Creamy chicken all’Arrabbiata with penne. This spicy recipe is a twist on the Italian pantry staple pasta called penne all’Arrabbiata that gets its name from the generous amount of chili peppers. It’s basically pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan with a delicious kick from the red pepper flakes.
This version, while not traditional, incorporates all of the essentials as well as some of my own favorite additions, including cream and chicken leaving you with an irresistible rich dish. Plus, it’s fuss-free and ready in about 25 minutes, so let me win you over with its depth of flavor and ease of cooking.
A mildly spiced arrabbiata with tender chicken, a garlicky tomato sauce, spiked with red pepper flakes and chilli paste. The cream helps to tone down the spices, while parsley adds a fresh touch. This one is for all you spicy food lovers, you can add as much heat as you can handle. This dish should be almost fiery and don’t forget to add lots of black pepper too.
It doesn’t matter how hot you dare to go, this is an easy to make, quick and satisfyingly spicy dish using simple ingredients.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
Recipe Notes
- You can use boneless/skinless chicken thighs or ground meat like chicken, turkey, beef, pork or sausage.
- Add greens like spinach, baby kale or arugula.
- Add veggies like roasted bell peppers or peas.
- Omit chicken and make a vegetarian version.
- Use any pasta shape of your choice.
- The amount of heat in this recipe gives a warm but not overpowering heat, if you prefer to have your socks knocked off, you can always add a little more
- Because I love its taste, I used sambal oelek to add some extra heat, but you can use any kind of chili paste, or fresh chili peppers.
- Serve with a side salad drizzled with Caesar dressing.
- Don’t skip the garlic, this recipe uses 4 cloves but add 2 more if you like things really garlicky
- Add some red wine to the sauce at the same time as the broth, it will add a rich depth of flavor.
- Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More pasta, please!
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- Eggplant and sun dried tomato pasta with ricotta
- Beef and Bell Pepper Spaghetti
Creamy Chicken all'Arrabbiata
Ingredients
- 9 ounces penne
- 14 ounces chicken fillets cut into bite size chunks
- 5.5 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 ¾ cups tomato purée
- ½ cup cream 20% fat
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp sambal oelek more or less to taste
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan more for serving
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
Seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes
- sweet paprika
- dried oregano
- dried sage
Instructions
- Cook penne in a large pot of generously salted boiling water, until al dente. Drain, reserving ¼ cup cooking water.
- Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cook until the chicken starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until it softens. Stir in the seasoning and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Deglaze with chicken broth, and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to release the brown bits. Add tomato paste and sambal, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or until it starts to darken.
- Add cherry tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream, parmesan and parsley, cook for 1 minute.
- If the sauce looks too dry, add a splash of the pasta cooking water. Taste and adjust salt. Toss with penne, stir to coat.
- Divide pasta among bowls, top with parmesan, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and extra black pepper. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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I made this recipe for my family and they loved it! It was so easy to make, even a beginner cook like me could do it. I’m glad you shared this with us because now we can have the perfect dish every time without having to worry about how much salt or spice is in there.
That’s so nice to hear! Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I’m really happy you enjoyed it.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. It looks delicious. How many calories per serving please. Thanks!
P.S. -What is sambal oelek, and where can this be purchased. If I cannot locate it, is there anything I can replace it with? Also, can I substitute canned coconut milk or almond milk with cream? Thanks again!
Sambal oelek is a garlic chili paste, you can substitute it with any chili paste you have on hand or add red pepper flakes.
For the cream, you can use both, unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk. Hope you love it! Happy cooking!
Can i use an all purpose cream instead?
Hi, all purpose cream will work great here. Happy cooking!
This was delicious! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs as the meat protein and the spice mixture made for a very flavorful dish. We have leftovers for tomorrow and I’m excited to see how the dish’s flavor deepens overnight. Thank you for the recipe!
Wonderful! That’s so great to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great Friday!
You cook so deliciously. Very coprehensive, attractive, tasty. Congratulations!!!
That’s so nice to hear! Thank you, enjoy the recipes!
Looking to make this tomorrow! Sounds delish but want to add some veggies. At what point would you add them? Thanks!
great! you can add the veggies after you cooked the garlic. Happy cooking!
Thanks for the recipe. I cooked this pasta for dinner today and my family liked it very much. I use pulled out chicken instead and added spinach to the recipe. It was delicious! Thanks!!
fantastic! that’s so nice to hear. Thanks so much for making this recipe, I’m delighted that it was enjoyed!
This was a bit too spicy for me, but my husband LOVED it!!!!! Definitely a keeper.
fantastic! that’s so nice to hear. Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!
Lost in translation; but what do you mean with tomato paste? I’ve never used 400ml tomato pure…. do you mean chopped tomatoes, like canned? Because 400ml concentrated puree sounds like A LOT of acidy… THANKS!
Hi Helena, tomato paste is a thick, concentrated form of tomatoes that is made by cooking down tomatoes until most of the liquid has been removed. It has a deep red color and a rich, intense tomato flavor.
Tomato purée is a liquid made from cooked and strained tomatoes, then puréed until smooth, you can compare it with passata.
Crushed tomatoes are a type of canned tomatoes that has been coarsely chopped into a chunky consistency.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions. Enjoy the recipe!