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My Rasta Pasta recipe is a creamy, comforting jerk chicken pasta recipe you will find yourself making over and over again! Ready in just 30 minutes using homemade jerk seasoning.
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Rasta Pasta
My easy rasta pasta recipe is a dish my family craves and asks for often. If you’ve ever tried it, you know why! It’s a creamy pasta dish seasoned with the perfect blend of ingredients, including homemade jerk seasoning.
Jerk chicken pasta is great for nights when you’re craving a little bit of everything: it’s spicy, creamy, and filled with veggies, chicken, and cheese. You can use your favorite type of pasta or even mix up the protein if you like. This is an amazing dish!
What is Rasta Pasta?
Rasta pasta is an Italian-Jamaican fusion recipe where pasta is tossed with a jerk-infused sauce and colorful bell peppers. You can add the protein of choice to it, chicken being the most popular. I have also made it with shrimp and pork and it is equally delicious.
Rasta Pasta Recipe Ingredients
- Jerk seasoning (homemade recipe below)
- Olive oil
- Chicken breasts*
- Onion
- Garlic
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Fusilli pasta
- Coconut milk
- Salt
*You can also make this a jerk shrimp pasta by using shrimp instead of chicken or even use jerk pork.
Jerk Seasoning Ingredients
- Garlic powder
- Dried green onions or onion powder
- Ground allspice
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cinnamon
- Cayenne powder
- Brown sugar
- Salt
- Dried thyme
- Black pepper
How to Make Rasta Pasta
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Season it with the jerk seasoning and set aside for a few minutes.
- In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain it, then return it to the pot.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook on both sides until golden brown and fully cooked (see: chicken temperature chart). Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the rest of the olive oil to the same skillet where the chicken was cooked. Sauté onions, garlic, and peppers for 2-3 minutes.
- Add salt, and coconut milk and lower the heat. Let simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the sauce is creamy.
- Add the cooked vegetables and the chicken to the pasta. Stir well. Distribute onto 2 plates. Sprinkle with some green onions (fresh or dry). Enjoy!
Chicken Jerk Pasta Recipe Tips
- I used fusilli pasta for this rasta pasta recipe, but you can use any short pasta of choice, such as penne, farfalle, macaroni, or rigatoni.
- This dish does have a little spice to it. If you don’t like much spice, I recommend using half of the amount of cayenne.
- Make this dish vegetarian by substituting chicken with a plant-based version – or you could use mushrooms!
- In this dish, we make rasta pasta with coconut milk, but you can simply substitute it for milk of choice or heavy cream.
Rasta Pasta Recipes FAQs
You can make homemade jerk seasoning using a blend of simple pantry spices. Jerk seasoning uses garlic powder, dried green peppers, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt, dried thyme, and pepper. If you don’t want to or can’t make your own homemade jerk seasoning, you can use a store-bought jerk seasoning instead – but I find homemade saves money and is easy to mix together in just the amount you need.
You can easily make rasta pasta without heavy cream by using coconut milk. Rasta pasta with coconut milk is delicious – it complements the flavors of the jerk seasoning very well, while adding the perfect balance of creaminess to the dish.
How to Store and Reheat Rasta Pasta
You can simply store this rasta pasta dish in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
To reheat rasta pasta, simply place it back on the stovetop over medium-high heat until warmed through. Or, you can place it in the microwave using 30-second intervals.
Best Pasta Dishes
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📋 Recipe
Rasta Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
For Rasta Pasta:
- 1 Tablespoon jerk seasoning (homemade recipe below)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ chicken breasts
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- ½ green bell pepper sliced
- ½ red bell pepper sliced
- 5.6 oz. fusilli pasta
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- salt to taste to taste
Homemade Jerk Seasoning:
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried green onions or onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
How to Make Rasta Pasta
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Season it with the jerk seasoning and set aside for few minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain it, then return it to the pot.1 Tablespoon jerk seasoning, 1½ chicken breasts, 5.6 oz. fusilli pasta
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken pieces in it on both sides until golden brown and fully cooked. Transfer the chicken to a plate.3 Tablespoons olive oil, 1½ chicken breasts
- Add the rest of the olive oil to the same skillet where the chicken was cooked. Sauté onions, garlic and peppers for 2-3 minutes.3 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 garlic clove, ½ green bell pepper, ½ red bell pepper
- Add salt, coconut milk and lower the heat. Let simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the sauce is creamy.¾ cup coconut milk, salt to taste
- Add the cooked vegetables and the chicken to the pasta. Stir well and distribute onto 2 plates. Sprinkle with some green onions if desired.
How to Make Jerk Seasoning
- Mix all ingredients together. Store them in a small jar.½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon dried green onions
Notes
- I used fusilli pasta for this rasta pasta recipe, but you can use any short pasta of choice, such as penne, farfelle, macaroni, or rigatoni.
- This dish does have a little spice to it, if you don’t like much spice I recommend using half of the amount.
- To make this dish vegetarian, substitute chicken with a plant-based version – or you could use mushrooms.
- In this dish we make rasta pasta with coconut milk, but you can simply substitute for milk of choice, or cream.
- This dish serves 2. You can double the ingredients to serve 4.
Nutrition
Photography by Daniela Lambova.
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!