Tomatillo Chicken Pasta
Roasted tomatillos, onion, and garlic are pureed to make a silky pasta sauce. This tomatillo chicken pasta is a delicious way to shake up your pasta-for-dinner night this week.
I’m taking some liberties with this pasta recipe, the biggest of which is the idea that you can take ingredients from two different cultures – in this case, Italian and Mexican – and bring them together in a new and creative way. Seeing as the word “tomatillos” translates to mean “little tomato,” why not use them to make a sauce for pasta? I like breaking rules, and this dinner definitely does that.
Tomatillos are commonly used in Mexican cuisine, and if you’ve ever had a green salsa, it was most likely made with tomatillos. They look like little green tomatoes wrapped in a paper husk, but when you slice them, you’ll notice their flesh is quite different from a tomato. It’s meatier, and its flavor is more acidic and bright.
And when you roast them (along with some onion and garlic), the flavor is even better. Whir them up in a blender, and you end up with a silky sauce that is perfect with pasta.
Ingredients
- Tomatillos: Look for them near the tomatoes at the grocery store. They’re dressed up in papery husks with a sticky residue, so be sure to rinse them well before chopping and roasting them.
- Chicken: I like to use a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. I roast it in the oven with the tomatillos until it’s juicy and delicious.
- Onion and Garlic: Since we’re oven-roasting the tomatillos and chicken, why don’t we roast some onion and garlic, too?
- Cilantro: A pop of fresh cilantro is stirred into the sauce as it simmers on the stove.
- Pasta: I use fettuccini, but any long pasta will work fine.
- Cheese: Crumbled feta cheese works great as a garnish.
- Lime juice: A squeeze adds a bite of acidity and brightness.
How to Make It
For this pasta recipe, we’re roasting and blending before tossing the tomatillo sauce and chicken with hot pasta. If you add some garlic toast and a salad on the side, this recipe stretches to serve four. Or, if it’s the only thing on the menu, it makes two generous servings.
Tomatillo Recipes
Salsa Verde | Slow Cooker Tomatillo Pork Chili | Avocado Salsa Verde | Salsa Verde Taco Soup
Tomatillo Chicken Pasta
Roasting tomatillos brings out their natural sweetness, and when combined with roasted onion and garlic, they make a delicious sauce for pasta. Some cilantro and lime add brightness, making this tomatillo chicken pasta a delicious way to reinvent pasta night.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bone-in skin-on chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 pound tomatillos, peeled, rinsed, and quartered
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 8 ounces fettuccine
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Slice the top off the head of garlic so the tips of the cloves are exposed. Place the garlic on a sheet of tin foil, drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over the top, and wrap the garlic in the foil. Rub the chicken breast with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and place it on the baking sheet along with the garlic. Roast them for 15 minutes.
- Toss the tomatillos and onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the chicken and garlic have roasted for 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and place the tomatillos and onion on it. Return the pan to the oven and continue roasting for another 30 minutes (see note).
- Towards the end of the roasting time, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook it according to package directions.
- Transfer the tomatillos and onion to a blender. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from the head of garlic and add them to the blender. Puree the vegetables until smooth.
- Remove the skin and bone from the chicken breast. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Transfer the puree to a large skillet and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the chicken stock, chopped cilantro, and salt. Add the chicken and stir it all together. Transfer the pasta to a skillet with the sauce and, using tongs, toss it all together until the pasta is coated in the sauce. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime over the top.
- Top each serving with a 1/2 tablespoon of the crumbled feta cheese.
Notes
For this recipe, I use one large, approximately 1-pound, bone-in skin-on chicken breast. Before removing the chicken from the oven, be sure to check its internal temperature. It should read 165°F
Nutrition
- Calories: 463
- Sugar: 4.9g
- Sodium: 703.1mg
- Fat: 12.6g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 51.1g
- Fiber: 3.3g
- Protein: 35.2g
- Cholesterol: 87.4mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Creative Pasta Recipes
I hope you give this tomatillo pasta recipe a try! It’s a fun way to switch up pasta night –
Happy cooking,
Sounds like a perfect way to use up the millions of tomatillos in my garden! Yum!
Wow! This looks and sounds delicious!
I doubled the recipe and served it to a group of friends. It was a big hit! This also freezes well so I can make ahead and enjoy when tomatillos aren’t in season.
This pasta looks better than a restaurant dish. Have to try this recipe.
I LOVE tomatillos and always want new ways to use them – this looks great!
Can you use canned tomatillos?
I haven’t tried it with canned ones so not sure how it would work – let me know if you try it!
I’ve never cooked with tomatillos before….I’ve always been a little afraid of them, lol. But I think I will definitely give this sauce a try!
I love tomatillos! Such a fun idea to use them with pasta. This recipe has so much flavor!
I used basil instead of cilantro (because have SO much in the garden this year) & used more like what a “bunch” of cilantro would be (a lot), added ricotta to offset the acidity of the tomatillos (& had some in the fridge), used a little more hot pepper than this recipe indicates – was really over the top delicious!!
Love all the modifications you made! So glad you liked it 🙂
Hello. You mention increasing the hot peppers. I’m not seeing any listed in the recipe.
I’m not sure where you are seeing that? There aren’t any hot peppers in the recipe.
Love this. So glad I found in my search.
My change to you delish recipe. I hate using my oven in the summer .
So I roasted the tomatillos and onion in a cast iron fry pay pany on the barbeque. I found a trick for roasting garlic , I put them in silicone cupcake cups then wrap those in all together in the foil. (I roasted 4 so hand roasted garlic bread)
I only had skinless boned chicken breast so I gave them a small flatten s&p and gilled on que next to pan. Used all your times and ingredients. It was so tasty . Thank you for your experiment. It 2as delish…
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your adjustments, too.
This recipe inspired me to make it for dinner tonight. Roasted tomatillos, poblanos, garlic head and onion. Blended lightly, added a dollop of yogurt and topped with feta. I used penne pasta. Will be making this again and again! Thanks for the inspiration.
So glad you liked it!
A friend gave me a bag of tomatillos from her garden. I’d only ever used them for salsa, but did a search for how to use tomatillos in recipes. Your pasta recipe came up. I have all of the ingredients and will make it for our dinner tonight. It looks and sounds delicious!
I hope you enjoy it!
Aprox how many tomatillos is half a lb?
About four to six depending on how big they are. A little more or less won’t make a big difference. Hope that helps!
We made it tonight and it was amazing ! I usually make a full box of pasta so I think next time I’ll double the sauce ! Do you think two garlic heads is to much , if I’m doubling everything ?
I’m so glad you liked it! I don’t think two heads of garlic is too much – roasting it really mellows the flavor.
I really need Recipes!
I only have one for tomatillo salsa.
If you click on the magnify glass and search “tomatillo” several recipes will come up. I really like salsa verde taco soup – you might want to try that one!