This Easy Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta takes under 30 minutes to cook! And is sure to be a hit with the whole family.
With juicy chicken and flavor-packed chorizo sausage, this creamy pasta recipe has so much flavor whilst still delivering a creamy and comforting yet simple dinner.
We like this with penne pasta, but you can use any pasta shape you like here. Serve it with some garlic bread, a side salad and dinner is done!
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Chicken Pasta!
We do love pasta! And this Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta is a family favorite! Mostly because it is packed full of flavor!!! The key is a good Chorizo sausage. It adds so much to the simple sauce!!
A delicious family dinner, that cooks in under 30 minutes and is guaranteed to be enjoyed by even the pickiest eaters. WINNER WINNER! CHICKEN CHORIZO DINNER!
The base of the sauce is a simple can of tomatoes, this is layered with flavor from some bell peppers, onions, and Italian herbs.
If you have it, a little hint of smoked paprika helps to enhance the smoky chorizo and some sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
What Chorizo to use?
The choice of chorizo in stores will dictate this dish for you. There are two types of chorizo - Mexican and Spanish. You can read more about the different types of chorizo here.
I usually make this dish with the firm cured Spanish chorizo, have a lookout for it at the grocery store, you'll find it with the prepacked hams and lunch meat. But if you can only find the soft Mexican sausage kind then go ahead and use that in this dish, it will work well too!
What pasta to use
Penne is our favorite pasta shape (Well sort of, everyone in the family has a different fav, but Penne is the one we all agree on 😉 )
But you can make this pasta with any shape you like. In the past, I have used rigatoni, spiralli, ziti, and pasta shells for this recipe - They all work well.
Or pick a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine. The creamy tomato sauce works well with them too!
How to make Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
The base for the sauce starts with the chorizo, onions and bell peppers being cooked off in olive oil. Once the vegetables have softened, the chicken breast and then everything is simmered with canned tomatoes, salt, sugar, and Italian seasoning.
Whilst the sauce simmers, the pasta is cooked and then the sauce and pasta are combined along with a cup of heavy cream.
The final step is to add fresh spinach and allow it to wilt down in the hot sauce. Serve garnished with basil or parsley and dinner is done!
Recipe Hints and Tips
Bell Peppers - You can use any color of peppers (capsicums) you like here. We prefer the sweeter red and yellow varieties. But add green if you like.
Onions - You can use red, white or brown onions for this dish.
Canned Tomatoes - for this sauce it is best to use crushed or chopped tomatoes. They meld into a sauce better than the whole tomatoes.
Sugar - you can use brown, white or castor sugar.
Salt - PLEASE salt your pasta water well. But for the sauce, taste it before you add any salt, chorizo sausage varies in salt content so yours could be more/less salty than mine.
Pasta - as mentioned above use whatever shape you and your family love. Or whatever is in the cupboard.
Cream - I use a heavy cream/whipping cream/thickened cream here as I don't want the acidity of the tomatoes to split the cream. You can replace it with half and half or milk but there is a chance that your sauce will look slightly split. This won't affect the taste but it will affect the appearance and thickness.
What to serve with Chicken Chorizo Pasta
Sides - As with nearly all the pasta recipes on my site (there are almost 60!), I generally serve pasta with some sort of bread and a side salad.
I may occasionally add a side of garlic green beans or roasted broccoli.
Wine - The smoky chorizo works well with a Rioja, which normally can't stand up to the acidity of tomatoes, but because they are mellowed by the addition of the cream, the rioja is well balanced here. Or a light Zinfandel.
Alternatively, add a Chenin Blanc, which is rich enough to carry the sauce, but fresh enough to balance the smoky notes. Interestingly a dry cider works too!
Enjoy x
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Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 5.5 oz chorizo - see note 1
- 1 onion
- 1 red bell peppers see note 2
- 1 yellow bell pepper see note 2
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 garlic cloves - crushed
- 1 can chopped tomatoes (14oz/400g)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika - optional
- 14 oz pasta - see note 3
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh spinach
To serve
- parmesan
- flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion, then chop the bell peppers and set to one side.
- Slice the chorizo into disks.
- Heat the olive oil a large frying pan over high heat, add the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped onion and peppers and cook for another 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Whilst the peppers are cooking chop the chicken breasts into small chunks.
- Add the chicken to the pan and stir around in the oil for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Add in the garlic and stir together until aromatic (less than 1 minute)
- Add the chopped tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and smoked paprika if using.
- Bring to a simmer and then cook gently whilst you cook the pasta.
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt then pour in the pasta.
- Reserve a cup of the pasta cooking liquid then drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the tomato sauce mixture and pour in the heavy cream.
- Stir everything together until well coated, thinning the sauce with pasta water as needed.
- Stir through the fresh spinach and allow to wilt. Serve immediately with parmesan and chopped parsley.
Notes
- I usually make this dish with the firm cured Spanish chorizo, have a lookout for it at the grocery store, you'll find it with the prepacked hams and lunch meat. But if you can only find the soft Mexican sausage kind then go ahead and use that in this dish, it will work well too!
- You can use any color of peppers (capsicums) you like here. We prefer the sweeter red and yellow varieties. But add green if you like.
- You can use any pasta shape that your family likes here. Penne, rigatoni, spiralli, ziti, and pasta shells work well. Or pick a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine.
Niamh says
Delicious....we all had clean plates. A big hit with the kids.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased!!
Empty plates when feeding the kids always makes me smile 🙂
Cx
Paige says
Absolutely amazing!! Smells as good as it tastes. I didn’t use peppers as I don’t like them but it’s still such a good recipe! Definitely will be making again
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased that you enjoyed it and you were able to adapt it to suit your tastes.
Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
Cx
Rianna says
Tonight I had 3 teenagers at my house tonight. They all thought I was a genius cook! My 2 year old also ate it. My husband ate way to much! I did not use the chicken or bell peppers because I hate chicken in pasta, also did not have any bell peppers.
This was a huge win for me! I did use a lot of extra spinach, because my family hardly eats vegetables. So I sneak them in when I can. Thanks so much!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased everyone enjoyed it 🙂
If you aren't a fan of chicken but love the chorizo you could try this chorizo pasta as well 🙂 Easy Tomato Chorizo Pasta it is a fav with my kids!!
I love that you hide extra spinach! I do the same thing!!!!
Thank you for the lovely comment
Cx
Kim Edwards says
I modified this recipe a bit to get more veggies in. I did 1 pepper, 1 small yellow squash & 1 small zuchini. My family LOVED this dish. Thank you for sharing.
Claire McEwen says
I LOVE the addition of the veggies!
So happy the family enjoyed it 🙂
Chorizo anything is always a hit in my house 😉
Cx
Erin says
Love love loved this! I didn’t have quite enough capsicum so added a large chilli which gave it the perfect amount of heat. Brilliant recipe paired with fresh pasta 👌
Claire McEwen says
Loving the addition of a chilli! That would be perfect with the chorizo!
So pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Karen says
Just made this for tea....was a big hit..did slightly more than recipe as I had a feeling it would be good enough to take for lunch tomorrow... and it was 😁
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Karen.
I LOVE dinners that can be turned into lunch leftovers 😉
Cx
Shelley says
This certainly is yummy! Have you tried freezing it? Thanks.
Claire McEwen says
Hi Shelley,
I have frozen it and whilst it wasn't quite as good it still made a great quick lunch (heated up in the microwave)
I found the pasta absorbed more of the sauce so it was a little softer and there wasn't as much sauce in the bowl.
But the flavor was still good.
Hope that helps
Cx
Chloe says
This is delicious! Going to keep the leftovers for tomorrow! 😋
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Chloe. Enjoy your leftovers 🙂
Cx
Erin Porter says
This was the best! Would love to see 4people eat all this though...so much food .. 4ppl plus at least 3 more meals here!
Claire McEwen says
We like a lot of pasta I work on 100g per person 🙂
So pleased you enjoyed it! And at least now there is leftovers 😀 😀
Cx
Ben says
That looks awesome. I'm a big fan of chorizo in anything, and when you combine that with pasta and a creamy sauce, I'm definitely all in.
lisa says
How wonderful.... I'm sure my family and friends will love it. Thank you very much
Claire McEwen says
It is a family favorite in our house Lisa 😀
Veronica says
I made this chorizo pasta for lunch and everyone at work was swarming at my table wanting a bite, it was really a big hit, truly scrumptious!
Claire McEwen says
Oh those are the best lunches aren't they 😉
So pleased you enjoyed it Veronica, hope you didn't have to give away too many spoonfuls Cx