Creamy Mushroom Chicken Pasta has a rich sauce made with dried porcini mushrooms and heavy cream. This decadent Italian inspired pasta dish is perfect for a date night paired with a glass of wine.
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Even though I love to cook healthy dinners for my family, I do enjoy comfort food once in a while. Pasta is one of my favorite meals and there are so many different variations. It doesn't always have to be Italian inspired like this favorite Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta recipe.
However, my husband raves over my Creamy Mushroom Chicken Pasta with its decadent cream sauce. Oddly enough my husband loves mushrooms even though he isn't a fan of cooked vegetables so I find myself using them in a lot of recipes. I experimented with making a mushroom cream sauce with dried mushrooms and we both loved the richness of the dish!
how do you reconstitute dried mushrooms?
I buy Philips brand dried porcini mushrooms and I follow the package directions on reconstituting. Reconstituting dried mushrooms is really easy and only takes about 30 minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients. I warm up a cup of chicken broth for 30 seconds in the microwave. Then add the mushrooms and soak them for 30 minutes. You should always strain the reconstituted mushrooms using a paper coffee filter, but reserve the flavorful liquid. This straining method is to rid the mushrooms and the liquid of any grit which can be an issue with dried mushrooms. Once strained gently rinse the mushrooms in cold water and pat dry. Then I chop the mushrooms in smaller pieces before adding to the dish.
How to prepare chicken before sautéing.
Trim chicken and, if using breasts, make sure to cut them into cutlets. Chicken cutlets will cook much more evenly. I usually do this myself because it saves so much money. Check out my recipe Marinated Grilled Chicken with Blackberry Salad for instructions on how to make your own chicken cutlets. Eight chicken cutlets will need to be cooked in batches. Season well with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning while you are waiting for your skillet to warm up. Once skillet is warm add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned cutlets. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees and chicken is golden brown. Repeat this step with other cutlets and additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
How to make the mushroom cream sauce.
Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Lower heat to medium-low, and sauté shallots until soft for about 1-2 minutes then add garlic for additional 30 seconds. Add in mushrooms and broth while stirring for 5 minutes to heat through. Dissolve corn starch in cold water before adding to skillet. Corn starch will not dissolve in hot liquid which is why you must dissolve it first in separate dish. This little trick will help make your sauce thick and stick well to your pasta! Be patient, you will need to stir for a minute or 2 before you see the results. Once it has thickened, remove from heat and add heavy cream, stirring to incorporate. Then add your cooked pasta to the sauce, grate about a ½ cup fresh Parmesan over pasta and stir everything together.
To serve mushroom chicken pasta, slice chicken breast into more bite size pieces. Divide pasta onto plates arranging chicken over top. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and a little more grated Parmesan. Serve this with a simple salad, garlic bread and a glass of wine!
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Creamy Mushroom Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- .5 ounces packaged, dried mushrooms
- 4 4-6 ounce chicken breasts, cut into cutlets
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1½ cup chicken broth
- 1 box penne pasta
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch, disolved in ¼ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2½ tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup minced parsley
Instructions
- Warm chicken broth in microwave for 30 seconds. Place mushrooms into broth to reconstitute for 30 minutes, while chicken and pasta are cooking.
- Cook penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Prepare boneless, skinless chicken breast by cutting into cutlets or buy chicken cutlets.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Heat non-stick skillet on medium- high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add ½ of chicken to skillet and cook in batches, repeating step with an additional tablespoon of oil.
- When chicken is finished cooking, remove from skillet and add last ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Sautee shallots for 2-3 minutes watching closely so they do not burn. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds.
- Drain mushrooms through coffee filter reserving liquid. Carefully rinse mushrooms, pat dry and chop in small pieces. Add to shallots and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes
- Add reserved mushroom broth to skillet, scrapping any brown bits from pan. Mix cornstarch with water until dissolved. Add to mushroom broth and stir for several minutes until sauce thickens.
- Remove skillet from heat and stir in heavy cream. Add pasta to cream sauce. Grate fresh Parmesan and parsley stirring until combined.
- To serve plate pasta. slice chicken and arrange over pasta. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley.
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