE HIT with the family, particularly my picky daughter. After two bites, my son asked if there was enough for leftovers. That should count for extra points, right?
The picture above shows the adult dinner; topped with sliced grape tomatoes and sprinkled with red pepper flakes. Naturally, I left them off the kiddo's plates. The cream sauce is flavored with onion slices and minced garlic cooked in butter. It's mild and flavorful. Instead of using milk, sour cream was the dairy of choice. This ingredient alone had us ALL going back for a second serving.
It took longer to cook the penne than to make the sauce. The roasted chicken was already cooked from the other day of cooking ahead. I highly recommend making a habit of roasting chicken ahead of time. You will save yourself SO much time and it opens up opportunities to try other recipes or just relax more.
HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO DO
- 2 1/2 cups penne pasta, cooked as directed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/3 cup onion, sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 (15 oz.) can chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 roasted chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
- red pepper flakes, optional
- grape tomatoes, sliced, optional
While the penne is cooking, melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Cook garlic and onions with 1/4 teaspoon salt, over medium heat, until onions have softened. Add flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in broth, stirring frequently until sauce comes to simmer. Remove from heat.
PLEASE STAND BY FOR A KID FRIENDLY TIP
If you have one on hand, use an immersion blender to puree onions into sauce for a smoother texture. Or, carefully move sauce to a blender with the lid secured, and pulse the sauce until smooth. Move sauce back to pan and stir in sour cream until it has melted. The kiddos will never know about the onions and garlic.
If you don't have to worry about kids, then simply stir in the sour cream until it has melted. Be sure the pasta is well drained, then move to a large serving bowl. Top pasta with chicken pieces. Pour sauce over hot pasta, tossing well to get all that creamy sauce inside the pasta. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving, so sauce can thicken. Garnish individual plates with grape tomatoes and red pepper flakes.
This looks awesome, I am going to try it!!! I love your web site!!!
Thank you, Theresa!
The creamy sauce on the chicken and penne is SOOO Good!
I’m a big spinach fan, and I can’t wait to make this dish again with spinach.
I’ll bet it will taste wonderful.
Just wanted to let you know how much we loved this dish. I’ve made it twice so far and it is my youngest daughters favorite food *ever*. Mine too! I can’t believe how quick it is to make and I can’t believe that all four of my picky eaters loved it! I enjoyed it so much that I’ve blogged about it twice this week at http://imrunningtoeat.blogspot.com/. LOL!
I tried your recipe and let me tell we enjoyed it. I added red peppers and spinach and it was very good
will be making again in the future thanks.
OH yeah, I bet it was! I haven’t made it with spinach, yet. It’s odd I haven’t with as much as I love spinach.
Did you mean to say you added red bell peppers? If yes, how did you cook them? I’m interested in that!
I made this again, but with just onions in the sauce. WOW! YUM!
I topped it with sauteed spinach & parmesan, that was ROCKIN!
I just made a Vegetarian version of the recipe with baby portabellas (http://gaucheandgluttonous.blogspot.com/2008/08/creamy-pasta-with-mushrooms.html) and it turned out great! I just wanted to thank you for sharing such a fantastic recipe.
Thank you Kacie!
I love portabellas too. (Oh, who am I kidding? I love every mushroom I’ve ever tried.)
That’s a great idea using them. I’m gonna try those next time I make this meal. Of coarse, my family is not as crazy about mushrooms as I am, so I’ll have to make a special plate for me.
Did you do anything to the mushrooms before adding them to the cream sauce?
This recipe is awesome! I added a little more garlic and some shredded Parmesan cheese too. My family loved it, including my VERY picky kids. I made a double batch and we ate it again last night. It was even better the second day!
Hi Jen!
I don’t we can go wrong when we start adding cheese to anything. Thank you for reminding me to do that next time.
Isn’t it awesome to find a recipe your picky eaters LOVE? Hallalooya!
Just made this for the rest of my housemates, three of us (not very picky at all) and it went down an absolute treat. Excellent recipe and very easy to make.
YEAAAH!!!
Thank you James!
I use this sauce quite often; over ravioli, with roasted shrimp, and with my favorite, spinach.
It’s all good!
This recipe is SO good! My husband substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream since I am lactose intolerant and added broccoli. I couldn’t stop picking out of the serving bowl at the end of the meal. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Thank you Karla! That’s an excellent substitution tip, yogurt for sour cream. And broccoli is DELICIOUS in this recipe, as well as spinach. I’ve learned to make extra, too, just so we can enjoy it again for lunch the next day.
Charles, my husband, says it really good for a take to work lunch, easy to reheat in the microwave.