Almost every other week growing up my mother would make this Colombian pasta with chicken dish. This recipe makes me happy because it reminds me of old times, and last week, that was enough for me.
I love this dish because it is easy, feel-good, comfort food cooking, for me. Dinner will be on the table in less than 30 minutes, and you can use leftover chicken. The perfect family meal!
Buen provecho!
Ingredients:
(4-6 servings)
1 pound pasta
4 cups of cooked and shredded chicken
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons tomato paste
White sauce:
3 cups milk
4 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
2 1/2 cups shredded white or mozzarella cheese
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook the pasta al dente.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a fry pan over medium-low heat, warm the butter. Add the onion, garlic and sauté until very soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and tomato paste. Stir and cook for 5 minutes more.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to just below a boil. In another saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Stir the flour into the butter and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the hot milk. Set over medium-low heat and cook, stirring, until thick and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the sauce from the heat. Add the cheese
5. Drain pasta and add to the skillet with the shredded chicken. Toss the pasta to coat evenly with the sauce. Top with cheese and cilantro. Serve immediately.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Erica, this pasta looks delicious I specially like because of the creamy sauce. Perfect for a weekday dinner. Hope you have a great week
Looks good – feels good!! Delicious!
Mmm, this looks so rich and creamy – just delicious!
Just saved the recipe, looks very good, and Iwill make it, and let you know.
Looks Delicious
Such a delicious looking pasta, wonderful with this creamy sauce!
Pasta with chicken,. My taste buds will surely love too this recipe. I love this recipe, it melts in my mouth since it has filled with oh so delicious cream. More of this pasta chicken recipes.
I’m planning on making this tonight and had a quick question. Step 2 mentions heating oil in a large skillet but I don’t see the oil in the list of ingredients. Should I skip this step and just cook the chicken with the butter and tomato paste without the oil?
Diana- That was a mistake!!!! I fixed it
Thank you!
Aww this is such a typical dish that Colombian households have during the week! Thank you for sharing
Saludos
As I said earlier, I made this last night for dinner and added just a tiny amount of oil so the butter didn’t burn (just in case). I used spaghetti since it was the only kind of pasta I had in my pantry. It was delicious! As soon as I took my first bite I remembered my aunt’s pasta dish which I’m sure was the same or something close to it. Lots of Colombian flavor! As a side note: the three cups of milk made a ton of sauce and I made the silly mistake of dumping it all in my pasta so it was really soggy. Next time I’ll only use 2 cups of milk (with less cheese and butter to balance it), and I think I’ll use chicken chunks or chicken strips instead so the chicken doesn’t get lost in the sauce. YUM-MY!
I made this yesterday for dinner and we loved it.Very easy to make and delicious.
There is nothing like foods that brings back memories of good times and comfort.
I made this recipe yesterday for dinner, and was very disappointed it lacked flavor all it was cheese flavor.
I made this recipe yesterday for dinner. My husband loved it! It was delicious!!! I did add a little bit of chicken broth to the sauce mixture… Very Very Good… Thank you for the recipe