Chicken Fajita Pasta with Cilantro Lime Sauce
Chicken Fajita Pasta with Cilantro Lime Sauce is an easy 30 minute meal. Make a double batch of fajitas to use the leftover and make a whole new dinner with pasta and a delicious blender sauce.
Table of contents
One day my hubby and I went out for a lunch date while the kids were in school and we went to California Pizza Kitchen. We always share our dishes and he got the Chicken Tequila Fettucine and I loved it!
It reminded me of the Sausage and Veggie Spaghetti that my family loves which has flavors the kids enjoy but is also chock full of veggies! I went home thinking about how I could recreate it.
My kids ate the pasta much more willing then they eat fajitas which was awesome. It makes me happy that I can find ways to get them to try veggies!
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Peppers
- Onions
- Fajita seasoning mix
- Fettucine pasta
- Creamy cilantro lime sauce (That recipe is from Meggan at Culinary hill and it’s awesome! It was the perfect compliment to the fajitas.)
Top Tips
Now, I like to make a double batch of fajitas one day and save the leftovers to make this dish another night. You can save the fajitas in the freezer if you want to make it way later.
It’s not a big deal to make it all the same night either, I just like to save myself time while I can. Get more tips like these from my free printable top meal planning tips.
I made my sauce in my Blendtec blender which has been totally worth the money! I put up with a crappy blender for way too long. Ugh!
Picky eater tips
If you have a picky eater, serving the same thing or ingredients in different ways can be a good strategy to try. You might find that the issues your child has is more about presentation than the actual foods. Veggies and chicken dispersed in pasta is far less visually overwhelming than a tortilla with the same thing.
You could also try serving this with the pasta and fajitas separate. That way kids can add how much fajitas they want instead of having to pick ingredients out. This also gives them ownership of their food and less pressure to eat every piece of disliked food they end up with.
Learn more tips in this podcast episode on strategies for introducing new foods to kids.
Top Tips for cooking with kids
Making the sauce is a great task for kids to help with. Kids always love the “magic” of a blender taking whole ingredients and making something smooth.
You can also let them help with the mixing of the pasta and sauce. Easy tasks like this allow even little kids to feel like the dish is something that they made without needing to involve them in the whole process.
See here for more tips on cooking with kids!
What to serve with this?
Whenever I make any sort of Mexican inspired dish my family always requests Homemade Horchata and I never mind making it because it really is so good! It’s also another great use for the Blendtec blender!
Some other drinks that would go well with this are Agua de Jamaica or my Sangria Mocktail.
Other recipes that you may like?
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken sliced
- 2 lg bell peppers any combination of red, green, yellow, or orange sliced
- 1 lg red onion sliced
- 3 Tbsp fajita seasoning or 1 packet
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 recipe cilantro lime sauce
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- 3 Tbsp olive oil divided
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add fettuccine pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a large pan with 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to medium high heat. When hot add sliced peppers and onions and saute about 4-5 minutes until they are caramelized. Remove from pan and keep warm.
- In the same pan, add the remaining olive oil and cook the sliced chicken until it is cooked through and you can see no more pink. Return veggies to the pan and add fajita seasoning and the 1/4 cup of water. Simmer until the water has mostly evaporated.
- While fajitas are finishing, make the cilantro lime sauce.
- Once both the fajitas and pasta are done combine them in a large serving bowl. Pour over the cilantro lime sauce, toss and serve. Garnish with additional cilantro, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
I originally posted this Fajita Pasta recipe on It’s A Keeper but have made a few changes since sharing it there, mainly with what sauce I used.
