Chicken Mascarpone Pasta

I'm always on a mission to make easy tomato free pasta recipes for a weeknight meal, and using fresh cheese is a delicious way to make a simple sauce. Much like my ricotta pesto pasta and green pasta, this recipe makes the most of fresh cheese along with fragrant herbs.

It's a hearty creamy mascarpone pasta with chicken that works so well as a weeknight meal for all the family. No need to switch the oven on, it comes together so easily on the stovetop using affordable ingredients. So let me show you how to make this cheesy chicken pasta in all simple recipe steps!

Do have a peek at my whipped ricotta pasta and roasted red pepper ricotta pasta for more pasta recipes with fresh cheese!

🍝 Ingredients

All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.

Some notes on a few of them:

• Chicken - I suggest to use boneless skinless chicken breast for this pasta dish, dicing it into bite-size pieces about an inch thick in size.
• Mascarpone - not just for desserts, we use this rich Italian cheese to make the creamy pasta sauce. It's thick, creamy and has a hint of sweetness.
• Pasta - this recipe is quite forgiving, so you can use a long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine or short pasta such as fusilli or penne.
• Herbs - I like to use rosemary and thyme, but a small amount of sage (not too much, it's quite pungent!) is also delicious.

🔪 Step by step instructions

It's very easy to make this mascarpone chicken pasta on the stovetop with simple ingredients for a weeknight dinner. I suggest to dice all your veggies and herbs before you start to cook.

All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.

Step 1: Cook the pasta and chicken

Cook your pasta in salted water according to package instructions, scooping out about ½ cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, drizzle olive oil in your skillet and cook the chicken pieces until browned and almost cooked through. Set aside on a plate.

Step 2: Cook the onion and garlic

If the skillet seems dry, add a touch more olive oil (don't clean the pan, the chicken bits will add flavor to the sauce). Cook the diced onion for 3-4 minutes at a low to medium heat until translucent, add in the minced garlic and diced asparagus. Pour in the chicken broth and increase the heat so it is lightly bubbling, but not at a hard boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes to reduce. Use a spatula to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet for extra flavor!

Step 3: Make the mascarpone sauce

Stir in the mascarpone cheese so that it melts into the chicken broth. Add the finely diced rosemary and cook for 4-5 minutes on a low heat.

Step 4: Add the pasta and chicken

Add the chicken pieces back to the skillet, along with the thyme leaves. Pour in ¼ cup of reserved pasta water, stir well, then tip in the cooked pasta. Add more of the pasta water until the sauce is of the consistency you like. Season well with salt and black pepper (if using).

📋 Frequently asked questions

🥗 How to serve

Serve this mascarpone chicken pasta with some sides to add some freshness:

• Pair with a light green salad, or for something a little different, my air fryer lettuce or fennel cucumber salad are both delicious.
• For a side of veggies, my air fryer broccoli and cauliflower and air fryer root vegetables are both simple and don't require you to oven cook them.

🍝 More pasta recipes

Choose from so many tasty pasta dishes here including my popular asparagus broccoli pasta and creamy kale pasta, as well as these recent recipes:

I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!