Smoky Chicken and Peppers Penne
Updated March 17, 2026
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Ready In
- 35 min
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
Salt and black pepper
12 ounces penne or penne rigate
¾ to 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons smoked paprika, divided, plus more for serving
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 small bell peppers (red, yellow or orange, or a mix), cut into ½-inch-thick strips
1 small poblano chile or jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and cut into ½-inch-thick strips
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar
2 to 4 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, to taste, for serving
Yogurt, labneh or sour cream, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ⅓ cup cooking water and drain pasta.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, slice the chicken crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces, season with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, about ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper.
- Step 3
Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet and turn the heat to high. When the skillet is hot enough that the oil is shimmery and glides across the pan quickly when the pan is tilted, add the chicken in an even layer. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the chicken is golden and cooked through and the olive oil is reddish brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and, using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Step 4
If the skillet seems a little dry, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the bell peppers and the poblano, season with salt and cook, tossing occasionally until softened yet still intact, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon each cumin and paprika and cook until the garlic is just slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Step 5
Add the pasta, the reserved pasta cooking water and the chicken. Toss to coat well, bring to a simmer and turn off heat. To serve, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss in the fresh oregano leaves so they just barely wilt. Transfer to bowls, drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with more spices if desired, and spoon a dollop of yogurt over the top.
Private Notes
Comments
@Adele So leave out the yogurt. Did you really have to ask?
My daughter said this, "tasted like fajitas," -- not bad but not right with pasta, although it would work on Spanish rice. I doubled the garlic for stronger flavor and added some white wine to make enough sauce. With some tweaks, an easy weeknight dinner.
@Lucy in NC Yes, agree Adele was trying to get at whether the creaminess was key to enjoyment. Thank you from detracting from the other replies to Adele. Not sure why people need to be that way.
A little too similar to fajita night in our household - and not better enough to replace it. Don’t like yogurt or sour cream so we just went without, but that made it quite dry.
This was a weeknight keeper that we'll return to in short order with a few tweaks, mainly the chicken to pasta ratio. I used 1.5 lbs. of chicken breast and weighed the pasta and the chicken was swimming in an absurd amount of pasta. Fortunately, the pasta won't go to waste as our dog will lap it up. Waste not, want not, as my grandmother would say. We liked the seasoning and found the sour cream an unexpected pleasure. I also want to tighten up the sauce a bit.
Delicious dish of comfort food. For my husband and I, the ratio of pasta to chicken was a little off. I used 1/2 the pasta and 1.5 lbs of chicken. We like heat so I also tripled the spices. Using vegan sour cream at the end of the dish, then stirring it in our individual dishes made for a really creamy bowl of goodness.