Spicy Chicken Rigatoni
Spicy Chicken Rigatoni recipe is just like my favorite pasta dish at a beloved Italian restaurant. Creamy Alfredo and marinara sauce combine with chicken and peas to make the perfect, easy Italian meal with just the right amount of heat!
Being over a week into September now, I’m starting to crave the flavors of fall and comfort food. Nothing screams “comfort food” to me like pasta with a rich, creamy sauce like this spicy chicken rigatoni!
Before I talk about the recipe today, I have something way more important to share with you. This September (Hunger Action Month), Food Bank For New York City kicks off their 11th annual Go Orange to End Hunger™ campaign which is presented by Barilla® pasta!
This campaign is a citywide call to action for all New Yorkers to get involved in support of the 1.5 million individuals who rely on Food Bank For New York City and their network of member charities.
Did you know that 1 in 5 New Yorkers is food insecure? I don’t know about you, but that is shocking to me.
I love that Barilla® is joining up with Food Bank For New York City to rally New Yorkers to volunteer, donate, and advocate for those in need. Together, we can have a big impact on hunger. Barilla® will “Go Orange” through tomorrow, September 9th, and “Share The Table™” with more than 1,500 New Yorkers who typically rely on soup kitchens and food pantries.
Next week (week of September 12th), Barilla® will rally everyone across all five boroughs to “Go Orange With Barilla.” They will be donating 500,000 meals to Food Bank For New York City for those in need!
They will also be giving way 20,000 “Recipe for Wonderful” pasta dinner kits to New Yorkers to raise awareness and inspire other New Yorkers to do their part in this important mission. For each New Yorker who donates, advocates or signs up to volunteer on-site, Barilla® will donate another pasta serving – up to 1 whole ton of pasta! How cool is that?
If that’s not motivation to get involved, I don’t know what is! They will also donate for every use of the hashtag #GoOrangeWithBarilla so get on social media and start hashtagging for this great cause!
I’m partial to Italian food, being Italian and all, and wanted to share one of my favorite recipes with you today: Spicy Chicken Rigatoni! Anytime my husband and I are in the vicinity of a favorite Italian-American restaurant of ours, it’s an absolute necessity to hit it up.
Our favorite meal there is the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and I was on a mission to recreate it at home with the same flavor combination that we love. I make this meal often and thought it’s about time you had the recipe, as well.
Like I said earlier, I am Italian and can’t just go to the store and buy any ol’ pasta. My dad taught me better than that!
My pantry is always stocked with Barilla® pasta because it truly is the best and makes a huge difference in how my dishes turn out as far as taste and texture! Serve this Spicy Chicken Rigatoni with a nice salad and some garlic bread. Italian dinner perfection!
Barilla® believes in giving people food you would give your own kids and that everyone should be able to enjoy the simple things we take for granted, like being around the dinner table with our families. They understand that this basic need is not always possible, which is why they support the Food Bank for New York City to help end hunger in this month of September!
A great thing about pasta is it’s inexpensive and easy to incorporate into dinners your whole family will love. It’s definitely a pantry staple for me! As part of the Mediterranean Diet, a correction portion of pasta combined with healthy fats, lots of veggies and lean proteins, can help you consume the nutrients your body needs.
I encourage you to make this soon as a really easy meal idea. You can also check out my from Jessica’s post of easy meal ideas if you’re asking yourself the question of what should I make tonight for dinner.
Please join myself, Barilla®, and thousands of people across the country in taking action to raise awareness of hunger in NYC! You can find out more information here. #GoOrangeNYC
Make sure you also follow along with Barilla® by finding them on social media!
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups Alfredo sauce (see recipe below or use store-bought)
- 2 cups Barilla® marinara sauce
- ½ cup butter
- 1- 8oz package cream cheese softened and cut into cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ cup peas
- 1 lb Barilla® rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente, drained
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- In a large skillet on medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Sauté garlic and red pepper flakes for 2 minutes being cautious not to let garlic burn.
- Add in your chunks of chicken breast, black pepper and salt, and cook until chicken until no longer pink.
- Add in marinara sauce and stir; add in Alfredo sauce. Let the sauces simmer together for about 8-10 minutes.
- To the sauce and chicken mixture, add two tablespoons butter and ½ cup peas. Stir for a minute or two until the butter melts.
- Combine the chicken and sauce mixture with cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes. People can add more to their individual servings, if desired. Enjoy!
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, being careful not to let it burn.
- Add in softened cream cheese cubes and stir until cream cheese has melted.
- Slowly poor in 1 cup heavy cream and whisk vigorously for a few minutes to prevent from clumping.
- Add in Parmesan cheese and stir until it is well incorporated.
- Stir in garlic, black pepper and dried parsley.
- Keep stirring for a few minutes, then let the sauce simmer on low for a 2-3 minutes to thicken up a bit.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla. The opinions and text are all mine.
Barilla’s Alfredo and Marinara sauce together must make this one swoon-worthy dish! #GoOrangeWithBarilla is such a cool initiative – so good to see a brand going above and beyond!
Barilla is a great brand and I agree that it’s awesome to see – makes them stand out above the rest!
What a great cause! We have many people in our area who don’t have access to food either. It breaks my heart. As a result, we try to donate and help our our local food bank.
It is a great cause! I feel privileged to be able to help support it! Thanks, Eva.
1 in 5? WOW!! That is shocking.
LOVE this pasta… I know my family would as well.
They sure will! Thanks, Aimee!
This is my kinda pasta! I absolutely adore “pink” sauces, and this version is so seriously, wonderfully easy! Just perfect for busy weeknights when dinner has to be on the table FAST!
Thanks, Shelley! I appreciate the nice comment!
Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Barilla pasta. It’s the only pasta I use!!!!! Way to go Barilla!
Nothing beats Barilla pasta, amiright!? 🙂 Fun fact: their pasta facility is right in Avon so they are pretty much local 🙂
What a great cause! I love what Barilla’s doing to make a difference. 🙂 And this looks absolutely delicious!
Such a great cause! And this pasta sounds delicious – I am definitely starting to crave fall foods as well!
Love the little kick of heat in this pasta dish! Looks delicious! 🙂
Pure comfort food! This looks delicious, Ashley!!!
Thanks, Liz! Gotta love comfort food!
This pasta looks SO flavorful and easy, Ashley! I love spicy pasta… it’s probably my favorite kind!
That sauce sounds amazing. Saving this for dinner next week!!
Thanks, Karyn! You will love it!
That sauce! I love Barilla….I’ll definitely be making this dish for my family.
sounds great! i always want to come to Italy( my dream country) for its cuisine. but my job doesn’t allow it, i don’t have much time for travel. so thanks for your post, it inspired me so much, don’t need to go there i can make my own Italian dish now.
have a nice day, friend! 🙂
oh I use Barilla’s products , too. and I have nothing to complain about its quality. there’s no one in my family can eat spicy food, so sad. but I think this recipe is very good for a cool day in fall.
thanks for sharing, friend.
I am not a big fan of Italian food, but this recipe looks great and delicious. Detail instructions, I think this will be very helpful and useful for those who would like to make it. Thanks for sharing.
Where is your ingredient list for this Alfredo sauce? I only see the directions.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh – it’s like it just disappeared! Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. It’s in there now!! SO sorry!
Is one tablespoon of crushed red pepper correct? That seems like a lot!
This is spicy! Scale it down if you like less spice!
Would there be a way to do this all in on skillet?
Where is the Alfredo recipe?
Under the directions that say “alfredo sauce”.
I have made this dish and it is wonderful. Just the right amount of “kick” to it!
Made this last night for my family. It was delicious!!! I held back a little on the red pepper flake, but added them to my serving and man, was it good! Wife and kids loved it! Thanks for the great recipe! Will absolutely make this again!
This was so delicious! Loved the combination of marinara and alfredo. This came together pretty fast and we loved the garlic! I didn’t have peas so I used zucchini! Only added a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, will add more next time, maybe not 1 tbsp though. Can’t wait to make this again!
Such a great cause! And this pasta sounds delicious – I am definitely starting to crave fall foods as well! thanks for sharing this amazing article.