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    Chicken Pasta with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Alfredo Sauce

    Published: Jul 30, 2015 / 39 Comments

    308.6K 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

    4.78 from 84 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 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 30 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.

    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. Neil Collins

      May 03, 2020 at 9:51 pm

      Cooked this tonight, was delicious. Was very popular with the family. We also tried a mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Both were yummy.
      Thanks for sharing, you now have 4 more fans.

      Reply
    2. BearMaiden

      August 01, 2019 at 1:06 am

      Excellent recipe, with the following modifications: same amount of chicken (thanks, Trader Joes flash frozen chicken tenderloins!) but double the pasta and the Parmesan. Also, I didn’t have heavy cream but I did have about a half a cup of sour cream lurking in the back of my fridge which I mixed with a cup of half and half, then added milk. A lot more cilantro and lime juice (2 limes total) and some red pepper flakes. Fed 4 xy chromosomes (one over 6 ft tall) and myself. Clean plates all round.

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 28, 2019 at 8:51 pm

        Thank you so much for such a detailed and helpful feedback! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Scott

      July 11, 2019 at 9:26 pm

      I made with my 14 year old daughter... did not have cream so added some butter. Everyone loved it.

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 22, 2019 at 2:07 pm

        So happy you liked it!

        Reply
    4. A

      June 27, 2019 at 11:26 am

      This was a great and easy recipe! I did an all day marinade of lime juice, cumin and cayenne on the chicken and it only made it that much better. Not usually one to leave a recipe review but had to on this one!

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 23, 2019 at 4:38 am

        So happy you enjoyed this recipe! What a great idea to marinate the chicken!

        Reply
    5. Clint Harper

      April 11, 2019 at 10:58 pm

      This is silly. In this order the pasta cooks while everything gets cold. You’re still very pretty tho

      Reply
      • Angela

        August 19, 2019 at 4:10 pm

        ... why did you feel the need to bring in looks? It was unnecessary.

        Reply
    6. Kebra Rios

      October 25, 2018 at 8:03 pm

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

      Reply
    7. 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
    8. 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
    9. 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
    10. 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
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    Hi, I'm Julia! / Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

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