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Fajita Pasta Bake

baked rotini noodles with chicken and bell pepper
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5 from 5 reviews

Cooked chicken breast and frozen chopped bell peppers make this a fairly quick recipe to put together. Add grated cheese, cream and seasonings for a really yummy baked pasta dish the whole family will love. 

*this recipe was re-tested and perfected on 3/23/21

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound fusilli pasta
  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken breast, shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces (2 to 4 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika 
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 16-ounce bag frozen bell peppers
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 16 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (5 to 6 cups grated)
  • Optional: ½ to 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. 
  3. Add pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the pasta cooking instructions, so the noodles are still slightly firm. ( I cook the fusilli for 7 to 8 minutes)
  4. **Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining the pasta. Set the 1 cup of pasta water aside.
  5. Drain remaining pasta water and set the pasta aside.
  6. While the pasta boils, drizzle a little bit of olive oil in a saute pan and saute bell peppers with garlic. Saute about 5 minutes, to heat the frozen bell peppers until most of the moisture evaporates. 
  7. In a large bowl, toss cooked chicken in olive oil and season with paprika and chili powder. Add salt to taste. 
  8. Add bell peppers and garlic, cooked pasta, cream, reserved pasta water, and 3 cups/8 ounces grated cheese to the chicken. Add salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon salt). Mix really well. 
  9. Add cilantro, if using. Mix again.
  10. Spread the noodles out in a 9x13 baking pan.
  11. Sprinkle remaining grated cheese on top.
  12. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
  13. Remove the foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly on top

Find it online: https://www.kitchenskip.com/baked-chicken-fajita-pasta/