Easy Southwest Chicken Pasta

This has been my go-to when I need something quick and my husband doesn’t mind. As he says it’s in his top 5 meals I make. His love for southwest recipes is unreal. This recipe is so easy to whip up and all comes together in one pot for a delicious meal.  Most of the time I have all the ingredients on hand, but not all of them are necessary to make a tasty meal. I give you some shortcuts below to make it even quicker to make for those busy weeknights. This dish has meat, pasta, and veggies. In fact, it’s packed with vegetables! The recipe is easily adaptable and you can make it as spicy and as flavorful as you want it, making it perfectly kid-friendly.

Related: Crockpot Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients in Southwest Chicken Pasta

Chicken: You can make it with a rotisserie chicken or bake some chicken tenders. To make this vegetarian-friendly, you can skip the meat altogether.

Bell Pepper: Love the bit of crunch and flavor bell peppers give this meal. You can use any color bell pepper but best is red and/or green.

Onion:  Yellow or Red onion depending on your preference. Yellow onion is a bit more subtle than a red onion. Red onion packs a potential onion flavor.

Black Beans: Nothing screams southwest more than some black beans throw in a dish. Canned or freshly cooked black beans can be used. Make sure you drain the liquid.

Corn: Another one that is super easy to add-in. You can use frozen, canned or fresh. Just note that your cook time may be a little longer with frozen. I prefer using canned or fresh. Just make sure you drain the canned corn.

Diced Tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes make this easy to whip up in a pinch. Just be sure to drain these to avoid adding too much liquid to the pasta.

Alfredo Sauce: Base of the southwest sauce. It’s thick creamy and already seasoned perfectly.

Taco Seasoning: The second part of our simple southwest sauce. It adds just the right amount of spices to bring wonderful flavors to this dish.

Pasta: I used penne pasta for this dish but you can use your favorite pasta if you prefer.

Green Chiles: Green chiles are totally optional. If you like spice, it adds a nice spice level to the dish.

Salt and Pepper: Just season to preference!

Related: 20 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love! 

Tips for Making Southwest Chicken Pasta:

• I used no salt added diced tomatoes and less sodium taco seasoning to cut back on the salt. However, regular taco seasoning works just fine. It’s always easier to add salt than to remove it from a dish. It also allows everyone to add salt to their preference.
• You can use either yellow or red onion. Red onion gives a much more potent flavor of onion. I used yellow because that is usually what I have on hand.
• You can omit the chicken to keep it vegetarian-friendly and can add green and/or red bell peppers as well. You can also add green chiles to give an extra little kick.
• You can choose your choice of pasta. I have used penne and no yolk noodles. Both have worked well.
• You can use frozen corn, it will just extend your cook time.

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Southwest Chicken Pasta

Here is a delicious weekday dinner filled with chicken, black beans, tomatoes, and peppers all in a flavorful southwest sauce. Surely a crowd pleaser.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 Rotisserie chicken or 6 Chicken tenders cooked
• 1 lb pasta
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 can black beans drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes drained
• 1 can corn drained
• 1 jar alfredo sauce
• 2 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 4.5 oz green chiles optional
• 1 red bell pepper optional
• 1 green bell pepper optional

Instructions

1. Cook pasta until tender and drain in colander.

2. In pot, (while pasta is draining), add onion and garlic. Cook onions until see translucent.

3. Add in tomatoes, black beans, corn, stir.

4. Add in alfredo and taco seasoning and stir thoroughly.

5. Add chicken and heat until warm.

6. Add pasta and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I used reduced sodium for the black beans, and taco seasoning to avoid it being too salty. You can always add extra salt later. 

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