This copycat Cheesecake Factory spicy chicken chipotle pasta is the freshest, tastiest version of their popular dish you'll ever find. Tender, juicy chicken, peppers, onions, asparagus, and pasta combined with a rich, creamy, and zesty chipotle cream sauce creates a chicken dinner that always leaves everyone wanting more!
I love a good kick of spice in my dishes, and most of them are liberally seasoned for tons of flavor. I also enjoy a little bit of heat, which is why you'll often find dishes like pineapple chipotle carnitas and pork adobo on my dinner table.
I've recently added another dish with hats slightly spicy to Golden Grace Kitchen for everyone to enjoy. This delicious, zesty chipotle chicken pasta is a copycat version of Cheesecake Factory's popular dish, and I think it's even better.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses simple ingredients to create all its deep flavor.
- Easy: It only takes about 30 minutes to make this dish from start to finish.
- Tons of Flavor: This dish is loaded with zesty chipotle flavor, chicken, and veggies in every bite.
- Rich and Creamy: This is a super rich and creamy dish.
Ingredients
- Asparagus: Asparagus adds a ton of flavor to the dish and balances the bold flavors.
- Penne Pasta: Gluten-free penne pasta has the perfect size and texture for holding onto the sauce.
- Aromatics: Garlic and onions add a slightly sweet flavor with a little bite.
- Bell Pepper: Bell pepper adds a vegetal flavor with a touch of sweetness.
- Olive Oil: Costabile olive oil and Costabile lemon olive oil help the chicken get good color while searing while infusing extra flavor.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: Boneless skinless chicken thighs add an extra rich chicken flavor.
- Seasonings: A blend of paprika, garlic powder, dried chipotle pepper, and onion powder adds a big kick of flavor.
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness, and its flavor balances the chipotle's earthiness.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream creates the base for the rich, creamy sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan cheese adds an earthy, cheesy flavor and thickens the sauce.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Flavor Variations
- Meat: You can make this recipe with chicken breast, shrimp, prawns, crab, oysters, scallops, or lobster.
- Olive Oil: You can use regular olive oil in place of the lemon olive oil if you don't have it. Just add a squeeze of fresh lemon to the pan!
- Extra Spicy: Add some red pepper flakes or cayenne for an extra spicy version.
Instructions
1: Combine the diced chicken and all the chicken seasonings to a bowl and toss to coat evenly. Set aside.
2: Slice the asparagus into 1 ½-inch pieces and boil them until tender. Then, blanch them in cold water.
3: Add the pasta to the asparagus water and boil according to the package directions for al dente. Then, drain and set aside.
4: Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Then, add the garlic, onions, and bell peppers and cook until translucent. Remove them from the pan and add both olive oils.
5: Up the temperature to medium-high, add the chicken, and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
6: Add the honey and stir well. Then, add the bell pepper mixture back to the pan.
7: Add the heavy cream, cheese, and adobo sauce and cook, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
8: Add the pasta, green peas, and asparagus. Then, stir well to coat. Enjoy!
Hint
Chill your onion for 30 minutes in the refrigerator to eliminate tears as you chop it.
Storage
Refrigerate this dish for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Freezing is not recommended, as sauces made with heavy cream will break when defrosted.
Pairing Suggestions
This dish is a full, hearty meal all by itself, so I don't recommend any sides. I do, however, have some great ideas for dessert!
Because this dish has a little heat, I recommend cool, creamy desserts, like blackberry cheesecake, carrot cake cookie sandwiches, and chocolate strawberry cake.
Expert Tips
- Add ice to your water to blanch the asparagus quickly and immediately stop the cooking process.
- Cooking the pasta in the asparagus water gives it so much more flavor.
- Stir constantly while cooking the sauce to keep it from breaking.
- Dice your chicken into 1 inch cubes for even cooking and easy eating.
- Chill your onions before chopping them to keep the tears at bay.
More Pasta Recipes
FAQ
Chipotle sauce is generally considered to have a mild to medium heat level. So it is somewhat spicy.
Cream sauce generally breaks if the heat is too high. You never want your sauce to get hot enough to boil. If that happens, the sauce will break, and there's no saving it.
Chicken thighs are richer and more flavorful than breasts, giving the dish a much more luxurious flavor.
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📖 Recipe
Cheesecake Factory Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs boneless/skinless
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 oz asparagus fresh
- 12 oz gluten free penne
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ onion diced small
- ½ yellow bell pepper sliced thin
- ½ orange bell pepper sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon Costabile olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Costabile lemon olive oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 oz parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned adobo peppers
- 1 cup peas frozen
- Cilantro optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the diced chicken, paprika, salt, garlic powder, chiptole, onion powder, and black pepper to a bowl and toss to coat evenly. Set aside.
- Slice the asparagus into 1 ½-inch pieces and cook in a large pot of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Immediately transfer the cooked asparagus to a bowl with ice water.
- In the asparagus water, boil the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Then, drain it and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Then, add the garlic, onion, and bell peppers and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Add the olive oil and lemon olive oil to the same pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Add the honey and cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the onion, garlic, and peppers back to the pan.
- Add the heavy cream, cheese, and adobo sauce and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened.
- Add the pasta green peas, and asparagus. Stir well until evenly coated and enjoy.
Andrea says
Made this for dinner and my family loved it! The sauce is perfect and my husband asked for more. It’s a new favorite at our house!
Juyali says
This instantly reminded me of my favorite Cheesecake Factory dinner—only better! The sauce is perfect, and my husband even asked to pack it for lunch.
Lathiya says
We love Chipotle pasta and this one tasted amazing. Will be making it again.
Criss says
Thank you for shI tried your Cheesecake Factory Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta recipe, and it was absolutely delicious! The creamy chipotle sauce paired perfectly with the tender chicken and vegetables. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Swathi says
This cheesecake spicy chicken pasta is so yum. Perfect, I am not going to buy this again. I will make with your recipe.