Description
A rich and creamy garlic butter chicken served with rigatoni pasta in a luscious Parmesan sauce, perfect for an easy and comforting Italian-American dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Sauce & Cooking
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- Extra Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Cook Pasta: Cook rigatoni in salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Season and Cook Chicken: Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5–7 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Prepare Sauce: Reduce heat to medium, add butter to the skillet. Once melted, add minced garlic and sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Pour in heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in Parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water, cooking for 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Combine Ingredients: Return cooked chicken to the skillet and toss to coat it evenly in the sauce. Add cooked rigatoni and stir until all ingredients are well combined and heated through.
- Serve: Serve the creamy garlic butter chicken and rigatoni warm, garnished with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- For extra flavor, add a splash of white wine to the sauce or stir in sun-dried tomatoes or fresh spinach.
- Use rotisserie chicken to save time if preferred.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute rigatoni with gluten-free pasta.
- Adjust seasoning according to taste for salt and spice levels.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 620
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 540mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 17g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 40g
- Cholesterol: 150mg
