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    Chicken Pasta with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Alfredo Sauce

    Published: Jul 30, 2015 / 55 Comments

    325.7K shares
    • Facebook2.8K
    Recipe Print

    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!

    Creamy Cilantro-Lime Chicken Pasta (close-up photo of pasta with the fork in the middle)

    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.

    Chicken Pasta with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce lifted on a fork above the stainless steel skillet filled with pasta

    Chicken Pasta with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce in a stainless steel skillet

    4.67 from 176 votes

    Creamy Cilantro-Lime Chicken Pasta

    Chicken Pasta with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Alfredo Sauce - delicious spaghetti in a creamy white cheese sauce with lots of flavor!  Easy to make: only 30 minutes from start to finish!  Delicious Summer recipe. 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories per serving 611 kcal
    Author: Julia

    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

    Follow Julia on Pinterest and Facebook to get more recipes and dinner ideas for your weekly meal planning!

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Creamy Cilantro-Lime Chicken Pasta
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    611
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    29
    g
    45
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    13
    g
    81
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    142
    mg
    47
    %
    Sodium
     
    309
    mg
    13
    %
    Potassium
     
    660
    mg
    19
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    47
    g
    16
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    3
    g
    3
    %
    Protein
     
    36
    g
    72
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    780
    IU
    16
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    5.6
    mg
    7
    %
    Calcium
     
    164
    mg
    16
    %
    Iron
     
    1.2
    mg
    7
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    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.

    Keyword cilantro lime pasta, summer pasta
    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kebra Rios

      October 25, 2018 at 8:03 pm

      My family IS A HUGE FAN of your recipe. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Carolyn G Ruiz Martinez

      February 26, 2018 at 7:30 pm

      I did a very bold move and did not use the heavy milk and still came out delicious!

      Reply
    3. Rebecca

      October 12, 2017 at 6:15 pm

      When I added the milk and cream it separated! Still tasted ok but not appetizing. I followed the directions—what did I do wrong?!

      Reply
    4. Patricia

      October 23, 2016 at 6:19 pm

      This is a great recipe, easy and quick.
      I just adjusted to my family members.
      We need more than 8.oz. of pasta
      Thanks.

      Reply
    5. Bronte

      September 03, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      Made this for dinner tonight - it was delicious. The lime flavor gave this creamy dish a refreshing feel!

      Reply
    6. Dromomaniac

      August 29, 2016 at 7:53 pm

      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!

      Reply
    7. Janet

      May 17, 2016 at 4:58 pm

      Made this recipe. It was tasty. But next time I would double up on the sauce.

      Reply
    8. Tayler

      April 11, 2016 at 9:17 pm

      Doesn't say how much is in one serving, one cup?

      Reply
    9. Vivian

      March 14, 2016 at 9:04 am

      This was fabulous!! Will make it again over and over. The flavors of the lime,cilantro and cream were a perfect blend.

      Reply
    10. Jayne

      March 12, 2016 at 2:21 pm

      I'm going to try this using zucchini noodles! It sounds delicious!

      Reply
    11. Lynn

      January 05, 2016 at 9:20 pm

      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!!!

      Reply
    12. Lynn

      January 05, 2016 at 8:53 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Darla Harris

        August 18, 2016 at 12:10 am

        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.

        Reply
    13. Cheryl

      November 09, 2015 at 9:43 pm

      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?

      Reply
    14. Jim Davis

      August 06, 2015 at 9:08 am

      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?

      Reply
      • Shirley

        September 02, 2015 at 8:03 pm

        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.

        Reply
      • K

        October 17, 2015 at 3:43 pm

        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.

        Reply
    15. Peggy P

      August 06, 2015 at 1:22 am

      You don't say how much pasta to make. My guess would be a pound?

      Reply
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