Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Loads of Veggies | Kids-Friendly Pasta Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 to 6 Servings
 
Ingredients
  • Fusilli or any other short pasta of your choice - 2 cups
  • Chicken thigh - 300 gms, boneless and skinless, cut into small bite-sized pieces
  • Capsicum - 1 small, cut into small pieces
  • Sweet corn - ¼ cup
  • Olive oil - 5 to 6 tbsp
  • Garlic - 10 to 12 cloves, grated
  • Cheddar cheese - 1 cup, grated
  • Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
  • Chilli flakes - ½ tsp, optional
  • Fresh basil leaves - 7 to 8
  • Salt to taste
For white sauce:
  • Butter - 40 gms/3 tbsp
  • Maida - 1 tbsp
  • Cold milk - 1 cup
  • Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
  • Salt - ¼ tsp
Instructions
For white sauce:
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Ensure the heat is low, else your butter will burn & turn deep brown and you will have to start over again.
  2. Once butter is melted, add the all-purpose flour/maida and keep stirring continuously keeping the heat on low until the color of the flour changes to a light golden brown. It would take about 1 to 1 & ½ minutes.
  3. Now add the cold milk while stirring constantly making sure that the flour is mixed evenly without any lump. Be patient at this stage as it may take a while to make the flour completely lump-free, otherwise your white sauce will not turn out smooth and creamy.
  4. Let the sauce come to a slow boil. As soon as the sauce starts to boil, it will thicken.
  5. Season the sauce with salt & Italian seasoning and give a thorough mix. Taste the sauce at this point and adjust seasoning if needed.
  6. Once the sauce is nicely thickened, remove it from heat and set aside until needed.
For pasta, chicken and veggies:
  1. Boil a pot of water and add about a tablespoon of salt to it. Add the pasta to boiling water and cook it until al dente i.e. soft but not too much. Check the pasta packet for the time it needs to cook until al dente.
  2. Before draining the water out, reserve a cup of pasta water.
  3. Once done, pour the pasta into a colander to let all the water drain out and wash the pasta in cold running water for a few seconds. Set it aside.
  4. In another small saucepan, boil the sweetcorn in salted water until the corn is tender; it would take about 6 to 8 minutes on medium heat. Drain the water out and set the corn aside until needed.
  5. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or wok. Once hot, add the chicken pieces and cook for a few minutes on medium heat.
  6. Add the grated garlic to the chicken and sauté for a few seconds.
  7. Season the chicken with salt & Italian seasoning and keep cooking until the chicken is almost cooked and turned golden brown. It would take about 8 to 10 minutes on low heat.
  8. Next add the chopped capsicum to the pan. Cook the chicken and capsicum together for 5 minutes on low heat. Let the capsicum remain a bit crunchy.
  9. At this point, add the boiled sweetcorn. Give a good stir to chicken & veggies.
  10. Now add the cooked pasta and start mixing in with all the ingredients. If the pan looks too dry, add a couple tablespoons of more olive oil and mix in.
  11. Season the pasta with salt & Italian seasoning. Add salt little less than what you think is required because the white sauce & cheese are also quite salty.
  12. Keep stirring the pasta along with chicken and capsicum for about 2 minutes on medium heat to let the seasoning mix evenly with everything.
  13. Here comes the first installment of cheese! Add half of the grated cheddar cheese to the pasta and carefully mix it in.
  14. Pour half of the reserved pasta water to the pan and cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt for about 5 minutes.
  15. Meanwhile, check the white sauce which must have thickened by now. Bring it back to heat and add the remaining pasta water. Keep stirring and the sauce will gradually become thinner and pourable.
  16. Coming back to the pasta, uncover the pasta pan and give a good stir. Cheese has melted completely.
  17. Now pour in the cheese sauce over the pasta and using a spatula, carefully start mixing it with pastas and veggies.
  18. It’s time to add more cheese again! Add the remaining grated cheese and mix it in. Cheese will melt in with the sauce and your pasta will take on a seriously creamy texture!
  19. Finally sprinkle some chilli flakes and a few fresh basil leaves and your cheesy pasta is ready to serve. Add a spoonful of grated cheese over the pasta after serving and garnish with a sprig of fresh basil! Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2023/08/cheesy-chicken-pasta-kids-friendly-recipe/