This blue cheese pasta recipe with pan-seared chicken breast, jammy caramelized onions, rosemary, and penne is full of savory-sweet flavors I just can’t get enough of.
Blue Cheese Is the Star of This Sweet and Savory Pasta
Pasta is one of those dishes I could eat just about every day and never grow tired of, especially when it’s a pasta dish that’s somehow light and filling at the same time. I love dishes like penne alla vodka, chicken piccata pasta, pesto pasta with balsamic chicken, and Mediterranean tuna pasta that fill you up without weighing you down.
I love this penne pasta with chicken, caramelized onion, and blue cheese because it’s perfect for any time of year, and it’s full of amazing sweet and savory flavors without employing a long list of ingredients.
Sweet, jammy caramelized onions and garlicky pan-seared chicken breast are at the base. Fresh rosemary gently perfumes the penne pasta with a warm aroma and crumbles of blue cheese add a subtle tangy punch that ties everything together. I love it exactly as is, but some toasted walnuts or mushrooms would also be lovely additions and you could easily skip the meat to make this vegetarian.
Enjoy!
What’s in This Recipe?
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
- Olive oil + butter — I like doing a combo of olive oil and butter for flavor but also because when working together, they have the best smoke point.
- Yellow onions — We’ll caramelize them until sweet and jammy, and this will serve as the base for this pasta’s savory sauce.
- Chicken breasts — I use boneless skinless.
- Rosemary — Use fresh for the best flavor!
- Garlic — Fresh garlic gives the pasta sauce so much awesome flavor.
- Penne pasta — You could really use any pasta you like, but I like penne, rigatoni, or bow-ties best for this particular recipe.
- Blue cheese — It doesn’t have to be fancy, but use a nice blue cheese, and don’t buy the pre-crumbled stuff (it’s not as fresh or as creamy).
How to Make Pasta with Blue Cheese Sauce
- Caramelize the onions. I’ve got a detailed tutorial that walks you through how to caramelize onions, but the long and short of it is to cook them gently over medium heat (about 25 minutes) until they’re soft and jammy. Set them aside while you cook the chicken.
- Brown the chicken. I almost always butterfly my chicken breasts, because having thinner cutlets will allow them to cook faster and more evenly.
- Add the aromatics. Add the chopped rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove the chicken from the pan and slice.
- Cook the pasta until al dente. Be sure to cook the pasta just shy of being done before you add it to the sauce since it will cook further (you want it to cook more in the sauce so it absorbs more of the sauce’s awesome flavor).
- Make the pasta sauce and toss everything together. The combination of starchy pasta water, the juices from the chicken, the caramelized onions, and creamy blue cheese makes for the most incredible sauce!
Heidi’s Tip: If the pasta seems dry, add a little more of the reserved pasta water.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Try a different pasta (preferably a shorter one, such as rigatoni, fusilli, or bowties)
- Swap the rosemary for fresh tarragon or thyme
- Skip the chicken to make this vegetarian
- Add cremini mushrooms
- Instead of blue cheese, try goat cheese or grated Parmesan
- Chopped toasted walnuts would be a yummy addition as well
What to Serve on the Side
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Chicken and Blue Cheese Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium yellow onions , slivered into thin slices
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic , pressed or minced
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (for the pasta water)
- 2 ounces blue cheese , crumbled (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Caramelize the onions. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onions with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and cook for about 25 minutes or until browned and caramelized, stirring frequently. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside.
- Brown the chicken. Butterfly the chicken breasts, slicing in half horizontally to make 4 cutlets. Season the chicken with the remaining salt and ground black pepper. Add the remaining butter and oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 3 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the chopped rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove the chicken from the pan and slice.
- Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, in a large pot filled with 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, cook the penne until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water then drain the pasta.
- Finish the pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet with the sliced chicken and its juices, cooked onions, ¼ cup pasta water, and blue cheese. Season with the remaining kosher salt and black pepper. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water.
Notes
Nutrition
More Pasta with Chicken Recipes
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