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This one-pot dinner is bursting with flavor from corn, chicken, lime, onion, and frozen elotes!
Hearty chicken, cream, and bean pasta is a budget-friendly, family-pleasing dinner that is hearty and rich; without putting a huge dent in your wallet or using a ton of pots and pans – simply make your pasta, then cook everything else in the same pan!
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Creamy Chicken and Corn Tagliatelle
When it’s time to start planning back to school dinners, I am always looking for simple, filling classics that don’t take a ton of time or hassle – and use up ingredients I usually have on hand. This pasta recipe was designed to do exactly that – with a mix of frozen corn, chicken, beans, and cheese – for a simple and delicious dinner everyone loves, and is totally customizable!
This pasta is a great budget pick – pasta, chicken thighs, beans, and cream are all wallet-friendly hearty picks to fill up hungry families. Outside of boiling pasta in a pot, we will be cooking the rest of the dinner in the same large skillet – making this recipe a simple, easy dinner that won’t dirty up your kitchen or use a ton of special tools to make.
For even more delicious flavor, try making this easy pasta with our Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs – you’ll add a tasty, tangy zip from ranch which is an absolute game changer in a southwestern bean and chicken pasta!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
How To Make Creamy Chicken Elote Pasta
To make this creamy southwest chicken and bean pasta, we will use the following method:
- Farfalle pasta
- Frozen elotes
- Red onion
- Chicken thighs
- Olive oil
- Heavy cream
- Chicken stock
- Limes
- Pink beans
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Cheddar cheese
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will follow this method:
- Boil pasta. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook farfalle to just over al dente – pasta should be flexible but still quite crunchy (it will cook to al dente in the sauce, so you will just slightly undercook when boiling.)
- Cook chicken thighs. In a large pan, heat olive oil until light and shimmery. Unroll chicken thighs and cook in pan until golden brown on both sides, flipping after about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through and chicken has reached 165 degrees – about 8-10 minutes total. Remove chicken from pan and palace on a cutting board, let rest for five minutes, and then cut into small pieces. Do not skip the resting period.
- Brown vegetables. Add a bit of stock to pan to help scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, do not turn off heat or rinse out. As chicken rests, add frozen elotes and diced onion and garlic to pan. Cook until corn is thawed and onion is lightly browned and softened, about five minutes.
- Add chicken, cream & beans. Add chicken back to pan, with lime juice, cream, stock, and beans. Stir well to combine. Stir in shredded cheese, being careful to not let it burn on the bottom.
- Add Pasta. When sauce has incorporated, stir in pasta. Toss to evenly coat pasta in sauce and vegetables. Cook pasta and sauce in pan together 3-5 minutes, until pasta is al dente and sauce has thickened.
- Serve! Serve and top with minced green onions or cilantro.
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Creamy Chicken Elotes Pasta
Add more chicken. For more chicken flavor, add more chicken to your pasta. We designed this recipe to be easier on the wallet and filling – but sometimes we like to double the amount of meat in the dish. Go with what works for your family.
Add carne asada. For even more flavor, stir in carne asada (leftover steak is great, too!) and make your pasta even meatier!
Add more beans. I only added one can of beans to this recipe to be the most flexible and budget-friendly, but this recipe is great with 2 cans of beans as well. Use what you have on hand! You can use pink beans, red beans, black beans, or pinto beans – whatever flavor you love.
Use leftover corn. I added a bag of frozen street corn because I had a bunch of it in my freezer I needed to use up – but you can use canned corn, leftover corn on the cob that has been cut from the cob, or any corn you have on hand. If not using the elotes bag we’ve called for, please stir in a tablespoon of butter, and a teaspoon of Trader Joes Everything but the Elotes seasoning (or any other seasoning you love on street corn) to add more flavor, as the frozen street corn bag does include seasoning.
FAQs
Absolutely! To save time, this pasta is delicious with shredded rotisserie chicken, leftover diced chicken, baked chicken breasts, or even our baked ranch chicken thighs!
If you’d like to use a different type of noodle, go for it – this is delicious with spaghetti, fettuccine, orzo… and even zoodles or spaghetti squash!
If you don’t like pinto beans, you can add black beans, pinto beans, or any other beans you love.
Leftover creamy chicken pasta can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days.
To reheat, add to a pan with milk, a bit of butter, and some more cheese – this pasta reheats well, but a lot of the creamy sauce will soak into the pasta, and reheating is most delicious with a bit of milk and cheese stirred in to restore the original creamy texture. You can also do this in the microwave, though we prefer pan heating for the best flavor.
What to Serve With Creamy Chicken Elote Pasta
This pasta is a delicious, filling one-pot dinner – but it is delicious served with a bit of corn pico de gallo on the side, a creamy and rich Avocado Tomatillo Salsa, simple and filling Spicy Garlicky Beans as a side dish, or alongside Carne Asada!
If you want to make your own simple elotes, check out our Avocado Jalapeno Elotes!
Easy Creamy Chicken Elote Pasta Recipe
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Creamy Chicken Elote Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound farfalle pasta
- 1 12 oz bag frozen elotes
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken stock
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 15 oz can pink beans drained
- 2 tablespoons diced cilantro
- ¼ cup diced garlic cloves
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generousl salted water to a boil and cook farfalle to just over al dente – pasta should be flexible but still quite crunchy (it will cook to al dente in the sauce, so you will just slightly undercook when boiling.)
- In a large pan, heat olive oil until light and shimmery.
- Unroll chicken thighs and cook in pan until golden brown on both sides, flipping after about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through and chicken has reached 165 degrees – about 8-10 minutes total. Remove chicken from pan and palace on a cutting board, let rest for five minutes, and then cut into small pieces. Do not skip the resting period.
- Add a bit of stock to pan to help scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, do not turn off heat or rinse out.
- As chicken rests, add frozen elotes and diced onion and garlic to pan.
- Cook until corn is thawed and onion is lightly browned and softened, about five minutes. Add chicken back to pan, with lime juice, cream, stock, and beans. Stir well to combine. Stir in shredded cheese, being careful to not let it burn on the bottom.
- When sauce has incorporated, stir in pasta.
- Toss to evenly coat pasta in sauce and vegetables.
- Cook pasta and sauce in pan together 3-5 minutes, until pasta is al dente and sauce has thickened.
- Serve and top with minced green onions or cilantro.
