YOU GUYS. Big news. I whipped up a spicy red chile chicken alfredo with New Mexico red chile and it is delicious. You might have heard of putting green chile in everything – especially if you’re a New Mexican, but have you even considered adding red chile? If that answer is no, then you need to reconsider your life choices, bro.
Adding wet red chile in alfredo is slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and still offers all the creamy and cheesy comfort you want out of a traditional chicken alfredo. Have your never added spice to your pasta dishes? Adding New Mexico chile will fix that right up. It is a match made in heaven.
There is nothing like New Mexico chile, especially wet chile. The term ‘wet’ means that it has not been dried and ground or canned but simply roasted and peeled. Once you do the simple prep work to clean the chile, you pulse it in the food processor and you have fresh chile that you can’t beat!
If this seems like a foreign concept to you, don’t be intimidated. I actually show you step-by-step how to prep wet chile in my, ehem . . . YouTube channel!
I thought it would be fun to incorporate some video in my blog so you can see how I put my meals together throughout the week. I’m pretty big on meal planning and I love to cook, so I figured I’d just turn a camera on while I’m doing it!
I am excited to hear what you guys think about my first video and this spicy recipe! Let me know what you think! The printable version of this meal is down below.
Click here for more recipes and meal prep ideas on the blog!
Red Chile Chicken Alfredo
Transform this classic Italian dish with New Mexico red chile. Wet red chile is used in place of dried to give a slightly sweet and spicy bite to this creamy, cheesy pasta. Wet red chile is the whole chile pod that's been roasted and peeled. Simply chop it up in the food processor or by hand and you have delicious and flavorful chile that's way better than the powdered or canned stuff. It's a flavor you have to try!
Ingredients
- 1 box fettuccini pasta, broken in half and cooked
- 3 large chicken breasts, cubed
- 3 jars alfredo sauce
- 3 cups fresh grated mozzarella cheese
- 1.5 cups parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning, or 1 tsp oregano, and 1.5 tbsp each of basil and parsley
- Fresh New Mexico red chile, about 2 cups chopped
Instructions
Prepare chicken by cutting into smaller cube-size pieces.
Peel red chile and discard skin and seeds (wash hands immediately after!). Place wet chile in food processor and pulse until chopped well. Cook chicken with 2 tbsp oil and Italian seasoning over med-high heat until just cooked through (until chicken is opaque and no pink). While your chicken is resting, cook broken pasta according to package directions; drain and mix in one jar of alfredo.
To assemble:
In a buttered or greased casserole dish, place 1/2 of pasta and cover with a layer of alfredo sauce (about 1 cup).
Layer chopped red chile by spreading it around all over.
Layer all of your chicken.
Layer half of your cheeses.
Top with remaining pasta, 1 cup sauce, and remaining grated cheeses.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes with foil on, and 10 - 15 minutes with foil off, until it looks brown and bubbly.
To freeze: Freeze casserole dish and bake at a 350 degree oven with foil on for 45 - 50 minutes and without foil for another 15, until brown and bubbly and cooked through.
Notes
You can easily replace the red chile with New Mexico green chile. The flavor would be just as wonderful!