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One-Pot, Creamy Chicken Pasta Primavera made with lean chicken breast, spring veggies, and a light cream sauce. A delicious, high-protein dinner idea!
Chicken Pasta Primavera
Primavera means “spring” in Italian, so I thought the name for this high-protein pasta dish was fitting since it’s made with spring asparagus, leeks, artichokes, and peas. The creamy sauce is made with cream cheese and parmesan cheese blended with a little milk, and each portion has a generous amount of veggies and chicken with 30 grams of protein per serving. It’s delicious, I hope you enjoy! For more primavera recipes, try this Risotto Primavera and Spaghetti Squash Primavera.
Why I Love This Chicken Pasta Primavera Recipe
- Vibrant: This simple chicken pasta primavera is bursting with the fresh flavors of spring.
- High-Protein Pasta: This meal has 30 grams of protein per serving, making it incredibly satisfying.
- Light: This healthy pasta primavera is made lighter than most creamy pasta recipes since I use no heavy-cream, and pack the dish with veggies and lean chicken.
- In Season Produce: Cooking with in-season vegetables like asparagus, leeks and peas will give you the best flavor and is budget-friendly.
- One-Pot Pasta: Cooking everything in one pot makes cleanup easy!
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This:
- Chicken Primavera Sauce: I used a combo of milk, Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese and 1/3-less fat cream cheese to make the cream sauce light, with no heavy cream.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into half-inch pieces adds protein.
- Seasoning: Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper, or use your favorite seasoning.
- Asparagus: Trim the tough ends off and cut into one-inch pieces.
- Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth to make the primavera sauce.
- Pasta: I used bow tie pasta but any other small shape, like orecchiette or rotini will work. Gluten-free pasta will also work.
- Leeks: Thoroughly clean 2 leeks to ensure you’ve removed all the dirt, and then thinly slice the white and light green parts.
- Artichokes: I used canned artichoke hearts, drained.
- Peas: Use fresh or frozen. You don’t need to thaw the frozen peas.
- Basil adds freshness and garnishes the dish.
How to Make Chicken Pasta Primavera
- Creamy Primavera Sauce: Blend the milk, grated cheese, and cream cheese in a blender.
- Chicken: Season the chicken with Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Heat a large pot over high heat, spray it with oil, and add the chicken. Cook until the bottoms brown, flip over, and cook for another few minutes. Then transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Pasta: Add a splash of broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the remaining broth with the cream cheese mixture, pasta, and leeks. Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally to help the pasta cook evenly. Once the
pasta is al dente and there isn’t much liquid left, it’s ready. - Vegetables: Stir in the asparagus and artichokes. Cover and cook for 3 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Add the chicken, any of the juices that accumulated, and the peas. Cook for 30 seconds until the peas are warmed.
- How to Serve: Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Serve with more grated cheese.
Variations
- Protein: Substitute chicken with shrimp. Or omit to keep it vegetarian.
- Seasoning: If you don’t have Cajun seasoning, use onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne.
- Broth: Swap chicken broth with vegetable broth.
- Herbs: Replace basil with chives or tarragon.
What to Serve with Pasta Primavera
This healthy chicken pasta primavera is a complete meal, loaded with veggies and protein. If you’re serving it to a big group and want to stretch it to serve more people, pair it with a green salad and some crusty bread.
Storage
Store leftover pasta primavera for up to 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Thaw the pasta in the refrigerator and then microwave until warm.
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Penne alla Vodka with Chicken
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Baked Ziti with Spinach
Chicken Pasta Primavera Recipe
One-Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta Primavera made with lean chicken breast, spring veggies, and a light cream sauce. A delicious, high-protein dinner idea!
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 1 2/3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup fat free milk
- 1/3 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/3 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese, recommend Philadelphia
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- olive oil spray
- Kosher salt, and fresh pepper
- 6 ounces fresh thin asparagus, ends trimmed and cut 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces bow tie pasta, or other cut pasta, wheat or gluten-free
- 2 medium leeks, cleaned and white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and quartered if necessary
- 1 cup frozen peas, no need to thaw
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- In a small blender, combine milk, grated cheese and cream cheese and set aside.
- Season chicken with cajun seasoning.
- Heat a large pot over high heat. When the pan is very hot, spray it with oil and add the chicken, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, spreading it in a single layer on high heat until the bottom browns, about 3 minutes, then flip to cook the other side until the chicken is browned on all sides and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add a splash of the broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the remaining broth, cream cheese mixture, the pasta, and leeks. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally to help the pasta cook evenly, for 15 minutes.
- Taste the pasta and if it’s not al dente, or there is still a lot of liquid at the bottom of the pot, cover and cook for another minute and check again.
- When the pasta is ready, add the asparagus and artichokes, gently stir, and cover. Cook until the asparagus is crisp-tender, the pasta is tender, and the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.
- Uncover and add the chicken and any juices that have accumulated and the peas and stir to combine. Cook just for about 30 seconds to warm the peas through.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Serve with more parmesan cheese, for passing.
Last Step:
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Notes
Variations:
- Protein: Substitute chicken with shrimp. Or omit to keep it vegetarian.
- Seasoning: If you don’t have Cajun seasoning, use onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne.
- Broth: Swap chicken broth with vegetable broth.
- Herbs: Replace basil with chives or tarragon.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 2/3 cups, Calories: 369 kcal, Carbohydrates: 48 g, Protein: 30 g, Fat: 6.5 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 69 mg, Sodium: 706 mg, Fiber: 7 g, Sugar: 8 g
Very easy recipe to follow, and the result is delicious! Lots of protein for my teenage boys, with some sneaky veggies 😉 😆
Delicious! My family loved it.
Wonderful recipe! My hubby loved it too! Nice and creamy! I used Carb Diem Pasta and added some garlic powder to it. Yummy!
It was delicious!!
AMAZING!!! Wow this is so fresh and delicious. I looked for similar recipes online but they were 3x the calories and while I did NOT choose them (no idea how they taste) I missed nothing from this recipe.
Fabulous!
This recipe is a keeper! All the things I love in a dish and even my family approved! It made so much and it felt so light. I found a really good protein packed pasta to use that held up perfectly. Thank you for all the great recipes!
Hi Gina
I can only find, a good tasting, regular spaghetti shaped wheat pasta. Where and what brand of wheat pasta did you use for these bowties please?
Excited to try this. I’m going to use onion and chive cream cheese and sub smoked turkey sausage for the chicken.
This was quite tasty….turned out to be quite time-consuming because it took forever for the pasta to cook. It also required a lot more broth. Honestly, next time I will just cook the pasta on its own and add it to the sauce…it would be much easier and faster. I think it would be good with shrimp, as well as other spring veggies. Nice versatile recipe that works with any small pasta.
I substituted shrimp for chicken. This was amazing and super easy. Thanks for a great recipe!
Delicious, used Broccoli and Angel Hair.
Stellar!!! No leftovers.
This is one of our favorite one pot meals. It really does only need one pot and everything blends together so well. I would love to come up with a fall/winter version of this using seasonal vegetables.
This is so good! Even my picky 3 year old loves it! It’s nice to have such a hearty meal while counting calories:)
♥ love kid approval! 🙂
Right before serving I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to each serving 10/10 recommend
Great recipe! My family loves this. I substituted fresh corn for the peas and added carrots. It was fantastic! Even my picky kids ate it! This will be going on rotation.
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Delicious! I used gluten free spirals, and didn’t have Cajun seasoning so used onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper per your suggestion.
This was delicious! The only thing I changed was using a combo of Parmesan/romano cheese and I left out the the artichokes. I will be making this again. Thank you!
I’ve made this a couple times and we always love it. I have a question though. Can you make the cream sauce ahead of time (in the morning to use that night) or will it separate? Thanks!
Could frozen artichoke hearts be used instead of canned? Do you think they should be thawed?
Oh my! This was delicious! I’ll be making it again!
I just made this recipe for the second time in a month! It is incredibly good! I discovered I prefer to use the pecorino romano as opposed to the parmesan. The pecorino adds a bite I just love. I don’t like leeks so I use sweet vidalia onion. I freeze half of it in little containers and it freezes well. This is in my normal rotation now!!
Very good! My 16 and 7 year old sons loved it. Only thing was asparagus was not done cooking with 3 minutes…would add In sooner next time.
Did anyone make this the night before and serve the next day after reheating?
I think its best eaten the day you make it.
This recipe is delish! I had some chicken meatballs and green beans that I needed to use so I subbed the protein and veggie. The sauce is flavorful yet light. I will definitely be making this again!
This was so creamy and the flavor was amazing
I thought this was really good. The artichokes gave it extra flavor.
I made this last night and we both really liked it. it did take a bit of time to make but it was worth it. Springtime on a plate
My whole family ate this and were ok with all the vegetables and they normally don’t like anything green. Will make again.
Delicious and reheated perfectly for leftovers the next day.
Gina, do you think Palmini would work?
I don’t see why not, but I haven’t tried it.
I made it. Since I’ve never used leeks or artichoke, let’s just say it wasn’t me. Kinda on the list of a lot of unnecessary ingredients b
Outstanding!! I can’t believe how creamy and tasty this is! I might want a squeeze of lemon on it but that’s about it. So happy I tried it!
Lemon just brightens everything up – I’m going to give it a squeeze when I make this myself!
This was really really good!! Love the cream sauce and the veggies!!
This was outstanding, much better than I thought it would be. I used onions instead of leeks, used shrooms instead of artichokes and added a bit of garlic. I love that it’s made in one pot. I would proudly serve this at a dinner party.
I love this recipe! It freezes well and tastes great using shrimp or chicken. I am not a big fan of artichokes, so I just use more asparagus instead.
First time I tried a ww skinny taste recipe. Loved it. Will be using more.
Welcome!
The best pasta primavera I have had. A great recipe!
Thank you!
Wonderful
It was a bit blah and there wasn’t enough sauce. All the flavors were good, it just needs something more for my family’s taste.
One pot meals are my favorite! This turned out delicious . I used one 14.5 ounce can of chicken broth and used fresh grwwn beens instead of asparagus. Those were the only changes. The green beens took a bit longer than expected but then I just left the lid on after I added the chicken and artichoke hearts so the green beens could steam w out the flame lit. Will definitely make it again.
I have a guest staying with us who needs a gluten free diet. I made your sesame cx. Fabulous! I will be revisiting your site. 👍🙃👩🍳
great!!
Excellent! I needed a bit more cook time for my noodles but otherwise, all was great. Family loved it!!
LOVE! Light, flavorful, but still hits all the cravings that a nice alfredo with blackened chicken would fulfill. Love all the veggies. Restaurant quality
Just made this recipe for my family. OMG, it was absolutely amazing. Never cooked pasta in sauce before, but it worked so well. Flavors were spot on. Will definitely be making this again.
SO GOOD. I’m not usually a huge pasta person unless it’s something smothered in cheese and rich sauce… but this was absolutely delicious. And it makes 5-6 BIG servings.
This was a fantastic and easy recipe to cook. I love pasta but don’t love how unhealthy it can be. This recipe packs in the protein and healthy vegetables to I can eat it and feel good about it too. I think it needs more chicken broth to cook the pasta. I kept having to add broth throughout the 15 minutes to avoid the pasta sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Once the prep work was done, this was a super easy and flavorful meal. We doubled the recipe and everything was great! We used marinated artichokes (my fault), and they were just a little overpowering. Only thing to change next time.
We have made this several times and love it! For our gas stove, closer to true medium rather than medium low for the pasta cooking part works best.
Very tasty! My biggest complaint was the asparagus didn’t cook thoroughly. I should have blanched them before.
I don’t like my asparagus mushy but if you do, then yes that works.
I made this recipe tonight for dinner and it was outstanding!!!!
So glad to hear!
Very good
made this with my man tonight and I’m shook, it was so good and healthy and veggie packed! Never would have thought to put artichokes in pasta like this, thanks for the great recipie!
So easy and so delicious! Our family loved this!
Surprisingly easy and so good!
Very good flavor and I will make this again. If recipe had ounces of cream cheese instead of a 1/3 cup measure that would be helpful.
Tasty! Very good base recipe, very adaptable. Love the one pot idea, although I did sauté the veggies in olive oil a bit first. Will make again!
This looked really good but my milk cheese and cream cheese mix curdled and I have no idea why. Followed all of the instructions and everything was fresh.
My family really enjoyed this recipe! I followed the recipe as written. I did use protein pasta to up the protein. The only thing I will change next time is the cajun seasoning that I used. It made the chicken much saltier than I would prefer. I will definitely be making this again!
Mine cream mixture curdled a little bit too. Why?
I loved this! It was so good. I used sour cream instead of cream cheese, shallots instead of leeks, and I used jarred artichoke hearts instead of canned. It was delicious.
This was so delicious! I’m not a pea eater so I added broccoli and asparagus! My husband said put this in rotation! Thank you!
Made this wonderful dish for dinner. Excellent. Did omit artichokes. Delicious and leftovers reheated just as good.
Absolutely delicious! I subbed ricotta cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice for the cream cheese and it was great! And all the veggies were delicious. 😋
Excellent! It is a keeper
I love the saltiness the artichoke added! This was the ingredient I was nervous would throw the whole thing off and was pleasantly surprised.
Very good and satisfying. Would make again, but will omit the artichoke. I’ve discovered I don’t like it. 😂😂😷 The only exception is pizza. Outside of that, definitely recommend!
This was fabulous! My whole family devoured it! Thank you!!
I had a problem…I added the leeks and pasta to the beautiful creamy sauce and put the lid on to cook pasta for 10 minutes as instructed… when I removed the lid, the cream sauce had “broken” and looked bad. Is there any tip to prevent or fix this?
I really liked this one. I’ll definitely be making this again! I didn’t have artichokes so I skipped that ingredient.
You’ve done it again Gina!! Delicious!
YAY
We really enjoyed this! It’s fun to mix in some delicious veggies that we don’t eat very often. We found this meal to be quite filling. Thank you for a wonderful recipe Gina. We will definitely make this dish again.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! The sauce was amazingly flavorful and easy to make. I added 1 can of rinsed/drained garbanzo beans at end instead of chicken and it turned out perfect!
Winner!
Loved this beautiful chicken pasta dish. My family enjoyed the spring veggies, and light flavourable cream sauce. I will make it again!
Good, easy. I used chickpea pasta. I kept an eye on it rather than going the 15 min. After about 8 min, the pasta was done and the sauce was mostly absorbed. I added everything else at that point and just heated until everything was heated through.
So so so good! I used almond milk because that is what I had on hand. It was quick, easy, and super tasty. We will certainly be making it more often
This is an excellent recipe. So easy and truly special with all the veggies. I substituted edamame for peas. Rave reviews from everyone!
It was easy and good, but I will say that it needed a bit more brightness to me, so I added some lemon zest. I used chickpea pasta as well to lower carbs a bit. Hubby loved it!
Excellent! I will admit I did not follow the recipe exactly. I used sour cream instead of cream cheese as that is what I had. Could not find thin asparagus or leeks 🙁, so substituted broccoli and scallions. Also used Orecchiette pasta as I did not have bow ties. Followed the rest as written. Loved that everything is cooked in one pot. I prepped everything and cooked the chicken earlier in the afternoon so only took about 20 min once I was ready to cook it.
Great recipe for the entire family!
Thanks Jessica!
Delicious and easy! So great it was all in one pot. My family loved it!
Do you think cottage cheese could be substituted for the cream cheese if it was blended first?
How many points for weight watchers points plus?
its 7 pts
This was EXCELLENT! The sauce was so delicious. You’d never know it was a lightened up meal. If I had this at a restaurant I would have been stoked. Make this!
Thanks Allison!
Love this! So delicious, was a hit with the family! Everyone went up for seconds or thirds
Made this tonight for my fiancé and I! We always love Skinny Taste recipes, this one did not disappoint! Definitely will be making again.
Thanks Carly!
Hello just wondering if anyone has froze this..? How did it turn out, and how to freeze / reheat the best way.
Great recipe! I chose because I had fresh asparagus left over and wanted to use it up. Used frozen peas/carrots and parmesan and protein pasta because that is what I had on hand. I would definitely make again. Teenager approved as well!
Perfect!
As it base recipe, it’s great! We like more flavor with our pasta dishes so we needed to add garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. Added carrots for a color of pop becuase we do not like peas.
This is a winner! My husband and I both loved it. The sauce is genius: creamy yet light. Because of a medical issue, my husband asked if I’d use something other than Cajun seasoning, so I substituted my favorite Italian herb blend (Penzey’s Frozen Pizza blend). It worked great. We plan to try the variation with shrimp, using Greek seasoning. And I know we’ll do it soon.
Loved this and my hubby did as well. He is always very skeptical about new recipes but the skinny taste recipes always delight.
Thanks Kristin!
I made this recipe for Chicken Pasta Primavera for dinner this evening and it is delicious! The only change I made to the recipe was to replace the Cajun seasoning for the chicken with Gina’s recommended onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. I thought that cooking the pasta in the chicken broth and cheese sauce was a great idea and one that I can adapt for other recipes. Another 5 Star recipe from Gina!
Loved it so much! I did make the mistake of precooking pasta so by the time I added it to the mixture it was a lot of liquid. I pulled out about 1/4 cup of mixture and added 1tbsp flour then returned it to pot and it made a very creamy sauce!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I used only leak but double the asparagus.
We loved this recipe. Made it with cavatappi since I had 1/2 a box. So tasty and the cajun flavor of the chicken added just that extra something that put it over the top! Love your recipes!!
Thanks Beverly!
Has any one tried this with a protein pasta? Such as chickpea? I’ve never cooked with this kind of pasta but because my doctor said I have to increase my protein to a minimum of 100 grams.
So easy and delicious! It feels like one of those recipes that you will get quicker with it each time you make it. Also, leeks are huge! Lol I had no idea. I was expecting a little tiny thing like a green onion!
Lol, glad you enjoyed it!
Made it for my family- it’s a home run… we all loved it!
Thanks Lori!
Made this last night for the hubby and me and we loved it! Will be a staple for us in our house!
Great!!
This is a wonderful recipe – so good!!!! I did not use the artichokes but I added sauteed mushrooms and I added sun dried tomatoes with the asparagus! Delicious and I will make this again! Thanks Gina!!
Made this tonight and even my pickiest kids loved it!
My cream cheese/parm/milk mixture curdled whilet the pasta and leeks were cooking. Was my pan too hot?
yes it needs to simmer low
mine curdled too but before it came to a boil. I simmered at low but it was plainly curdled.
I wish I knew why it was happening to some people but not everyone.
I never leave comments but I’ve been trying to make at least one new recipe each week-always Skinnytaste-and like all the others, this one did not disappoint! I omitted the peas (because of picky kids) and doubled the recipe to alleviate some meal prep this week and EVERYONE loved it! It will definitely go into the rotation. Thank you Gina for all of your fantastic recipes and for adding healthy variety to our monotonous rotation!
Thanks Suzy!
Delicious! I prepped the veggies and chicken by cutting everything ahead of time so got on the table in 20 minutes
This was delicious and so easy! I left out the chicken, subbed Boursin cheese for the cream cheese, added zucchini and more Cajun seasoning to taste at the end. A perfect spring dinner to enjoy outside on the back patio!
We really enjoyed this! Using the green onions in place of leeks worked out just fine, also added some baby Bella mushrooms too.
Where do you add the leeks?
Step 4. 🙂
Hi, I’m making this soon, I am using green onions in place of the leeks, when should I add them, as the recipe calls for or later? Thank you.
same time you would leeks is fine.
My husband and I made this last night. We tripled it so we could have leftovers today after church with enough for our growing, and always hungry, teen boys. We loved it! So tasty! We started with a salad and one serving was the perfect amount for me. This is so delicious and will be a perfect spring / summer meal.
Was delicious, but you need to measure pasta exactly, if you add not just the right amount more makes it dry not creamy
I can’t have spice, what other options to I have?
garlic salt is fine!
Very tasty & easy dish. I didn’t have leeks or artichoke so subbed scallions & sugar snap peas. Will definitely make again.
Delicious and filling. Made this last week. Plenty of leftovers. Made in a Dutch oven because it was the biggest pot I had.
This was delicious. I had to make a few adjustments as my cream cheese was green and I had no artichokes, but I added a little more cheese and a little half and half to make up for it. I’ll definitely make it again (and use the cream cheese).
This recipe is delicious! All the ingredients blended together and the flavor is really amazing.
I love Gina’s one pot recipes.
This recipe was easy (hardest part was remembering how to properly wash and chop the leeks!) and versatile–easy to adapt to ingredients I had on hand. I had leftover, grilled, bone-in chicken breasts that I deboned and tossed in when I added the asparagus and artichokes, and I was short on parmesan so I added a bit more cream cheese. It still turned out great! The peas and fresh basil at the end really added brightness and freshness to the dish! Thanks for a great weeknight dinner, Gina!
It was only my faith in Gina’s recipes that I kept on cooking. Of course it turned out very well. It was so full of fresh spring vegetables. I loaded up on the Cajun seasoning and needed more broth but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Thank you!
Another yummy recipe, Gina! Thank you!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I was short on time and used a Costco rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts. I will definitely be making it again following the recipe. The veggie combo was so good.
Good recipe lots of veggies. Everything melded nicely.
Would a Dutch oven work for this? If not, what type of pot?
Sure!
I made this recipe tonight. It was delicious.
I suggest cooking the pasta for 5 minutes then add the vegetables for the extra cooking time needed for al dente.
15 minutes was much too long to cook pasta.
If I was to use a longer pasta such as linguine, would it affect the recipe in any way?
sure should be fine
Could almond milk be used instead?
This looks great but I don’t have asparagus. Could you use Brussel Sprouts?
This looks like a great recipe I can’t wait to try it this weekend!
I think this recipe sounds delightful! I am not a huge lover of asparagus. I wonder if you might suggest a substitution that would still go well with the flavors. Thank you!
Sure use cherry tomatoes instead
Loved it!! I had to sub several ingredients and it turned out great so I love how versatile it is. Didn’t have leeks, artichokes, or asparagus so I used shallots and broccoli. I used rigatoni and I cut the pasta cook time down a bit just because we like ours very al dente. Might add some garlic and red pepper flakes next time. Also I tend to take my time while cooking (especially with a new recipe) and I was able to put this together super fast. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
So glad you made it so fast Andrea!!