Chicken Enchilada Pasta is an easy pasta recipe that is inspired by the Tex Mex flavors of Chicken Enchiladas.
Make sure to try my Chicken Enchiladas Recipe if you’re a fan of Tex Mex food!
Chicken Enchilada Pasta
This Chicken Enchilada Pasta is so super simple, loaded with flavor and easy to prepare! You have all the makings of chicken enchiladas in this easy pasta recipe.
Chicken Enchiladas are an easy dinner idea that we have in our house on a regular basis, but I thought I would get a little creative and do a recipe mash-up! Tex-Mex food is always a good idea and this recipe will feed a crowd!
What is Chicken Enchilada Pasta?
I love the flavor of red enchiladas. But strangely it seems like it’s one of those dishes I only order when I go out to a Mexican restaurant! But I decided to take all those flavors and create an easy pasta recipe. This not only is great for a weeknight dinner because you will most likely have leftover, but this is also why it works for feeding a crowd.
What Kind Of Chicken Should I Use?
This recipe uses cooked chicken. You can simply bake, grill, or pan fry chicken breasts and cube it up. You can also make my super easy Shredded Chicken, which is done in 30 minutes, or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. If you want to go the extra mile for a more flavor-packed option, try my Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken recipe!
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Pasta
This recipe has a few steps, but they are all very easy, and can easily be prepped ahead. As a matter of fact, this whole recipe is a great make-ahead meal!
Chop up your veggies: you will be using a combo of red pepper pepper, jalapeno, onion, and green bell pepper.
Saute those vegetables until they’re soft in a large, deep skillet in some olive oil. This will take about 10 minutes. (I used this skillet that I’ve had for years. It’s 5- quarts and it worked perfect for this recipe.)
Once the veggies are soft add in your cooked chicken.
Then stir in a can of enchilada sauce, a can of refried beans (which works great for added protein and flavor, as well as a way to thicken up your sauce), some cumin, kosher salt, and lime juice. Cook this for 5 minutes, just to heat it through. This is the base for your pasta!
You can adjust the seasoning of the sauce at this point. Add some more salt or pepper if you would like, or you can add in some cayenne pepper for heat.
Next you’re going to add in a pound of precooked pasta (drain it well) and stir it up evenly. I usually boil the pasta while the onions and peppers are cooking. I like using the short Rigatoni (Mezzi Rigatoni) for this pasta recipe, but you could use penne, shells, rigatoni etc. Any short pasta will work.
Transfer the saucy pasta into a 9×13 casserole baking dish and cover that with grated cheese. You can use the pre-grated or grate your own.
Bake it until the cheese is all melted and the pasta is bubbly. This only takes about 15 minutes because everything is already warm and cooked!
Chicken Enchilada Pasta Topping Suggestions:
This pasta begs to be topped with all the things! Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced jalapeno
- A drizzle of Avocado Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Black Olives
- Diced Avocado
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store this pasta airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can reheat it in individual servings in the microwave most easily!
To Freeze: This is a great recipe to freeze before baking. Store the whole casserole in the freezer for up to 3 months airtight. I find it best to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
More Weeknight-Friendly Pastas
Looking for more pasta recipes? Try these:
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Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Oven/Stove Top
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Description
This Chicken Enchilada Pasta an easy pasta recipe that has all the flavors of the Tex Mex classic!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Mezzi Rigatoni
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red pepper, chopped
- 1 large green pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- 4 cooked chicken breasts, chopped or 1 shredded Rotisserie Chicken
- 2 (10- ounce) cans red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup refried beans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups grated Mexican blend cheese (1/2 cheddar, 1/2 jack)
- optional garnishes: Sour cream, diced avocado, black olives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions, and rinse with cool water.
- While the pasta is cooking heat the olive oil a large skillet over medium heat. Place all the peppers and onion in the pan and saute until they are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the pan, followed by the enchilada sauce, the beans, cumin, salt and lime juice.
- Stir to combine and cook on medium-low for 5 minutes until heated through and smooth.
- At this point salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in your cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine evenly.
- Transfer the pasta mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and cover with grated cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately
Notes
store airtight in refrigerator for up to 5 days
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 566
- Sugar: 5.5 g
- Sodium: 715.7 mg
- Fat: 20.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.8 g
- Protein: 40.4 g
- Cholesterol: 94.4 mg
Keywords: pasta recipe, dinner recipe, cookies and cups, chicken recipe, tex mex, chicken enchilada
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I made this this wknd, & it couldn’t have been easier. I didn’t have any rigatoni on hand so I used large macaroni shells, & it was great!
MMMM! I love easy pastas like these, I made something similar with leftover grilled chicken yesterday! Always my favorite meal to cook after work 🙂
My kiddos would gobble this up so quickly!!! We love Tex Mex food all year long!!!