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This one pot ground chicken fajita pasta is the perfect busy weeknight rush dinner. Ground chicken paired with warm spices, onions, peppers, creamy sour cream, and of course – CHEESE!
Comfort food comes in all forms, and, surprisingly for me, it took moving to New York to realize that pasta is the ultimate comfort food.
I grew up in a household where my dad wasn’t a big pasta fan, so we never ate it.
This dish is literally comfort in a bowl. It is packed full of Tex-Mex flavor, made with ground chicken, vegetables, pasta, homemade fajita sauce, spices, and just a touch of cheese.
Trust me, if you’re looking for the perfect ONE POT pasta dish, this is the recipe you need.
And if you love all these flavors but crave something lower-carb, try my stuffed Ground Chicken Fajita Spaghetti Squash, which has the same flavors but is made with spaghetti squash.
My Pro Tips
Ground Chicken Fajita Pasta Recipe Tips
Prep your ingredients ahead of time. This will allow you to focus on the food as it’s cooking and not become overwhelmed by trying to do too much at once.
When making one-pot pasta, you want a pan with high sides so you can add all your ingredients without worrying about anything spilling over. My favorites are my Le Creuset braiser or my deep 12-inch non-stick casserole pan from American Kitchen.
To keep it simple, I added cheese at the end and let the pasta’s heat melt it. However, if you love crunchy cheese toppings, pop them under the broiler.
If you don’t like cilantro, you can opt to leave it out. However, I think it brightens up the dish for you cilantro lovers!
Substitutions and Adaptations
Here are a few ideas for changing the flavor while keeping the method the same.
- Switch up the ground meat to bring in a different flavor – ground turkey, beef, or pork are all great substitutes.
- Instead of canned tomato sauce, you could easily use 15 ounces of store-bought enchilada sauce to add even more flavor.
- For a vegetarian experience, double the vegetables, use vegetable broth, use non-dairy cheese, and add vegan meat crumbles.
FAQ’s
More ground chicken recipes
One Pot Ground Chicken Fajita Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lean chicken
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1-1/4 cup chicken stock
- 8 ounces dried pasta
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- In a large 12 inch high sided skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil and set over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot add in the ground chicken, yellow onion, bell peppers, garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Cook until the meat is fully cooked and no longer pink and the vegetables have started to soften.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, chicken stock, and the dried pasta. Stir to combine.
- Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes or until the past is fully cooked. If the mixture cooks down too much before the pasta is fully cooked add a little more stock.
- After the pasta is fully cooked the mixture should be creamy but thick. Stir in the sour cream and cilantro.
- Top with cheese and let the warmth of the pasta melt the cheese.
- Optional – Melt the cheese under an oven broiler if in an oven safe dish.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
One of my favourite go to weeknight meals. So easy and healthy. Note: I too cook the pasta until just under el dente before adding to the veggies and chicken as I found the pasta doesn’t cook fully otherwise. I also add approximately 1/2 cup of pasta water to thicken sauce a bit.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This recipe was so easy and delicious!!
Absolutely deeeeeelicious. First of your recipes I’ve made and will be adding it into rotation. For people who read the reviews for cooking advice, I needed to cook the pasta for probably 5-6 minutes longer than what the recipe calls for. However, if you bring the sauce to a boil before adding the pasta I think it would avoid having to cook the pasta longer. I also opted for enchilada sauce over tomato sauce and that 100% the way to go. Kid approved! Son used some Doritos to scoop the pasta and I must say, that was a good call on his part.