It's 5:30pm, you're hungry, you've had a long day and just want comfort food that's quick and easy to whip up in 30min. Sounds familiar? Look no further. I've got you. This creamy chicken mushroom pasta is one of my go-to comfort food that always hits the spot. It's creamy, its tangy and most importantly, its a big warm hug of pasta!
Jump to:
Tips around cooking the pasta
Ingredients: fettuccine pasta, boiling water, lots of salt
Whenever pasta is on the menu, first step, put the kettle on, get rolling on the pasta. This helps save time and whilst the pasta is cooking away, you can kick the ball rolling with the creamy chicken and mushroom sauce.
Pour boiled water from the kettle into a large pot and salt the water before cooking pasta. Go generous with the salt - you want to be able to taste the salt in the water. This means not a tiny pinch of salt. 1 or 2 tablespoon of salt will do the trick. This will ensure your final dish is well balanced and not bland.
Cook pasta according to packet instructions. However, you want to take the pasta out of the boiling water around 2min in advance so that it is al dente. Keep the pasta water aside. Taking the pasta out slightly early is important because later on, you're going to put all the pasta into the pan with all the creamy chicken and mushroom sauce and that will continue the cooking process. The result? perfectly cooked, delicious pasta!
I like using fettuccine pasta for this dish but you can use whatever pasta you like/have in the pantry.
TIPS:
- GENEROUSLY SALT the cooking water before putting pasta in
- Take pasta out once it is al dente
- Reserve pasta cooking water
Step by step instructions
Ingredients: chicken, mushrooms, onion, garlic, cooking cream, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, parsley
Place 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, saute diced onion on medium heat until soft and translucent (about 3min) then stir in finely diced garlic until fragrant.
Push onions and garlic to the sides of the pan, add chicken thigh strips, salt and pepper, saute on high heat. Once the chicken starts getting a little golden and not completely cooked through, add mushroom slices. Keep stirring and saute on medium-high heat. You want to get some nice colouring on the mushrooms to maximise flavour. After around 5min, pour in cooking cream. The cream will bubble / foam up very quickly, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2min. Stirring constantly. Now, squeeze in lemon juice.
Mix in chopped parsley (stalks and all) this will completely freshen up the entire dish. At this point, the kitchen should be smelling divine.
If you've been moving around the kitchen swiftly, the pasta should be al dente by now and it's time to put the pasta into the pan of creamy chicken and mushroom sauce. Pour in about ½ cup of pasta cooking water to help loosen up the pasta and as the pasta will continue to soak up liquid, this will ensure your pasta stays creamy and saucy and not dry out. Add more pasta water if required.
Turn the heat off, taste the pasta sauce and adjust for seasoning. I like to crack lots of pepper at this point. Maybe a little more lemon juice to lift the dish.
TIPS:
- Do not brown the onions when sweating as it'll turn bitter.
- Lemon juice will transform and lift this entire dish so be generous with it.
- Parsley helps freshen up the dish and adds another layer of flavour!
Dinner is ready!
Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Tips for making this great everytime
- LEMON JUICE is a must! It brings this entire dish to the next level
- Cook pasta to AL DENTE before mixing it in the pan of creamy chicken and mushroom sauce
- Keep the PASTA COOKING WATER as you'll need it to loosen up the pasta once its in it's sauce
- Grate lots of parmesan cheese to serve for that extra bit of happiness
📖 Recipe
Creamy chicken & mushroom pasta
Ingredients
- 300 g /11oz chicken thigh about 2, cut in strips
- 300 g /11oz large flat mushrooms about 3, sliced
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- ⅔ cup cooking cream
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- juice of half a lemon if lemon is small, use juice of the whole lemon
- salt & pepper
- 300 g /11oz fettuccine pasta or any pasta you like
- ½ cup parsley finely diced
- grated parmesan cheese to serve (as much as you want)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Generously season the cooking water. (Note 1)
- Whilst pasta is cooking, add oil to a large non-stick pan and sweat onions on medium heat for about 3min or until softens / translucent then mix in garlic until fragrant.
- Add chicken, salt and pepper, saute on high heat until slightly golden and brown. Add mushrooms, saute for further 5min or until mushrooms have softened and chicken cooked through.
- Pour in cooking cream, lemon juice and parsley, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2min. Add pasta, pasta cooking water and mix thoroughly. (Note 2)
- Turn heat off, adjust for seasoning. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese. (Note 3)
Leave a Reply