Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta (under 30 minutes)
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This chicken and mushroom pasta dish is easy, comforting, flavorful, and creamy. It’s everything you’d want in a cosy pasta recipe! This dish includes juicy cooked chicken pieces, a cream-based mushroom sauce, fresh herbs, and pasta shells. This dish also has green beans, so you can sneak a few extra nutrients in without the kids noticing!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
Flavorful – With fresh herbs, a creamy homemade mushroom sauce, and garlic, every bite of this chicken mushroom pasta is full of flavour.
Easy – This chicken and mushroom pasta is great for home chefs of all levels.
Comforting – The creamy sauce and pasta help create a cosy meal for rainy, gloomy, or chilly days.
Simple ingredients – The ingredients in this mushroom chicken pasta are easy to find at the grocery store.
Quick – This yummy pasta dish is ready in about 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights.
Versatile – You can adjust the herbs/seasoning to your liking easily. Or, use other veggies, protein, etc.
Great for picky eaters – With its rich, creamy sauce, pasta, and chicken, kids will love this dish (and ask for seconds!).Here are a few other creamy pasta recipes to try: Creamy Bacon Pasta, Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta, and Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta.
What is Creamy Chicken Mushroom Pasta?
Creamy chicken and mushroom pasta is a tasty dish made with a creamy mushroom sauce, perfectly fried mushrooms, moist chicken chunks, and noodles. While the herbs/seasoning and other inclusions may vary from recipe to recipe, you can expect a cream-based sauce, mushrooms, chicken, and noodles in each variation.
Ingredients
Chestnut Mushrooms – I love including chestnut mushrooms in this chicken and mushroom pasta dish, as they make the recipe feel more filling. However, you can use any fresh mushrooms, like button or cremini.
Single Cream – Using single cream helps provide the base for the rich sauce in this dish. To create the sauce, you can also use half and half, heavy cream, or evaporated milk. Regular milk will also work well but won’t taste as rich.
Fresh Rosemary – Other fresh herbs, like parsley and thyme, will also work in this creamy chicken and mushroom pasta. You can combine multiple herbs or use them individually, depending on your preferences.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
Here are a few ways to make this chicken and mushroom pasta your own! For example, you can easily turn it into a vegan recipe. Use non-dairy heavy cream (like the option from Silk) and swap out chicken for a meatless chicken alternative.
Long and short pasta will work for this recipe. Some great options include fettucine, linguini, penne, and tagliatelle. As mentioned, you can use other milk instead of the single cream. If you want a richer recipe, use heavy cream. For a lighter recipe, use regular milk instead.
Or, try topping the pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese for a cosier dish. You can also use other veggies, like broccoli or peas, instead of green beans.
How to make Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Start by adding half of the oil into a non-stick frying pan. Increase the heat to high and add the mushrooms into the pan. Distribute across the pan, then leave to brown for 5 minutes (Image 1).
- Once the mushrooms have taken on some colour, stir and continue to cook for around 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside (Image 2).
3. Reduce the heat to low/medium and add the remaining oil. Add the onion and chicken to the pan and season with salt and pepper (Image 3).
4. Fry for around 4 minutes, then add the garlic and rosemary. Continue to fry for around 3 minutes, then add the cream into the pan (Image 4).
*During this time, add your pasta shells to heavily salted boiling water, setting your timer to the packet time minus 2 minutes.
5. Once the cream is up to temperature, slowly pour the stock into the pan, along with the cornflour slurry (water & cornflour), Worcester sauce and half of the mushrooms (Image 5).
6. Continue to cook until thickened and season with salt and pepper (Image 6).
7. Reserve a mug full of pasta water, drain the pasta and add to the pan. Stir the pasta until fully coated in the creamy sauce, loosening with pasta water to form a glossy, creamy sauce (Image 7).
8. Top with the reserved mushrooms and a crack of black pepper (Image 8).
Try these other tasty pasta recipes, after you have tried this one: Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta, Easy Tomato Tuna Pasta Bake and Spicy Chicken Pasta Recipe
Tips for the best result
Allow the mushrooms enough space to cook
When making the fried mushrooms for this chicken and mushroom pasta dish, leave enough room between each piece. You do not want to overcrowd the pan with mushrooms. Otherwise, they won’t get golden brown. Instead, they’ll steam and be mushy. You can cook the mushroom in batches if you have a smaller pan.
Don’t overcook the chicken
The chicken in this creamy chicken pasta is the star of the dish, so you’ll want to ensure you don’t overcook it. Leaving the chicken in the pan too long will dry it out. Ensure you watch the chicken as it cooks and follow along with the timing notes in the recipe for the best results.
Let the sauce reduce
A rich, thick sauce is the key to creating the best creamy mushroom chicken pasta. Reducing the sauce (and adding a cornstarch slurry) will help create a non-runny sauce.
Keep pasta water on hand
Ensure you save some pasta water, as it helps bind the sauce together. If you forgot to save some water from the pasta, don’t fret. You can use a small amount of chicken broth instead. Ensure you use less salt if using broth as a substitute.
What to Serve with Mushroom Chicken Pasta?
This chicken and mushroom pasta works well with quite a few dishes. If you’re unsure what to serve with it, here are a few ideas:
- Salad (with or without chicken)
- Roasted veggies
- Crusty bread (homemade or store-bought)
- Rolls
- Sauteed veggies
Make Ahead, Storage, Reheat Instructions
This is a great make-ahead recipe. You can create the chicken and mushroom pasta ahead of time and freeze it for up to three months. Then, reheat it on the stove. If you plan on freezing this creamy chicken mushroom pasta, do not freeze cooked noodles. Instead, make fresh noodles when you’re ready to eat them.
You can keep leftover chicken pasta in the fridge for up to three days. Leave your pasta al dente so it does not get mushy as it sits in the fridge. When ready to eat it, simply pop it in the microwave. Heat it in 30-second intervals. Mix it well as you heat it so the cream sauce doesn’t separate.
Here are a few more creamy pasta recipes for cosy meals: Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake, Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi and Creamy Philadelphia Chicken Pasta.
FAQs
Yes! You can fry mushrooms with bacon pieces for this chicken and mushroom pasta. It will add even more flavour to the recipe. When using this swap, leave out the extra oil, as the bacon will provide enough oil for frying the mushrooms.
There are a few reasons why your sauce may be runny. For one, you may have forgotten to add the cornflour slurry. Or, perhaps there is too much pasta water in the sauce.
The best way to thicken the sauce in this recipe is by creating a flour or cornstarch slurry. Mix either one with water (ensuring there are no clumps). Then, whisk it into the sauce and allow it to simmer for a few minutes.
No, avoid using condensed milk as it’s sweetened. However, you can use evaporated milk for the sauce base if you don’t have milk in your fridge.
Make your pasta meal more decadent by pairing it with one of these desserts: Simple & Easy Brownies, Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats, or Chocolate Chip Microwave Cookies.
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If you tried this Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta (under 30 minutes)
Ingredients
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced (£1.00)
- 350 g chicken breast, thinly sliced into chunks (£3.00)
- 1 onion, finely diced (£0.15)
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (£0.39/3)=(£0.13)
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, removed from sprigs and finely chopped (£0.60/2)=(£0.30)
- 500 g pasta shells/conchiglie (£0.75)
- 200/ 300 ml single cream (£1.20/2)=(£0.60)
- 500 g frozen green beans, defrosted (£1.05)
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 300 ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp cornflour + 3 tbsp cold water
- Salt and pepper
- ½ tbsp worcester sauce
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Start by adding half of the oil into a non-stick frying pan. Increase the heat to high and add the mushrooms into the pan. Distribute across the pan, then leave to brown for 5 minutes.
- Once the mushrooms have taken on some colour, stir and continue to cook for around 2 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to low/medium and add the remaining oil. Add the onion and chicken to the pan and season with salt and pepper. During this time, add your pasta shells to heavily salted boiling water, setting your timer to the packet time minus 2 minutes.
- Fry for around 4 minutes, then add the garlic and rosemary. Continue to fry for around 3 minutes, then add the cream into the pan.
- Once the cream is up to room temperature, slowly pour the stock into the pan, along with the cornflour slurry (water & cornflour), Worcester sauce and half of the mushrooms. Continue to cook until thickened and season with salt and pepper.
- Reserve a mug full of pasta water, drain the pasta and add to the pan. Stir the pasta until fully coated in the creamy sauce, loosening with pasta water to form a glossy, creamy sauce.
- Top with the reserved mushrooms and a crack of black pepper.
Notes
- Avoid overcrowding the pan to achieve golden-brown mushrooms; cook in batches if needed.
- Careful with chicken cooking time to prevent overcooking and ensure it stays moist for a flavourful dish.
- Creating a rich, thick sauce is crucial; reduce it and consider adding a cornstarch slurry for a non-runny consistency.
- Keep some pasta water on hand to bind the sauce; if unavailable, use a small amount of chicken broth with reduced salt.
Nutrition
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