Rasta Pasta with Jerk Chicken is an easy, island-inspired creamy pasta featuring spicy bites of chicken and colorful strips of bell peppers. It's simple enough for a weeknight dinner, yet impressive enough for guests.
(This post was originally published in September 2015, but was updated with new photos, content, and a brand new recipe in 2022).
Rasta pasta is the ultimate dish for lovers of pasta and spicy food. It features Jamaican Rastafarian colors (red, green, and gold) along with spicy jerk chicken pieces and tons of fresh scallions and garlic, all coated in a flavorful sauce with a kick.
The finished result is slightly creamy but not very rich at all. I usually find cream based sauces a bit too heavy for my taste but this is far from that. It's so delicately creamy I wouldn’t even call it a typical cream sauce.
This Rasta pasta is just the perfect balance between spiciness, creaminess, and those crisp-tender peppers and juicy pieces of spicy jerk chicken. Even the grated cheese adds just enough flavor without overpowering anything else.
My sister exclaimed that this was one of her favorite pasta recipes ever, which says a lot because we are a family of pasta lovers!
You'll want about an hour to marinate the chicken, but otherwise this Rasta pasta with jerk chicken is relatively fast and easy. Use the marinating time to prep your other ingredients. Dinner will be on the table before you know it.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: You'll need 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders for this Rasta pasta with jerk chicken. I like cutting the chicken into ½-inch thick strips, but you could cube the chicken as well if you prefer. If using chicken tenders, cut them into strips on a diagonal to get larger pieces.
- Jerk Seasoning: Jerk seasoning can be either a dry rub or wet rub (paste). I prefer the wet seasoning, which you can make homemade (recipe follows) or purchase jarred (pictured above in the square dish). For this Rasta pasta, I use Grace mild jerk seasoning which is a wet paste. Even though it's labeled as "mild" it's still Jamaican, so it has a kick and the finished jerk chicken pasta has plenty of heat. You could also make this Rasta pasta with dry jerk seasoning, but I have not tested it out to compare the spiciness between using dry vs. wet rub for this recipe. If you make your own jerk seasoning or use a "hot" store-bought jerk seasoning, you may want to consider adjusting the amount used to suit your taste. Everyone's spice tolerance is different.
- Peppers: The 3 colors of bell peppers used in this Rasta pasta recipe represent the Rastafarian colors of red, green, and gold (or in this case yellow). Ideally the peppers should all be about the same size, but my green pepper was larger than my red and yellow peppers. I only used about ¾ of it to yield an equal amount of pepper slices of each color. This was more for aesthetics, but you could do the same if you'd like.
- Pasta: My favorite pasta shape for Rasta pasta is penne! I think it's the perfect size and shape to go along with the bell pepper strips and slices of chicken. You can, however, make this recipe with another short, tubular pasta shape (like rigatoni or ziti) or use fettuccine, which is also a common shape for this dish. It is said to represent dreadlocks!
How to make it
Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and add jerk seasoning. Coat the chicken pieces with the seasoning (wear gloves and mix by hand or stir with a large spoon). Cover and marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the jerk-marinated chicken pieces, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat more olive oil in the pan and add sliced peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, until the peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Add sliced scallions and minced garlic and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant and softened.
Next, add chicken broth, cream, and more jerk seasoning to the skillet. Simmer the mixture until bubbly and thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you reduce the sauce too much, you won't have enough to coat all the pasta and chicken.
Stir in the grated parmesan cheese followed by the chicken and pasta until evenly combined. Serve Rasta pasta with jerk chicken topped with additional sliced scallions for garnish.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
I recommend prepping all the other ingredients for Rasta pasta while the chicken is marinating to save time.
The longer you marinate your chicken, the spicier it will be. I wouldn't stretch it longer than 2 hours max, nor would I recommend marinating the chicken overnight, since the pieces are quite small. If you're in a rush, you can reduce the marinating time and just let it sit while you prep the remaining ingredients, about 15 minutes or so.
If your skillet isn’t large enough to combine everything together at the end, only mix the cheese and chicken into the sauce, and stir to coat. Transfer the drained pasta to the empty pot from boiling the pasta (off the heat), and then pour the chicken and sauce mixture over the pasta, and stir to combine evenly.
Rastafarians are vegetarian. If you wanted to be more authentic to the inspiration for this dish you could easily skip the chicken and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth for an equally delicious result! I love the extra spicy bites of chicken, so I include them, but you can definitely leave them out.
Other recipes you may like
- Baked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
- Jamaican Beef Patties
- Authentic Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
- Jamaican Rice and Peas
- Trinidad Macaroni Pie
- Caribbean Curried Rice Pilaf with Citrus
- Pasta alla Norcina (Creamy Pasta with Sausage)
- Browse all Pasta Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Creamy Rasta Pasta with Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders (about 2 large breasts or 6 to 8 tenders), cut into ½-inch thick strips
- ¼ cup jerk seasoning (preferably wet seasoning), divided
- 1 pound (450 grams) dry penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced into ¼-inch thick strips
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced into ¼-inch thick strips
- 1 medium green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced into ¼-inch thick strips
- ½ cup sliced scallions (about 4 to 5 scallions), plus more for garnish
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup (100 ml) chicken broth or stock
- ½ cup (100 ml) heavy (double) cream
- ½ cup (45 grams) freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and add 3 tablespoons of the jerk seasoning. Coat the chicken pieces with the seasoning (wear gloves and mix by hand or stir with a large spoon). Cover and marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the jerk-marinated chicken pieces, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the sliced peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, until the peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the scallions and garlic and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant and softened.
- Next, add the chicken broth, cream, and remaining 1 tablespoon of jerk seasoning to the skillet. Simmer the mixture until bubbly and thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the grated parmesan cheese followed by the chicken and pasta until evenly combined. If your skillet isn’t large enough for this, only mix in the cheese and chicken, and stir to coat. Transfer the drained pasta to the empty pot from boiling the pasta (off the heat), and then pour the chicken and sauce mixture over the pasta, and stir to combine evenly.
- Serve immediately topped with additional sliced scallions for garnish.
Notes
- If using chicken tenders, cut them into strips on a diagonal to get larger pieces.
- I recommend prepping all the other ingredients while the chicken is marinating to save time. If you're in a rush, you can reduce the marinating time and just let it sit while you prep the remaining ingredients, about 15 minutes or so.
- My green pepper was larger than my red and yellow peppers so I only used about ¾ of it to yield an equal amount of pepper slices of each color.
- Jerk seasoning can be either a dry rub or wet rub (paste). I prefer the wet seasoning, which you can make homemade (recipe follows) or purchase jarred. For this Rasta pasta, I used Grace mild jerk seasoning which is a wet paste. Even though it's labeled as "mild" it's still Jamaican, so it still has a good kick and the finished jerk chicken pasta has plenty of heat. You could also make this Rasta pasta with dry jerk seasoning, but I have not tested it out to compare the spiciness between using dry vs. wet rub for this recipe. If you make your own jerk seasoning or use a "hot" store-bought jerk seasoning, you may want to consider adjusting the amount to suit your taste. Everyone's spice tolerance is different.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cane vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- 6 scallions
- 1 to 3 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers (use 1 pepper if you don’t want it seriously hot!)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons allspice berries or 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mash the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle until smooth, or place ingredients in a small food processor or blender and puree into a thick paste.
Notes
- Adapted from Eat Caribbean
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Andrea Cupidore
great recipe