Creamy Chicken Pasta

Creamy Chicken Pasta starts with thick fettuccine cooked to al dente perfection, tossed with garlic butter mushrooms, rotisserie chicken, tender spinach, and garlic-herb cheese. While it might sound like a lot, this dish has loads of shortcuts, and the cream sauce is just one ingredient — Boursin cheese! 

Try some of our other simple pasta dishes like this Chicken Pot Pie Pasta (made in one pot) or this Creamy Pesto Pasta made with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Wow! This pasta dish! It’s creamy, rich, indulgent, and fully loaded with mushrooms, chicken, and spinach. There have been way too many pasta dishes I’ve tried where I’m searching for the chicken or mushrooms amongst the much-too-prevalent pasta.

Yes, pasta is amazing (and the more the better), but you shouldn’t be left searching for the add-ins! With this dish, you’ll get it fully loaded with chicken, mushrooms, and spinach — enough for every single bite along with the tender, saucy pasta.

Not only does this creamy dish taste completely restaurant worthy, but it’s also ridiculously simple to make. I know, I know…“creamy pasta” and “simple” don’t always go together unless you’re using a jar of Alfredo sauce, but I promise it doesn’t get much easier than this cream sauce. In fact, the cream sauce is just one ingredient — Boursin® cheese! It’s the secret here and if you love Boursin, you’re going to go nuts for this recipe!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Ingredients

• Butter and olive oil: A combination of butter and olive oil promotes browning and flavor — both of which we want for the mushrooms in this pasta. Use unsalted butter to control the saltiness of the dish, especially if your cheese is already salty.
• Veggies: Use any mushrooms, like baby Bella or crimini, preferably pre-sliced. Boursin adds garlic flavor; adjust garlic to taste. Fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped, cooks down quickly and works well in this recipe.
• Seasonings: I use basic seasonings you should have in your spice drawer to balance the flavors. Taste and adjust, as Boursin cheese already has salt and herbs.
• Pasta (Fettuccine): This thick pasta is the perfect avenue for the saucy cream base. While many pasta recipes call for an entire box, note that this recipe only uses 6 ounces. We think it’s the perfect ratio of pasta to cream sauce, mushrooms, chicken, and spinach.
• Boursin & parmesan cheese: Boursin, a garlic and herb-flavored cheese, makes the pasta creamy without needing heavy cream or roux and cuts down on extra seasonings. Allow it to reach room temperature for smoother melting. Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup.
• Rotisserie chicken: Buying pre-cooked and seasoned, saves time. Buy it pre-shredded or diced for convenience, or use leftover grilled chicken.

Recipe Shortcuts

• Get pre-sliced produce. Most grocery stores sell diced yellow onions in the produce section of the store. Alternatively, frozen diced onions are often found by the other frozen veggies and can be used in this recipe. While you’re getting the pre-diced onions, look for sliced mushrooms — most stores offer whole or sliced mushrooms and the sliced ones will save you chopping time.
• Use jarred garlic or a garlic press. Instead of mincing your own garlic, use jarred to save time. Or, a garlic press will get you fresh minced garlic in a fraction of the time that hand mincing takes.
• Pick up a bag of prewashed baby spinach. A bag of ready-to-use spinach is a huge time saver as opposed to washing, drying, removing stems, and cutting down a bundle of regular spinach. The chopping doesn’t need to take more than a minute; just add the spinach on a cutting board and run a large chef’s knife through it a few times — easy and quick!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Tips

• Salt the pasta water: Salt the pasta well as it cooks, since salting the water is how we season the actual pasta. I add 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt to every 4 cups of water as soon as the water has come to a boil. Then wait until the water returns to a full boil before adding in the pasta. (Read more on how to properly salt your pasta water here.)
• Grate Parmesan on a microplane: A microplane gives the Parmesan an amazing, super-light texture. It melts beautifully into the sauce and tastes incredible on top of this Creamy Chicken Pasta. 
• Don’t forget to reserve pasta water. When cooking pasta, it’s easy to go on autopilot and drain it all. Don’t forget to reserve about a cup of cooking water right before draining the pasta — we rely on the water to thicken the sauce and make it ultra creamy. I pull out the water with a glass liquid measuring cup.
• Slightly undercook the pasta; it will finish cooking as it gets tossed with the sauce. If the pasta is fully boiled, it will end up getting overcooked and lose texture (and possibly even become mushy). I recommend cooking it one minute less than the package directs — it cooks a bit more after being drained.
• Add fresh herbs. While optional, some fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley helps to nicely cut through the richness of this dish. Chives make another delicious finishing touch.
• Coarsely chop the baby spinach. While the spinach doesn’t have to be chopped, it does integrate better in the dish that way. Plus, you’ll get spinach in more bites and the smaller pieces are easier to eat. 

Side Dish Suggestions

This dish is rich and indulgent tasting, so I recommend pairing it with a light side dish. Here are our suggestions:

• A quick garden salad like this Italian salad, or Olive Garden Salad, or Quinoa Salad
• A crunchy fresh salad like this Cucumber Salad or Panzanella Salad
• Fresh fruit or this Fruit Salad Recipe
• Roasted veggies — This Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Asparagus, or Roasted Carrots would all go well with Creamy Chicken Pasta.

More Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

• Chicken Melts on French bread
• Rotisserie Chicken Tacos ready in less than 30 minutes
• Chicken and Rice Soup with peas and carrots
• Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with a homemade green enchilada sauce
• Chicken Shawarma Wraps with a simple yogurt sauce

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4.80 from 5 votes

Creamy Chicken Pasta

By Chelsea Lords

This Creamy Chicken Pasta starts with thick fettuccine boiled to al dente perfection and then tossed with garlic butter mushrooms, rotisserie chicken, tender spinach, and garlic-herb cheese. While it might sound like a lot, this dish has loads of shortcuts, and the cream sauce is just one ingredient -- Boursin cheese! 

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 ounces fettuccine (not the whole box)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 3 cups (9.5 oz.) sliced mushrooms crimini or baby bella
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (~3 cloves)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ Fine sea salt and cracked pepper
• ▢ 1 package (5.2 oz.) Boursin garlic and herb cheese Note 1
• ▢ 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 2 cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken
• ▢ 2 cups packed baby spinach, coarsely chopped (optional)
• ▢ For serving: additional Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions 

• PREP: Before starting this recipe, thinly slice (1/2-inch thick) the mushrooms. Coarsely chop the rotisserie chicken into small bite-sized pieces. If desired, coarsely chop the baby spinach -- just quickly run a knife through a few times. (It's fine to leave it whole too if you don't mind larger spinach pieces.)
  
• PASTA: Heads-up: We are going to be saving some of the pasta cooking water so don't drain it all! Bring a large pot of water to a boil; once boiling, generously salt the water. (I add 1 teaspoon to every 4 cups of water; don't skip this or the whole dish will taste under-seasoned.) Cook, following package directions, but cook for 1 minute less than it directs. (We'll cook the pasta more in a second.) Right before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. (I do this with a glass liquid measuring cup.) Drain the pasta.
  
• MUSHROOMS AND GARLIC: Meanwhile, heat a large skillet or pot (I use a deep 12-inch cast-iron skillet.) over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil. Once butter is melted, add in all the sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to turn a nice golden brown and all their liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.) Add Italian seasoning. Once the mushrooms are nice and golden, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the garlic. Stir for another 1-2 minutes or until everything is golden. By this time, you will likely be ready to drain the pasta.
  
• FINISHING: Back to the skillet: Over low heat, add the entire container of the Boursin cheese, the chicken, and the drained pasta on top (right after it's been drained). Use tongs to briskly toss everything, while adding in small amounts of the reserved pasta water. (I usually add about 1/2 up to 3/4 cup.) Add Parmesan cheese and toss until everything is well coated, adding more pasta water as needed. Tossing while adding the pasta water should turn the sauce very creamy and should coat everything nicely while clinging to the pasta. Add in the spinach and gently toss with tongs to wilt. Once wilted, remove the pan from heat. Taste and adjust adding more salt and pepper as needed until the flavors sing.
  
• SERVE: Remove from the stove and serve immediately. Add more Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh parsley to individual plates if desired.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Boursin cheese: Boursin is readily available at most mainstream grocery stores. It's typically found in the deli section or with other cheeses. Here's a store finder to check if it's at your local grocery store. Boursin cheese is not a sponsor or affiliated with this site -- it's just a great pasta shortcut we love! 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 826kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 230mg | Sodium: 1226mg | Potassium: 1372mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 12002IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 527mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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