BBQ Chicken Pasta
This BBQ chicken pasta is simple, quick and packed with delicious smoky barbecue flavor, tender pasta and creamy, melted cheese.
My husband has a deep and abiding love for barbecue sauce.
His favorite pizza? Barbecue chicken. His favorite salad? Barbecue chicken with romaine, black beans and corn. His favorite burger? Barbecue ranch with bacon. His favorite sandwich? Barbecue beef. His favorite ice cream? Barbecue tracks.
Ok, just kidding on that one. Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.
After the success of the homemade barbecue sauce and knowing the above details, I thought to myself, why not make all his dreams come true and transfer the barbecue passion to pasta., the almighty Barbecue Chicken Pasta invention.
A one skillet meal (have I mentioned I love skillet meals??), this dish was a huge success with my little family.
Simple, quick and packed with delicious smoky barbecue flavors, tender pasta and creamy, melted cheese, I’m hoping that if you ask my husband what his favorite pasta is…he’ll stay with the barbecue theme and give you this meal for an answer.
What To Serve With This:
Divine breadsticks or Cheesy Garlic Bread
Killer green salad (throw together your own or use a variation on this Gourmet Green Salad)
Fresh, seasonal fruit
One Year Ago: Skillet Chicken with Broccoli, Pasta, and Parmesan
Two Years Ago: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
BBQ Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 2 cups water
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces penne pasta
- ⅔ cup barbecue sauce (see note)
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat (you could also use a large pot if you don’t have a skillet this big). When hot, add the chicken and onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken and onions to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the water, chicken broth, penne and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the liquid is almost absorbed and the pasta is tender.
- Stir in the barbecue sauce and sour cream. Once mixed, add in the reserved chicken, onions and shredded cheese. Stir to combine and cook until everything is heated through.
- Serve immediately and garnish with additional red or green onions and shredded cheese.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Original
73 Comments on “BBQ Chicken Pasta”
Look forward to trying this! Do you have a recipe for BBQ chicken pizza on your site? Or, one you recommend?
I usually just kind of throw it together – so I don’t have an official recipe – sorry!
This was surprisingly good. I’m not a huge fan of bbq sauce, but it wasn’t overpowering. My family quite liked it and said they’d like it if I made it again. Quick and easy on a busy night. Thank you!
Any ideas on how to convert this to an instant pot recipe? I’m still a novice there and not sure how much liquid I’d need.
I haven’t tried it yet so I’m not sure – I’ll add notes if I do!
We love this. IP conversion below.
IP rule of thumb is 1 cup liquid per 4oz dry pasta, and I use all broth in this recipe (no water). Onion and chicken both release extra liquid also.
Saute onion in olive oil while prepping other ingredients.
Add 3 cups chicken broth, salt and pasta. Top with diced raw chicken. Set to 5 min HP, with 10 min NR. When finished, release remaining pressure, then stir and add bbq sauce, sour cream and cheese.
I also have increased quantities to use 16 oz pasta. I use whole wheat rotini.
Increase other ingredients to:
1.5 pounds chicken (we prefer boneless thighs)
4 c. broth (or 2 c each broth & water)
1/2 +1/8 t. Salt
16oz pasta
3/4 c bbq sauce
3/8 c sour cream
Total 1 1/4 c cheese
I am going to make this one of these days. I like to prep a few meals on Monday during my child’s naptime to have for the week. How would this do being cooked one day and then re-heated the next–has anyone tried that? Or, after it all cooks, do you think it could be frozen and then heated when ready to eat? Any tips on doing either of these would be great. Thanks.
My 4 kids and I loved this dish. My big eating teenagers gobbled up this meal. The funny thing was that my husband didn’t like it at all … for him, pasta and bbq sauce should not go together. So, I will serve it for lunch when he’s not home. I did not prepare it as a one skillet meal, but I used the ingredient combination. I like to cook a chicken in my crock pot once a week. It was easy to combine all the ingredients in the pasta pot with the cooked and drained pasta. I made your bbq sauce too, very good!
Made this for the first time last night after a friend shared it with me. YUM! The whole family loved it. It’s in the regular rotation now. 🙂
Just made this tonight. My husband doesn’t like BBQ Suace, so I don’t know how he’ll take it (but he works nights, so he doesn’t get a vote), but the kids ate it without the usual threats–even my 2 yo who thinks if it’s not graham crackers, it’s not worth it. So thanks! But, how did you make yours so pretty? Mine looked kind of cat-barfy orange. Still tasted good, though.
Sarah – Not really sure what I did differently – the picture may make it look less orange, I guess, but otherwise, I’m really not sure! I am glad you liked it though.
I thought this seemed a bit strange for pasta but I love bbq chicken pizza and had everything on hand so I tried it and Im SO glad I did! Delish! My whole family loved it. I have recently become obsessed with you (Ha! I sound like a stalker) and have made several of your recipes over the last few weeks and my entire family has loved every single one! Thanks for making me feel good about myself by cooking great food and thanks for making homemade and from scratch easy, fun and do-able!
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Amanda, this is months after your post, but I make this all the time, and I had issues with cooking my pasta in the same pot too. So, now I cook pasta separately, and make the sauce in a separate pot with about 1/2 c chicken broth. I add more at the end if i feel like it needs it. I cook noodles until done, drain, and dump them in the sauce. Perfect! Hope it works for you!
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Has anyone else made this with gluten free pasta? When you cook pasta the water gets very milky as the pasta cooks. I made this tonight and using the cloudy/starchy water that the gluten free pasta produced as a sauce base was not good, it made the sauce really thick. I could tell this would have had a really great flavor if not for that. I am thinking of cooking the pasta in a separate pot and then putting it in with a mixture of chicken broth, bbq sauce sour cream, and some water. Anyone have any suggestions? This might take a little trial and error…. like everything else I’ve tried to cook since celiac! 🙂
Steph – please see my FAQ page regarding nutrition info.
Do you have nutrition info?
Just thought I would say that I made this with ground beef (what I had on hand) and let the browned beef boil with the noodles and all water, no chicken broth, and it turned out great. My husband called it BBQ cheeseburger pasta. Love your recipes!
Lauren – probably right around 6.
How many servings does this yield?
I saw that you updated the recipe to only have 4 1/2 C. of liquid. That’s actually what we’ve been doing. The 5 1/2 C. was always a little too much. 🙂
Hi Stacie – it’s been a long time since I’ve made this but if you are having trouble with the liquid, I’d cut the water down to 2 cups and see how that works out for you. I’ve been meaning to add this to our menu plan so I can update the picture – when I do, I’ll be sure to take note of the liquid ratio and see if I have the same issues.
I have made this quite a few times, using canned and regular chicken different times. I thought maybe the first few times using canned chicken was the problem, but it’s not. I used real chicken this time and it didn’t make a difference during cooking. The problem is that my liquid never gets absorbed and it never gets “thick and syrupy.” It’s always just full of water and chicken broth. What am I doing wrong? We love this meal but we always have to drain it. The recipe says nothing about draining, so what do I do? Help me! (It’s still delicious btw!)
That was a fail. Only one of my family members liked it. Its a great concept. We all love chicken, bbq sauce and cheese. I dont know why they didnt like it. I ended up having to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches..
I was so happy to find this recipe yesterday while trying to decide what to make for dinner. It was so easy to make and so delicious! I even got my two year old to eat a few bites – score one for mom! My husband was a little skeptical as he associates BBQ chicken with a grill, but he ate two full servings of this. Thanks Mel!!
I had leftover bbq chicken from my favorite slow cooker recipe and used it in this. Loved the addition of the sour cream to the sauce. Super easy and delicious!
I make a similar dish, but I add a can of rinsed black beans. So yummy!!!
I also had to substitute elbow macaroni, and mine seems to be turning really mushy in just a few minutes of boiling! I’m going to have to throw it away and go to the store and get some other pasta. Kind of embarrassing (I’m not the greatest cook…) but it looks like I just cooked a solid gooey mass of pasta!
Aaron – I’m not sure why this happened. Sorry! The elbow macaroni must need quite a bit less cooking time.
I was in a major bind to come up with a dinner tonight and remembered this yummy recipe from months past. I had some Costco Jack Daniels Shredded BBQ Chicken in my fridge and decided to make this recipe even easier by subbing the pre-done BBQ chicken and adapting the recipe to make it work. It turned out just as good! So if you are really in a hurry to make dinner one night, try using this already shredded chicken and it’s a snap!
Mmm!! This was great. I did a little ranch and a little sour cream. I think next time I’ll add more chicken.
I made this tonight and LOVED it! Used the ranch suggestion because I didnt have any sour cream and it turned out great. Thanks!
how do you cook the noodles that long without them getting soggy? mine were practially mush.
Lindsay – sounds like you may need to just cut back on the cooking time. Sorry it didn’t work out!
I made this tonight. I liked it. I didn’t have penne on hand, so I used the elbow macaroni I had. It was fine, but I want to try it with penne next time for sure. My sons ate it, which is really saying something.
What I love about it is that it’s very easy to make. It comes together very quickly. I steamed some broccoli and mixed it in with the pasta on my plate because I just like to walk on the wild side every once in a while.
Thanks for another quick weeknight meal.
queenann – your wild side comment made me laugh. Thanks. Glad you liked this one. I’ll have to get wild and crazy and throw some steamed broccoli in next time I make it. I bet it adds a great freshness.
Made this again tonight. The kids LOVE it. Even my picky one… LOL I used up he last of the BBQ sauce, though, so I’ll need to make another batch. You are my go-to site for dinner inspiration! Thanks for keeping the goodness coming!
Your Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls are on the agenda for the weekend… 🙂
Thanks, Karen!
I stumbled across this recipe hunting for something to make with what little I had on hand. I LOVE California Pizza Kitchen Barbeque Chicken Pizza, but my partner is restricted to a gluten-free diet, so I thought this would make an awesome alternative. I used a gluten-free penne and grilled the chicken and the red onion and it was SO DELICIOUS! Thanks for this great idea!
Bladen – thank you so much for your comment! I think the idea of grilling the chicken is brilliant and I’m glad you were able to adapt this for your partner’s gluten-free diet!
Made this for dinner last night and it turned out good. I didn’t know what to serve with it so we had a salad. LOL – Tonight I’m trying your taco recipe. Wish me luck!!!
Thanks, Kina – I think it sounds delicious with a salad!
Another home run! This is fantastic. I didn’t have any sour cream on hand ( I don’t know how that happened!) so I substituted ranch dressing. It worked perfectly. The hubby & the kids loved it! Thanks so much for another keeper!
Thanks, Gia! Glad your family loved this meal…I actually think the substitution of ranch dressing sounds fantastic!
Mel, this will be about 7th recipe that I am trying from your blog. I am looking forward to making this tonight! It looks great!
Jocelyn – I hope it doesn’t disappoint! Let me know how it turns out.
This looks SO good! I can’t wait to make it soon!
Thanks, Sharon….glad this is a keeper!
Great dish!! We also love BBQ sauce in our house, so this is a keeper for us!!!
Steph – glad you liked this! And I agree that you can’t go wrong with a great sharp cheddar cheese.
Steph – thanks for letting me know that you liked this dish. I agree, can’t go wrong with some good cheese!
What a great idea for a pasta dish! I just discovered your blog, and I am a fan already. I will be back as time permits to check out what’s cooking here. Thanks for sharing all these fantastic recipes with all of us.
I made this last night for dinner – it was different but very yummy. Plus, I shredded up some Hoffman’s sharp cheddar – can’t go wrong with that stuff. Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
lol..you had me going with the ice cream flavor!!! lol
Tracey – great suggestion! I'm glad you liked this meal…thanks for letting me know!
Hey Mel – I'm glad you cook for your own pleasure – then you don't have anyone else to be disappointed if it doesn't work out. Glad you liked this one!
YUM this was good! Such a fun variation from a typical pasta dish. I liked it alot! (Notice how everyone cooks to feed their families, I just try all your recipes for my own pleasure haha 🙂
Just made this for dinner ~ with a few twists (I used leftover turkey breast, instead of chicken). It was pretty good, I would definitely make it again. However, I just thought I would suggest adding some diced/chopped green peppers, at the same time you cook the chicken and onion. It would add another veggie, as well as adding some color to the dish:) Thanks again for the great recipes!
We will have to try this! Thanks!
A clever and delicious twist for pasta! Ooooh, just imagining the big flavor in this! Thank you for sharing!
This looks amazingly good. Can't wait to try it.Mary
Earlier today, as I was dipping my childrens leftover chicken nuggets in BBQ sauce, I was thinking I needed to make something BBQ-y for dinner! How did you know? Can't wait to try this one!!
Yummy! My kids will eat anything with BBQ sauce, I'll have to try this. I always like to sprinkle a little bit of smoked Gouda on my BBQ chicken pizza, I wonder if it would be good in the pasta as well?
like your hubby, i'm guilty of slathering barbecue sauce on pretty much everything. one thing i haven't tried? pasta. right on! 🙂
What a fun creation- sounds awesome. We are a household of BBQ lovers. I love making homemade BBQ sauce and I am very picky about store bought but if you are in a pinch, I think that Sweet Baby Rays is fantastic!
In my opinion, store bought BBQ sauce ranks right there with store bought ranch dressing–bleeeck!!I can't wait to try yours. I have a feeling my hubby will love this pasta as well.Your pictures are fantastic!
Oh that sounds so good! I love bbq chicken pizza so why not bbq chicken pasta! That is brilliant! 🙂
I make a barbecue pasta dish with ground beef that is my husband's absolute favorite. I think he would enjoy this dish as well, sounds delicious.
Your husband and I would be great friends! I love BBQ sauce. This pasta is such a great idea. I get sick of always having to have a marinara sauce with pasta. Looking forward to making this.
How funny. Last night I made BBQ Chicken Linguine based on a recipe in a book. It was quite similar to your recipe. I could take it or leave it, but my husband enjoyed it and my 6yo couldn't get enough of it!
Funny post! That guy sure likes his BBQ!And this must have made him a happy man!Your photos are making me drool. It's too close to lunch!
Yay – another skillet recipe! Thank you! I'm not such a BBQ fan, but hubby and kids love it, so I'm going to give it a whirl.You have such good/inspiring recipes and ideas. Thank you for making them "real". [Using normal ingredients and having your family eat them]. I appreciate it!