Beef Chorizo and Chicken Pasta
Creamy pasta with beef chorizo AND chicken – double the protein, double the flavor! The best way to describe this pasta is flavorful. The beef chorizo adds so much spice to the sauce so you don’t even need to add much to the pasta for it to be the best you’ve ever had!
Making The Chicken
The first step to making this dish is preparing the chicken. It’s a one-pan recipe so after searing the chicken, we cook the chorizo and make the sauce in the same pan so it can soak up all that flavor too! The marinade for the chicken breast is absolutely delicious and simplicity at its finest. These are the ingredients we will use for the marinade:
- olive oil
- salt
- garlic powder
- paprika
- black pepper
- cumin
- coriander
- oregano
Take two chicken breasts and cut them in half to make 4 pieces of the thin chicken breast if they are very thick. Add the olive oil and all the spices and mix well to marinate evenly.
To a pan over medium-high heat, add a bit more olive oil and sear the chicken on each side until golden and cooked through. Take the chicken off the pan but leave the pan as is to cook the chorizo and make the sauce in.
The Pasta and Sauce
Once the chicken is cooked, we are going to make the chorizo! The chorizo is packed with so much flavor and if you’ve never had it with pasta, you’ve definitely been missing out.
Add the beef chorizo to a pan over medium-high heat to brown it for a few minutes. The chorizo will release a lot of oil since it has a high-fat content. Once the chorizo is cooked, transfer it to a plate but leave about a tablespoon of the chorizo fat in the pan.
Now to the same pan over medium heat, we’ll add unsalted butter, minced garlic, and tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste down for a minute or two until it deepens in color to remove the acidity. Once that’s done, add heavy cream, cream cheese, chili powder, dried basil, freshly grated parmesan, and the cooked beef chorizo. Mix together and taste the sauce to adjust any spices.
NOTE: There is no salt in the sauce recipe if you noticed! This is because the chorizo is already very salty so when it’s mixed into the sauce along with the parmesan, the sauce naturally gets salted too. Of course, taste it and adjust it as needed for your taste.
Boil your pasta according to package directions in salted water and toss it into the sauce along with the chopped chicken and some fresh parsley. That is it! Serve with more grated parmesan on top to enjoy!
Where to Buy Beef Chorizo
My favorite Beef Chorizo to buy is from Sprouts. The brand is called Denmark Foods and it is my favorite beef chorizo I’ve tried so far. It’s not as fatty and oily as other brands and just has so much flavor and an incredible texture very similar to sausage. Other brands that I have tried in the past have been more crumbly which I’m not the biggest fan of especially in pasta dishes where you want chunks.
Watch How to Make It
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Dinner
Beef Chorizo and Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
CHICKEN- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, more to taste
- 16 ounces rigatoni pasta or penne
- 12 ounces beef chorizo
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
CHICKEN- In a bowl, add the chicken, olive oil, salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin, coriander, and oregano. Mix to marinade evenly.
- Heat an oiled skillet or pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the marinated chicken to the pan and cook on each side until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Then drop the heat to low and allow the chicken to cook through to the center or the temperature registers 165°F. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Allow the chicken to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then chop into small pieces. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water.
- Drain the pasta after cooked.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add the beef chorizo. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes until browned. Transfer the chorizo to a plate, leaving a bit of the oil in the pan.
- In the same pan the chorizo was cooked in, melt down the butter and cook the garlic and tomato paste for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Then add the heavy cream, cream cheese, chili powder, dried basil, parmesan, and the cooked chorizo. Whisk together and bring to a simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
- Once it thickens, take off the heat and add back the pasta and parsley.
- Mix together to combine and then enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- There is no salt in the sauce recipe if you noticed! This is because the chorizo is already very salty so when it’s mixed into the sauce along with the parmesan, the sauce naturally gets salted too. Of course, taste it and adjust it as needed for your taste.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?
HI, I’M HAJAR
Welcome to Moribyan! This is my blog where I love to share all my favorite recipes and lifestyle tips with you all. If I’m not cooking here, I’m either at Trader Joe’s, the gym, or eating a bagel.
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Everyone in my family rants and raves about this recipe. I even made it twice in a row. I even had to make extra to give away to all the cousins and other family! so easy to make so delicious and one of my families faves!
I love this recipe! It doesn’t take so long to prep or cook, simple but the taste is amazing. Husband and toddler approved! 5 star recipe.
Loved this recipe, no need for additional salt!
LOVED THIS! I used pork chorizo instead of beef and it was amazing! Next time I think I would add even more chorizo for more flavor!
this was one of the best pastas I’ve ever eaten!! all the spices add SO much flavor, I used regular sausage instead of chorizo and the combo of sausage+chicken was amazing. will definitely be a staple from now on!!
this was one of the best pastas I’ve ever made!! the spices (especially the cumin) give so much dimension to the flavor. I used regular sausage instead of chorizo and it still ended up amazing – will definitely be a staple from now on.
Came out amazing!!! I added roasted garlic as well as minced…perfection. Thank you for the recipe :)!
This is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.