This leftover chicken pasta is what happens when Sunday's roast chicken meets a jar of tomate frito and refuses to be boring about it. Fifteen minutes, one pan, and a sauce that goes deep and silky without a drop of cream — just butter, Parmesan, and mushrooms doing the heavy lifting. If you've still got chicken to use up, it's worth a look at my three days of leftover roast chicken meals for more ways to make it stretch.

Why This Leftover Chicken Pasta Works

Ingredients (1 hungry person)

• 120 g pasta (I used Garofalo Elicoidali — a ridged tube pasta similar to rigatoni)
• 120–150 g leftover roast chicken, shredded
• 120 g mushrooms, sliced
• 2–3 tbsp tomate frito
• 1 heaped tbsp caramelised onions
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 g butter
• 20–25 g Parmesan, finely grated
• ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
• Black pepper (go heavy)
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• Sea salt for pasta water
• Lemon wedge (optional but ideal)

Method (15 minutes)

This chicken mushroom pasta recipe comes together in the time it takes the pasta water to boil and the pan to do its work — no faffing, no reducing anything for twenty minutes.

1. Cook the pasta
   Boil in well-salted water until just shy of done.
2. Brown the mushrooms
   In a pan, heat olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook hard until they take on colour.
3. Add the caramelised onions
   Stir them in so they melt into the mushrooms and form a base.
4. Season
   Add smoked paprika if you fancy it, black pepper, and a pinch of chilli flakes.
5. Tomate frito
   Add 2–3 tbsp and let it bubble for 30–60 seconds to thicken.
6. Loosen the sauce
   Add a ladle of pasta water and stir until glossy.
7. Add the chicken
   Fold in the shredded roast chicken and warm through for 1–2 minutes.
8. Finish the sauce
   Add the butter and stir until emulsified. Taste and adjust salt. Add a squeeze of lemon if you have it — it brightens everything.
9. Combine
   Toss in the drained pasta. Add half the Parmesan and stir so it melts into the sauce.
10. Serve
    Plate up and finish with the remaining Parmesan, black pepper, and a tiny pinch of chilli flakes.

This leftover chicken pasta recipe is part of my Pasta Recipes collection. It joins a growing collection of pasta dishes — from quick weeknight suppers to slow-cooked ragù and baked Italian classics — in my complete Pasta Recipes hub.

Wonky photos, proper pasta, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef