This simple creamy chicken and leek pasta is a family favorite. Sautéed chicken, leeks, and capsicum smothered in a luscious sour cream sauce served over the pasta of your choice makes for a fast and satisfying dinner.
This recipe is so simple to make, and is so delicious you would never know it has only six ingredients! The sauce is one of my quick sour cream pasta sauces, made with leeks and capsicum for an aromatic fresh flavor. It’s the perfect summer weeknight dinner.
6 simple ingredients
- Pasta: You can use your choice of pasta for this recipe, as long as the cooking time is around 10-12 minutes.
- Chicken: you can use chicken breast or chicken thighs. Cut into even bite-sized pieces.
- Seasoning: all-purpose chicken seasoning is my go-to for this recipe, or you can use a simple homemade mix of paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt (see recipe card for details).
- Sour cream: I use lite/light sour cream, but you can choose full-fat if you prefer.
- Leek: thinly sliced leek adds a mild onion flavor to the sauce. Substitute shallots if leeks are out of season.
- Capsicum/ bell peppers: I used a yellow capsicum to make this recipe, but you can use red, green or a mixture if you prefer.
How to make my creamy chicken and leek pasta
1
Prepare.
Place a large saucepan of salted water to heat, to cook the pasta.
While the water is heating, prepare the sauce ingredients – slice the leek, and dice the capsicum. Dice the chicken and toss with the seasoning.
2
Start the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions (around 10-12 minutes). When it has finished cooking drain, but reserve around 1 cup/ 230ml of the pasta water.
3
Make the sauce.
While the pasta is cooking, cook the sauce. Saute the leeks in a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or skillet. When they are soft, add the chicken and capsicum.
When the chicken is browned, add approximately half the reserved pasta water, and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through.
Note: if you forgot to save some pasta water, you can just use regular water, though the sauce won’t be quite as silky.
4
Finish the dish.
Remove the frying pan from the heat, add the sour cream, and stir it into the sauce.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss it through the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, gradually add a little more of the reserved pasta water until the right sauce consistency is reached.
Serving ideas and variations
- Serve with a crisp green side salad and some crusty bread on the side
- Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Top with a handful of arugula/rocket leaves
- Stir through some roughly chopped baby spinach.
20 Minute Creamy Chicken and Leek Pasta
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.3 lb / 600 g boneless chicken breast or thighs (1-inch / 2cm chunks)
- 2 tablespoons / 8 g chicken seasoning rub (Note 1)
Pasta Sauce
- 1 leek
- 2 capsicums (red, yellow, and/or green)
- 8 oz / 225 ml sour cream
- 1 cup / 230 ml water (reserved from draining the cooked pasta)
Pasta
- 12 oz / 340 g uncooked fusilli pasta
- 1 pinch salt
Directions
Prepare
- Put a large pot of salted water on to heat (this is to cook the pasta later).
- Prepare the vegetables by thinly slicing the leek, and dicing the capsicum.
- Toss the chicken in a bowl with the chicken seasoning.
Cook the pasta
- When the pasta water has come to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to the pack instructions (approx. 12 mins).
- Note: Cook the chicken and vegetables (see below) while the pasta is cooking.
- Drain when cooked, reserving approximately 1 cup/ 230ml of the cooking water. Stir a drizzle of olive oil through the pasta to prevent it sticking together.
While the pasta is cooking, cook the sauce
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan. Cook the leeks until starting to soften (approximately 3 minutes).
- Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the capsicum and cook for approximately 1 minute until starting to soften.
- Add half of the reserved pasta water to the pan, and cook for approximately 5 minutes until the chicken has cooked through.
Finish the dish
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the sour cream and stir through.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan, and toss through the sauce.
- If needed, gradually add more of the reserved pasta water to get the sauce to the right consistency.
Notes
- Substitute a homemade seasoning rub: 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
