9 Creamy One Pot Chicken Pasta Dinners

These creamy one pot chicken pasta dinners are the meals I make when I want a real dinner and exactly one pot to wash.

From a cajun chicken pasta to a chicken bacon ranch, a buffalo chicken pasta, a chicken parmesan pasta, and a pesto chicken pasta, the dry pasta cooks right in the sauce with the chicken, and the starch it gives off is what makes the sauce creamy.

Here are the nine I rotate through!

The method is the same in every one of these, and once you’ve made one you can make all of them without reading the recipe twice.

Brown the chicken, build the sauce in the same pot, add the dry pasta and enough liquid to cover it, simmer with the lid on, and stir in the cheese at the end.

1. One Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta

Chicken, peppers, onion, and penne in a creamy tomato sauce with enough cajun seasoning to make it interesting.

The pasta cooks in the sauce and soaks up the spice as it goes, so every piece tastes like the dish and not like plain noodles in sauce.

Use a mild cajun blend for the kids and pass hot sauce for the adults.

It’s the one I make most, and it’s done in half an hour!

2. Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Bacon cooks first, the chicken browns in the bacon fat, and the pasta simmers in broth and cream with a packet of ranch seasoning before the cheddar goes in.

It tastes like the pasta version of a chicken bacon ranch sandwich, which is why the teenagers in my house eat it without comment.

Save a little of the bacon to crumble on top.

Green onions, and it’s a Friday dinner.

3. Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Chicken, broccoli florets, and short pasta in a garlicky cream sauce with parmesan, and it’s the one I make when I want a vegetable in the pot and not next to it.

The broccoli goes in for the last few minutes of the pasta’s simmer so it stays bright.

Frozen broccoli works and goes in straight from the bag.

A squeeze of lemon at the end cuts the cream.

4. Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Chicken, pasta, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and cheddar, and it’s the dip from every football party turned into a dinner.

The cream cheese melts into the sauce and takes the edge off the buffalo sauce, so it’s spicy but not painful.

Blue cheese or ranch on top depending on which side of that argument you’re on.

Celery sticks on the side for the full effect!

5. Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Chicken, marinara, and pasta cook together, then mozzarella and parmesan go on top and the lid goes back on until they melt.

It’s chicken parm without breading or frying anything, and it comes out with the same red sauce and melted cheese that make the real thing worth ordering.

A jar of good marinara does most of the work here.

Garlic bread if there’s time, and a salad if there isn’t.

6. Chicken Caesar Pasta

Chicken and pasta in a creamy sauce made with caesar dressing, parmesan, garlic, and a little lemon, and it’s the salad turned into a hot dinner.

Bottled caesar dressing is the base of the sauce, so there’s no anchovy paste to find.

Toss in chopped romaine at the very end for the salad crunch, or skip it and serve the salad on the side.

Cracked pepper and extra parmesan on top.

7. Pesto Chicken Pasta

Chicken and pasta simmer in broth, and then a jar of pesto and a splash of cream get stirred in at the end for a green, garlicky sauce that coats everything.

Adding the pesto after the pasta cooks keeps the basil bright, since cooked pesto turns brown and dull.

Cherry tomatoes halved and stirred in with the pesto add color and a little acid.

It’s summer dinner in twenty minutes.

8. Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Chicken, pasta, garlic, cream, and a lot of parmesan, and it’s the plainest recipe on this list and one of the most requested.

Grate the parmesan yourself, since the pre-shredded kind has a coating that keeps it from melting into a smooth sauce.

Spinach wilted in at the end is the easiest way to add a vegetable without anyone objecting.

9. One Pot Chicken Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach

Chicken, pasta, diced tomatoes, spinach, and cream in one pot, and it’s the lighter end of this list, with the tomatoes doing some of the work the cream does elsewhere.

The spinach goes in at the end and wilts in a minute.

A little red pepper flake in the sauce keeps it from being bland.

Parmesan on top, and it reheats well for lunch.

Notes on One Pot Pasta

Short pasta shapes like penne, rotini, and shells cook more evenly in a pot than long ones, and they hold the creamy sauces better.

The pasta needs enough liquid to cover it by about half an inch, and the lid stays on while it simmers so the liquid doesn’t cook off before the pasta is done.

Stir every few minutes so the pasta on the bottom doesn’t stick, and add a splash more broth if it looks dry before the pasta is tender.

Cheese goes in off the heat at the end, since boiling a cheese sauce makes it grainy.

A wide, deep saute pan with a lid is the right pot for these, because the pasta needs surface area to cook in a single layer.

A microplane for the parmesan makes a smoother sauce than the box grater does.

Cut the chicken into even pieces with a sharp chef’s knife so it all cooks at the same rate, and use a silicone spatula to scrape the browned bits up when the liquid goes in, because that’s where the flavor is.

The leftovers thicken in the fridge, and a splash of milk when reheating brings the sauce back.

More Chicken Dinners on the Site

My crockpot chicken alfredo pasta is the slow cooker version of this whole idea, for the days the stove isn’t an option.

The crockpot meals with chicken breast that don’t dry out post covers more chicken dinners that need no attention.

And the quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post is the other list I turn to on a weeknight.