Jerk Chicken Pasta
An easy jerk chicken pasta recipe combining smoky, spicy Jamaican-style jerk chicken with a rich, creamy pasta sauce for the best of both comfort and bold flavor.
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Mixing bowl
- pot for pasta
Ingredients
Jerk Chicken
- 1½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into strips
- 2 tbsp jerk seasoning store-bought or homemade
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Pasta and Sauce
- 12 oz penne or fettuccine pasta
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small red bell pepper sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley or green onion chopped, for garnish
Instructions
Marinate and Cook the Chicken
- In a bowl, toss the chicken strips with jerk seasoning, olive oil, and lime juice until evenly coated. If time allows, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight, for deeper flavor; if you're short on time, a quick 10-minute rest at room temperature still works well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the seasoned chicken for 5-7 minutes per side, until fully cooked through and nicely charred in spots. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set it aside.
Cook the Pasta and Build the Sauce
- While the chicken cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water, and set aside.
- In the same skillet used for the chicken, melt the butter over medium heat and add the sliced bell pepper, cooking for 3-4 minutes until slightly softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream, stirring to combine and scraping up any browned bits left in the pan from the chicken, since that's where a lot of extra flavor is hiding. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir in the parmesan cheese, whisking until melted and smooth.
Combine and Serve
- Slice the cooked jerk chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add it back into the skillet along with the drained pasta, tossing everything together until well coated in the creamy sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, then garnish with fresh parsley or green onion before serving immediately while hot.
Notes
- Marinating the chicken for at least 30 minutes makes a noticeable difference in flavor, though this recipe still works well even with a shorter marinating time if you're in a hurry.
- Cooking the sauce in the same skillet used for the chicken helps pick up all those flavorful browned bits left behind, adding extra depth to the finished dish.
- Reserving a bit of pasta water before draining is a simple trick that helps loosen the sauce to the perfect consistency without diluting the flavor.
- If you're sensitive to spice, start with a smaller amount of jerk seasoning and taste as you go, since jerk blends vary significantly in heat level between brands.
- This dish is best served fresh, since the pasta can absorb some of the sauce as it sits, though leftovers still reheat reasonably well with a splash of added cream or broth.