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Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken

Try this Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken, and enjoy a different twist on pasta night with a simple 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe.

avocado pasta with chicken

This week I found a couple of slightly overripe avocados in my refrigerator, so thought it might be fun to incorporate them into a flavorful sauce in today’s Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken recipe. Some seasoned chicken and a little Rotel (or your friendly neighborhood ALDI equivalent like I used here…) round out the dish, making it a filling weeknight dinner option.

creamy avocado pasta

I’ll be the first to admit that this is not exactly the most beautiful pasta I’ve ever made. But, as we all know: It’s not easy being green! More important than how it looks, though, is how it tastes — and this hearty avocado pasta recipe has such a nice balance of flavors.

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken

avocado pasta ingredients

Envision lime in here, too! It didn’t make it into the photo…

Ingredients

– for the chicken

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil, divided
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

– for the pasta

12 oz box rotini

– for the sauce

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
2 avocados, peeled & diced
1/2 cup sour cream
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
Juice of 1/2 a lime, to taste

Directions

Start salted water boiling for the rotini. Once boiling, cook pasta al dente according to package directions, drain, and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, trim the chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Season the chicken with sea salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and chili powder.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (use cast iron, if you have it) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook chicken over medium-high heat for 7-9 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, cut up your onion, avocado, and garlic.

seasoned chicken in a skillet

Remove the cooked chicken from the pan to a separate bowl. Reduce heat to medium under the skillet, and add 1 tsp olive oil.

browned onion in a skillet

Add the onion to the pan and cook over medium heat for four minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook briefly over medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream, tomatoes, and avocado for a minute or so to combine. 

Pour the avocado/sour cream/tomato mixture over the drained pasta. Squeeze in the lime juice, then toss gently to combine flavors and coat the pasta. Stir in the reserved cooked chicken, and serve immediately. 

Note: Cooking time on the chicken will vary depending on how small you cut it up, so keep an eye on it. You’ll get an especially nice sear in a cast iron skillet, but a regular skillet will also work for this recipe.

That’s a different twist on pasta night

creamy avocado pasta with chicken recipe

The sour cream and avocado in this recipe cut the heat from the seasonings on the chicken and tomatoes nicely, giving creamy avocado pasta a lot of flavor — but without too much spice. Don’t skip the lime juice, because it just brightens up the taste at the end.

More pasta recipes?

If you are looking for more different ways to enjoy pasta night beyond the same old spaghetti & meatballs, check out some of these:

Don’t settle for just a jar of sauce, when there are so many other options for changing up your pasta!

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken, printable recipe

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4.75 from 4 votes

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken

Try this Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken & enjoy a different twist on pasta night with a simple 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe!
Course dinner
Keyword avocado pasta, avocados, chicken, pasta, weeknight dinner
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

- for the chicken

  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil divided
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

- for the pasta

  • 12 oz box rotini

- for the sauce

  • 1/2 of a medium yellow onion diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
  • 2 avocados peeled & diced
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • Juice of 1/2 a small lime to taste

Instructions

  • Start salted water boiling for the rotini. Once boiling, cook pasta al dente according to package directions, drain, and return to the pot.
  • Meanwhile, trim the chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Season the chicken with sea salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and chili powder.
  • Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (use cast iron, if you have it) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook chicken over medium-high heat for 7-9 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until cooked through.
  • While the chicken is cooking, cut up your onion, avocado, and garlic.
  • Remove the cooked chicken from the pan to a separate bowl. Reduce heat to medium under the skillet, and add 1 tsp olive oil.
  • Add the onion to the pan and cook over medium heat for four minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook briefly over medium heat.
  • Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream, tomatoes, and avocado for a minute or so to combine. 
  • Pour the avocado/sour cream/tomato mixture over the drained pasta. Squeeze in the lime juice, then toss gently to combine flavors and coat the pasta. 
  • Stir in the reserved cooked chicken, and serve immediately.

Notes

Cooking time on the chicken will vary depending on how small you cut it up, so keep an eye on it. You'll get an especially nice sear in a cast iron skillet, but a regular skillet will also work for this recipe.

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Recipe Rating




Julie Hines

Monday 9th of November 2020

Delicious recipe and quick. I used Turkey the last time instead of chicken. My only suggestion would be for the recipe to say how many this is for in case you want to make smaller portions.. Unless I missed that are bit?

rachel

Monday 9th of November 2020

Glad you enjoyed it! This recipe serves four -- it's at the top of the printable recipe. :)

Christine

Friday 14th of June 2019

Very tasty! My husband loved it. The chicken was SO tasty, I may use those spices on chicken again in the future! Lime seemed so odd to me but it really does pull the dish together. I put more lime than the recipe called for.

25 Avocado Recipes

Friday 31st of May 2019

[…] Dressing – A Taste for Travel 9. Turkey Patties with Avocado – Diabetes Strong 10. Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken – Mash Up Mom 11. Avocado Egg Toast Sandwich – Confessions of an Overworked Mom 12. […]

Sarah E

Sunday 10th of March 2019

So, so yummy!! My husband grills whole chickens and we always freeze the leftover meat in 1 cup portions. This was a perfect recipe to utilize the leftover chicken. I just added half the amount of seasoning to the onion & garlic since the chicken I used was already seasoned.Then followed the recipe adding the pre-cooked chicken at the end. It was delicious!! Corn and maybe some crumbled bacon would be nice too.

Kristina

Friday 8th of March 2019

So delicious! The flavors go together perfectly. I added some corn for a crunch and it was perfect.