Jamaican Rasta Pasta Recipe

Jamaican rasta pasta topped with bell peppers, chicken, green onions, and limes.

5 from 2 votes

This Jamaican Rasta Pasta Recipe is a flavorful dish that makes the perfect weeknight dinner. With sliced bell peppers, onions and chicken in a creamy sauce, it’s a dish everyone will love!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Jamaican

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Servings

Calories 846kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Equipment

8x8 Glass Dish
Pot(s)
Oven Mitt
Food Thermometer
Pan(s)

Ingredients

2 lb Chicken Breasts cubed into bite-sized pieces (about 2 breasts)
3 tbsp Jerk Chicken Seasoning divided
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb Cavatelli Pasta or any other pasta you’d like. I’d recommend something short like a penne
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 orange bell pepper sliced
1 yellow bell pepper sliced
½ red onion diced (about ½ cup)
3 tsp garlic minced
¼ cup green onions diced
1 ¼ cup chicken stock
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
1 ½ cup parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

Bake the Chicken

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss 2 lbs chicken in 3 tbsp jerk seasoning.
Grease a baking dish, then add the jerk-seasoned chicken. Cut 2 tbsp butter up into small pieces and drop it amongst the chicken pieces.
Bake the chicken for about 15-20 minutes until it is cooked through (reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit).

Cook the Pasta

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add salt.
Then add 1 lb pasta into the water. Cook according to the package directions until al-dente.
Once done, drain the pasta. Reserve some of the pasta water in case you need to thicken your sauce.

Make the Sauce

While the chicken and pasta are cooking, make the sauce. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a large pan along with the 3 sliced bell peppers, diced ½ red onion, and 3 tbsp minced garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
Then add the ¼ cup green onions for another minute until wilted.
Add 1 ¼ cup chicken stock and 1 ¼ cup heavy cream into the pan with the peppers and onions and stir until the sauce begins to thicken.
Add the remaining jerk chicken seasoning as well as the 1 ½ cups parmesan cheese and stir until a thick sauce is formed. Add more salt or jerk chicken seasoning to taste.
Add the sauce and cooked chicken into the cooked pasta pot. Garnish with green onions and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Cavatelli Pasta: Any pasta will do. If you need to use something else, I recommend something short like a penne. You can also use fettuccine noodles like in the original recipe if you’d prefer!
Chicken Breasts: Cut into bite-sized pieces. You could also use thighs if that’s what you have
Jerk Chicken Seasoning: You can get this in the spice aisle of your grocery store, but you can also make it yourself if necessary.
Bell Peppers: Yellow peppers, red peppers and green peppers. My grocery store didn’t have green bell peppers the day of my photography for this recipe, but I highly recommend them for the rasta colors!
Heavy Cream: You can also use half and half for a lighter option if preferred.
Parmesan Cheese: The texture will be slightly better if you grate the cheese yourself, but this is one of those dishes that is forgiving if you use pre-grated cheese.
This delicious pasta recipe is very customizable. Feel free to remove the chicken and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option. You could also make it with shrimp instead of chicken.
To make this dairy-free, use full-fat coconut milk or crushed tomatoes in place of the cream and cook your chicken without the butter. You can make this a vegan rasta pasta recipe by substituting the dairy and removing the chicken.
This is also a great dish for using leftover chicken or even turkey. If you already have leftover chicken (like leftover rotisserie), simply add the jerk seasoning to it and throw it in at the end to warm it up.

Nutrition

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