Cilantro-Lime Chicken Pasta - delicious spaghetti in a creamy white cheese sauce with lots of flavor! The sauce is made by cooking garlic, adding freshly squeezed lime juice and cilantro and then mixing everything in a homemade alfredo sauce! Delicious Summer pasta!
If you're looking for quick and easy chicken dinner ideas - cilantro lime chicken pasta is a fantastic choice. The recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish and it uses very simple, basic ingredients. You'll love the lime, garlic, and cilantro flavors combined in this creamy dish! Perfect dinner in the Summer!
Cook's tips
- Use freshly squeezed lime juice. Squeeze 1 large lime to produce about 2 tablespoons of lime juice. If you do use bottled lime juice - use smaller amount than indicated in the recipe. Freshly squeezed lime juice is very flavorful, and that's what should be used in this recipe.
- Save some cooked pasta water. If your creamy sauce gets too thick, add pasta water to the sauce to thin it out.
Substitutions
- Use either chicken breast or skinless boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins. Slice the chicken before cooking.
- To make this pasta gluten free, use gluten free brown rice pasta. If you use gluten free pasta, make sure to rinse it after you cooked it in boiling water - it will prevent it from getting mushy.
- Use either shredded Mozzarella cheese or shredded Parmesan cheese to make the sauce.
Creamy Cilantro-Lime Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breast , sliced
- salt and pepper
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice , freshly squeezed, use less if bottled juice
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cilantro fresh, chopped
- ⅔ cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cups milk
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese, shredded
- 8 oz spaghetti pasta (for gluten free, use gluten free brown rice spaghetti)
- reserved cooked pasta water
- 1 tablespoon cilantro fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-hot heat. Generously season sliced chicken with salt and pepper, add to the hot skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until done. Remove sliced chicken from the skillet.
- To the same skillet, add minced garlic, lime juice and chicken broth. Cook for 1-2 minutes on high heat, deglazing and scraping the skillet until the liquid is reduced and making sure garlic does not burn and brown too much. Mix in chopped cilantro.
- Add heavy cream and milk. Bring to boil, the immediately add cheese and mix in until melted, while boiling. Then, remove from heat.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain, reserving some cooked pasta water.
- Add pasta to the sauce, along with the half of the chicken. Mix everything in and season pasta with more salt, if needed.
- Top with the remaining half of the chicken and more chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
My family IS A HUGE FAN of your recipe. Thank you!
I did a very bold move and did not use the heavy milk and still came out delicious!
When I added the milk and cream it separated! Still tasted ok but not appetizing. I followed the directions—what did I do wrong?!
This is a great recipe, easy and quick.
I just adjusted to my family members.
We need more than 8.oz. of pasta
Thanks.
Made this for dinner tonight - it was delicious. The lime flavor gave this creamy dish a refreshing feel!
Wow, this is a GREAT recipe - my whole family loved it and it was so quick and easy to make! I've saved it & im sure it will be a family favourite. Thank you!
Made this recipe. It was tasty. But next time I would double up on the sauce.
Doesn't say how much is in one serving, one cup?
This was fabulous!! Will make it again over and over. The flavors of the lime,cilantro and cream were a perfect blend.
I'm going to try this using zucchini noodles! It sounds delicious!
Julia - there's some key info missing here, you need to update this post...
Everyone else - its a half pound of pasta. I used spaghetti and it was just about perfect, almost too much. If you cook your pasta perfectly then you do not need to preserve any of the water. On and it was DELICIOUS!!! I'm making it again! It's really good with broccoli or asparagus!! Just a light amount of butter, lime, salt and pepper and presto! Amazing food!!!
I'm with the others... How much pasta? And how much water should we preserve?? You need to edit the post so all the readers are in
I saw 8 oz for amount of pasta. Also, the pasta water is to help thicken the sauce a little. The starchy water helps. That's a little trick Rachel Ray uses.
Thisl recipe does not say how much dried pasta to cook nor to use the pasta sauce to thin if necessary. Is anything else missing?
Going to try this recipe but wondering what the purpose/use of reserving some of the cooked pasta water? Recipe just says to reserve some but does not say why or for what?
Hi Jim,
The reserved pasta water is usually used when the pasta is too dry and there is not enough sauce when you combine the cooked pasta to the sauce. You may or may not need it but it's good to put away about 1 cup, just in case. I hope this helps.
I usually always reserve some pasta water because if your sauce gets too thick, you can add some pasta water. You shouldn't just add water because it would dilute the taste, but pasta water is already heavily salted and boiled in the pasta.
You don't say how much pasta to make. My guess would be a pound?