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Creamy Southwest Chicken Pasta is a high protein dish that comes together quickly in 30 minutes! You know I am all about quick and easy, healthy meals. This family favorite dish has a deliciously creamy cottage cheese sauce that gives you all the flavor of a comforting dish, but without the heavy cream. Perfectly seasoned chicken with sautéed bell pepper, corn, and onion create a nice flavorful base.
Sometimes in life you want comfort food with some kick. I’ve got that all taken care of for you in this dish! This creamy and decadent pasta dish is hitting all the marks.
Reasons you will love this Southwest Chicken Pasta!
- Similar to my Marry Me Chicken Pasta and Creamy Green Goddess Orzo with Chicken, this dish is lightened up with a high protein sauce using cottage cheese.
- It’s veggie loaded with bell pepper, two types of onion, sautéed corn, and fresh cilantro on top.
- The chicken breast is juicy, flavorful, and seared perfectly to add so much FLAVOR!
- This high protein dish is sure to be a hit with the family. As a nutritionist, I love to create super flavorful dishes that are filling and satisfying. My kids are currently ranking this in their dinner favorites!
How to make Creamy Southwest Chicken Pasta
Gather up your ingredients. Here is what I used to make this recipe:
- Chicken breast
- Avocado oil or olive oil
- Cajun seasoning
- Yellow onion
- Red and orange bell pepper
- Frozen corn
- Cottage cheese: I use low fat
- Chicken broth
- Pasta of your choice: I used a protein plus penne to get even more protein in this dish!
- This recipe comes together pretty quickly by giving the chicken a spice rub, and starting off by sautéing in a cast iron skillet until golden brown. Remove from heat (even if not cooked all the way), add a little more oil, and then sauté the veggies.
- Make the creamy sauce by blending the cottage cheese, more seasoning, and chicken broth in a blender.
- Meanwhile, make the pasta according to package directions.
- Pout the sauce in with the veggies. Add the chicken back to the skillet until cooked all the way.
- Toss in the pasta. Top with parmesan cheese, green onion, and cilantro to serve!
Tips and adaptations!
You can easily swap in different veggies. I would keep the onion and bell pepper, but adding in asparagus or broccoli is also a great option. This recipe would also be delicious with steak (filet or top sirloin). You can also use this as a meal prep recipe to enjoy throughout the week. Serve with my Mexican Slaw or house salad for a complete meal.
This dish came together in less than 30 minutes and was loved by the entire family. Don’t be afraid of the spices in this pasta. It was definitely fine with the kids, and they would be sure to tell me otherwise!
High Protein Creamy Southwest Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp cajun seasoning*
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 1-2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 8 oz frozen organic corn
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2/3 cup chicken stock
- 1.5 cups cottage cheese**
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Begin by mixing together the cajun seasoning and salt. Heat up a large skillet to medium high heat.
- Rub chicken breasts generously with dry rub. You may have extra rub that you can use later to add to the creamy sauce.
- Add the oil to the skillet, and add chicken breasts. Sear for a 5 – 7 minutes each side until a dark brown color. Chicken may not be cooked all the way through, but set aside and keep warm. Keep the skillet hot and add additional tbsp of oil if needed for the vegetables.
- While chicken is cooking, heat up a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Boil according to package directions.
- Add onion, corn and bell pepper to skillet, reserving any seasoning. Saute until bell pepper is soft, and corn is cooked (approximately 7 minutes). Reduce heat to low.
- Meanwhile, make the creamy sauce. In a food processor or blender, blend the cottage cheese, chicken broth, and any leftover cajun seasoning until smooth and creamy.
- Add the creamy cottage cheese sauce to the veggies, and return the chicken to the pan. Cook on low for another 5 minutes or so, or until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has been gently warmed. Toss in pasta.
- Serve hot with additional garnishes like green onion, cilantro, and parmesan cheese.
Notes
This tasted a bit odd with the Parmesan, so I substituted chopped avocado on the leftovers which blended with the flavors much better. Very good with that alteration!
Excellent! Did not add Coriander to sauce as I didn’t have it and it was not missed. Put a little extra chicken stock (made for more excellent sauce) and used three different peppers vs suggested red pepper.