Three Cheese Chicken Pasta
Pasta con Pollo a los Tres Quesos
Recipe Yield
8 to 10 servings
Cooking time
30 minutes
Rate this recipe
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt plus more for salting the water
- To taste freshly ground black pepper
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup cubed Oaxaca cheese
- 1 cup cubed asadero or muenster cheese
- Fresh cilantro chopped, for serving
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso añejo or cotija for garnish
To Prepare
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.
- In a medium bowl combine the garlic, chili powder, oregano, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add chicken to the bowl and toss until chicken is coated in the rub.
- Once the water is boiling, cook the spaghetti until al dente, or according to package instructions. Strain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- In a large casserole set over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the oil. Once it melts, add the chicken and cook until all sides are browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and continue to brown for another 30 seconds.
- Pour in the milk and cream, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to remove browned bits. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water – or more if desired. Let the liquids come to a simmer and reduce until they begin to thicken.
- Add the Oaxaca and muenster cheese, saving the cojita for the topping. Once the cheese is slightly melted, take off the heat and stir in pasta. Stir until the pasta is completely coated and the cheese is melted. Serve hot. Garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro and cotija cheese.
Comments
70comments inThree Cheese Chicken Pasta
Christine Bentsen
Jun 23
I love your cook books and these letters. Thank you so much for all you do!
Pati Jinich
Jun 30
Thanks to you for following Christine!
Ellie
Jan 22
I love this recipe, and have made it multiple times before. My family is full of cheese connoisseurs, so this is the perfect recipe. I’m making it again tonight, and this was the first time we were able to get ahold of Oaxaca cheese so it should be better. Thanks so much, Pati!!!
Pati Jinich
Jan 29
Yay Ellie, Oaxaca cheese is going to be loved by everyone!
Toni Holguin
Oct 28
Made this recipe for my son,who also loves cheese. Of course helped it. Can only make it once in a while. Too many calories, but really good. Maybe I’ll make it for Thanksgiving, we get together at my oldest sons house. I usually make mac and cheese. This will be a nice change. Thank you.
Pati Jinich
Oct 28
So glad you are considering this recipe for your Thanksgiving celebration Toni; but if you want to stay closer to Mc and Cheese I have this recipe for mine with a Mexican twist 😉 http://patijinich.com/mac-n-cheese-mexicano/
Anonymous
Oct 02
I’m a late comer to your show and I love it! I saw you prepare this pasta recipe and it looked so yummy that I decided to make it for dinner tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Wish me luck!
Pati Jinich
Oct 18
Welcome! So, how did you like it?
Nikki
Mar 30
Saw this on the show last night and made it today for dinner. Que delicioso!
Pati Jinich
Apr 04
So glad you liked it Nikki 😉
Martha
Jan 18
Pati I just love your spirit and personality. Love your show❤️
Pati Jinich
Jan 22
Thanks so much Martha, un abrazo!
Vinny
Dec 26
Love your shows!! I can watch you for hours!
Pati Jinich
Dec 27
Thanks so much Vinny, un abrazo!
Yadhira Gomez
Nov 14
I absolutely love your recipes, I wish I’d a known that you were going to be in tijuana. I would of loved to meet you. Saludos pati from San Diego California
Pati Jinich
Dec 28
Saludos Yadhira! Hopefully I will be able to visit California soon 🙂
Rebecca Godina
Nov 13
I made this recently and it is delicious. My family loved it. I had to use Muenster cheese, but was able to find the Oaxaca and Cotija cheeses. It comes together very quickly. I will add this to our must make dishes. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
Pati Jinich
Dec 29
My pleasure Rebecca, so glad all the family enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Rebecca Godina
Apr 27
I’ve made this several times. My family loves it. I subbed shrimp for the chicken this time and it was amazing. Thank you again!
Bitsy Murchison
Nov 09
I have a question: What is Oaxaca Cheese?
What can be substituted for it
Pati Jinich
Jan 03
Here you can read a bit more about Oaxaca Cheese Bitsy: http://patijinich.com/oaxaca_cheese/ It is very melty so you can substitute it with asadero, quesadilla, Monterey Jack or even mozzarella 🙂
Josephine janson
Nov 06
Hello ,
Today was the first time I watched this. Love it. Plan in making a few of these recipes this week. Always trying to find a good recipe to cook for my large family. Thank you ❤️ will continue to watch you !!
Pati Jinich
Jan 04
So glad you found me Josephine and that the family approved this Pasta, yay!
Carlos Ayala
Aug 26
My mom and I just watched the episode with this recipe yesterday!! And we plan to make it one of these weekends, too. We were wondering something, though: would a tube pasta, like penne or rigatoni work in this recipe as well?
Pati Jinich
Sep 18
Absolutely Carlos, go for it 😉
richard faber
Nov 27
I saw your show on this chicken pasta. It looks fantastic. I will be making it in the near future when I get the ingredients.
Love your show, the food you cook, recipes, and how you present everything with love, and (forgive me) sex appeal. You really know how to turn people on to your food. Sincerely.
Pati Jinich
Dec 02
So glad you, got interested in this recipe Richard, yay!
Darlene
Nov 19
I will be enjoying this on Saturday for the 3rd time. Oh so good. Thanks Pati. I enjoy all your recipes
Pati Jinich
Nov 22
So glad you like this pasta so much Darlene, enjoy!
Karen Hunt
Nov 09
I made this pasta for dinner last night. My husband said definitely put this in the dinner menu once a week. So, i know it was a hit. So so delicious Patti. You love your show, your recipes are to die for. Thank you for sharing your culinary ability with this world. You are wonderfully talented in fine tastes.
Pati Jinich
Jan 04
And you guys are very sweet, thank you! 🙂
Cheryl
Aug 23
I made this tonight for dinner and it was great! I will defiantly make this again!
Pati Jinich
Aug 26
Awesome Cheryl, thanks for the feedback 😉
Jennifer
Jul 21
Could you recommend other cheeses for this dish?
Pati Jinich
Jul 26
Of course Jennifer, if you cannot find Oaxaca or Asadero, go for Mozzarella, Quesadilla or Gouda. If you don’t have Cotija, you can sprinkle Feta or Queso Fresco. Enjoy!
Toni
Nov 20
I saw this show on PBS this past week and I thought this sounds so easy. I was wondering, do you think I could add some vegetables to this dish? Maybe spaghetti squash? or even broccoli?
Pati Jinich
Nov 20
For sure! Go for it, Toni.
Ivonne Salomon
Apr 30
Buenas noches Pati y yo hare esta receta pronto y que que saldra deliciosa. Me encantan todas tus recetas y tu programa en Create. It make me miss my amazing country Mexico. I will love if you could do a section on other parts of Mexico, like Monterrey and Chihuahua, they have amazing recipes to and traditions. Dios te bendiga a ti y tu familia y que a Alan se encuentre bien en la Universidad.
Pati Jinich
May 23
Mil gracias, Ivonne! I hope to do explore those areas of Mexico soon…and my new season will explore Sinaloa.
Kelli
Dec 18
This is the best pasta ever! I love your show, my son and I watch it all the time! He loves to cook in the kitchen with me just like your boys! Thank you for the cook books and the show and for inspiring a Nebraska farm girl to cook real Mexican food! You are the best!
Pati
Dec 19
Beyond happy to hear you are inspired to get in the kitchen and have some fun kitchen adventures with your boys, Kelli! I hope you have many more.
Angie
Sep 28
Mmmm I just made this. It was so good. I made it exactly as the recipe said to. The whole family loved it. Even the picky ones. Thanks Pati.
Pati
Oct 03
So happy to hear the whole fam loved it, Angie.
Shireen
Sep 28
Hola Pati,
I just saw your show for the first time ever accidentally on PBS. I love Mexican food and never managed to find the same food here in the US like I did in Mexico City where I spent a good deal of time in the early 80s!
Anyways, now I will follow your website and other sources…
One question, do you think Tres Quesos could be made in advance? What is the best way to re heat it? I find Chicken in the US to be so bland and chicken breasts get hard and tasteless quite easily….
Pati
Oct 19
This is best eaten just made…but it can be made in advance and reheated either on the stove top covered or in the oven, Shireen.
Amanda
Nov 21
Add some more milk and heavy cream to the pot and heat.
Shawn E Hill
May 23
This was easy to make, and turned out so well. I used mozzarella, muenster and feta cheese. So satisfying, and plenty of leftovers for the next day!
Pati
May 23
Super!
Pamela
May 17
I made this and my family loves it. I will add this to my recipe collection.
Pati
May 18
Yay! I’m so glad your family loves it, Pamela.
charlie
May 10
what can I substitute for Oaxaca cheese and citija cheese?
Pati
May 16
You can use mozzarella for the Oaxaca cheese and parmesan for the Cotija cheese.
Annie
Jan 27
Can’t wait to make this dish.
Thank you Patti.
Pati
Jan 29
I hope you enjoy it Annie!
Adan
Jan 12
We made this dish for a special New Year’s meal. Everyone loved it. It combined the best of cheese with a bit of heat.
I was wondering if there are weight measurements for the cheese and the chicken. Our version was great, but the ratio of those ingredients to the noodles seemed a little off. Also, would it be possible to use half and half instead of heavy cream?
I think we’ll make this plate a tradition every year. ¡Muy rico! Gracias, Pati!
Pati
Jan 15
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it! I don’t have weight measurements…but you can add more or less of the chicken and cheese to meet your tastes (I like it really cheesy) And half and half will work too!
Laura
Jan 10
So good! Just made it! My family LOVED it! Thank you Pati.
Pati
Jan 11
SO happy to hear that Laura!
Sarita
Jan 07
Just made this tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Of course we could enjoy this more often if we had the metabolism and calorie burning make-up of your young boys!
Pati
Jan 08
🙂
Beth
Dec 30
It’s good — but way too much heat. I didn’t have ancho chili powder but used chipotle chili powder instead. Is there something I can do to lower the heat?
Pati
Jan 04
Oh you can add more cheese! Or next time use less chili powder.
Susan
Dec 19
This is delicious! It is not easy to find recipes my whole family likes but everyone loved it! My kids asked me to send the leftovers in their lunches to school the next day. I used muenster for the asadero cheese, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. My husband and I like a little more heat than our kids do, so we sprinkled some red pepper flakes on. But this is definitely becoming a regular in our family.
Pati
Dec 21
I’m so glad it is a new family regular!
Rebecca
Dec 18
I am having a time finding Asadero cheese for this recipe. Any subsititutes?
Pati
Dec 18
You can also use muenster cheese.
Shey
Dec 13
OMG!
Acabo de ver esté episodio y esta pasta se ve riquísima y creo que la voy a tratar, Gracias Pati me encanta tu programa!
Pati
Dec 14
Super!
Tiffany
Nov 26
Yum! I would love to try this pasta after watching you and your sweet Sammy cook this. I wonder if I can find Oaxaca cheese where I live…
Pati
Nov 27
Yay!