Chicken Rigatoni in a Creamy Sauce
with Bell Pepper & Lemon
- Wheat
- Milk
Are you the type of person who only goes to sporting events for that huge Italian sausage and pepper hoagie? We’re right there with you. This week, our chefs took the beloved dish from stadium fare to elegant weeknight dinner with a few delicious twists. First, they dropped the bready bun and replaced it with al dente rigatoni, along with an ultra-creamy sauce studded with crispy bits of pork sausage and sweet sautéed bell pepper. Psst—did we mention there’s Parmesan cheese in the sauce and sprinkled on top? Yeah, it’s safe to say this dish knocks it out of the park.
Ingredients
6 ounce
Rigatoni Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Chopped Chicken Breast
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
14 ounce
Diced Tomatoes
1 unit
Lemon
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
1 unit
Bell Pepper
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper into strips. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add sausage to pan; cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Season with salt and pepper. If you like things spicy, stir in a pinch of chili flakes and cook until fragrant, 15 seconds. TIP: If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Swap in chicken or chicken sausage for pork sausage.
• Once water is boiling, add rigatoni to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
• Add half the diced tomatoes (all for 4 servings) to pan with sausage mixture and cook until softened, 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low. • Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, half the Parmesan (save the rest for serving), ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and 1 TBSP butter until thoroughly combined. (For 4, use 1⁄3 cup reserved pasta cooking water and 2 TBSP butter.) • Season with salt, pepper, and lemon zest to taste. Add drained rigatoni and toss to coat. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.
• Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and a pinch of chili flakes if desired. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy sauce, though some found it bland; adding sun-dried tomato pesto or using all the tomatoes boosted flavor 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to prepare, with most able to serve in 15-20 minutes.
- Suggestions: Consider using smaller pasta for better sauce adhesion; some preferred chicken sausage over plain chicken for more flavor.
- Portions: Several mentioned wanting more sauce; try using all the diced tomatoes for extra flavor and volume.
- Customization: The lemon and chili flakes add a nice kick, but adjust to taste; some loved it, others found it too strong.
Reviews from our home cooks
Lots of pasta and too little everything else. Also it was not clear that chicken needed to go early so the veggies ended up overcooking. The creamy sauce is too thin. Is it true that this is how this should be cooked? Sour cream and cream cheese and butter and one little tomato for the sauce?
The noodles are too big and overtake the sauce. The lemon was old and hard and withered. The tomato wasn't ripe, so I used my own (again)! I'll use different noodles next time I make it. The taste (sauce) was wonderful!
The meal was delicious! The only reason for the 3 stars is that chicken strips. They are different sizes and cook at different times so we end up with some overcooked smaller pieces. To me, it would be better to use the chicken cutlets and cut them into pieces as part of the prep.
It was very delicious but I goofed up on the sauce and it made it too runny so I think it may have needed more of the sauce ingredients
It was so good my daughter is a picky eater and she loved it. She don't like tomatoes and she didn't notice it has tomatoes. Love it definitely recommend trying.
Even for the two servings, I think it should be recommended to use all of the diced tomatoes for the additional flavor and extra sauce.
This dish was tasty but we both agreed it would be even more awesome with the chicken sausage (which we love). We had ordered it with chicken strips. Would recommend.
Pretty delicious as well and easy steps to prep and serve within 15 to 20 minutes.
It was ok. I probably would add a little sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato. I also substituted for chicken and I think maybe that had something to do with the blandness.
My grandson couldn't get enough of this meal. My husband is in love with Hello Fresh meals. He's bragging and promoting his new cook in the family..... Me lol!!! Thanks to Hello Fresh.
