Tini's Crispy Chicken Cutlets & Rigatoni
in a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce
- Milk
- Wheat
This giving season, HelloFresh, chef Tini Younger, and No Kid Hungry are teaming up to help fight childhood hunger. For every order of this seasonal recipe—featuring crispy chicken cutlets served over rigatoni in a creamy butternut squash sauce—$1 will go to help No Kid Hungry bring kids the food they need to thrive, for a donation of up to $50,000!
Ingredients
2 unit
Scallions
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
8 ounce
Butternut Squash
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
6 ounce
Rigatoni Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil
Olive Oil
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Trim and thinly slice scallions. • Place squash in a medium pot (large pot for 4 servings) with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; cook until easily pierced by a fork, 10-15 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Set aside until ready to use in Step 5.
• While squash cooks, bring a second medium pot (large pot for 4 servings) of salted water to a boil. • Once water is boiling, add rigatoni to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-10 minutes. • Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4), then drain and set aside.
• While pasta cooks, in a shallow dish, combine panko, salt, and pepper. • Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a mallet or rolling pin until about 1⁄2 inch thick. (TIP: If chicken is already 1⁄2 inch thick, skip this step.) Season all over with 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Brush sour cream onto both sides of chicken. Working one piece at a time, press chicken into seasoned panko until fully coated.
• Heat a 1⁄3-inch layer of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot enough that a pinch of panko sizzles when added to the pan, add coated chicken. Cook until crust is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 4-6 minutes per side. TIP: Fry in batches if necessary; lower heat to medium if chicken begins to brown too quickly. • Transfer chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• While chicken cooks, add 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) to pot with drained squash; mash until smooth. • Return to medium heat and whisk in cream cheese, stock concentrate, reserved pasta cooking water, garlic powder, and 1⁄2 tsp Italian Seasoning (1 tsp for 4 servings) until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. • Add drained rigatoni, Parmesan, and scallions; stir until pasta is coated in sauce.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board; slice crosswise. • Divide rigatoni between bowls and top with chicken. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper if desired.
Poultry is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Some loved the creamy butternut squash sauce, while others found it bland; many enjoyed the crispy, flavorful chicken 🍗.
- Ease of prep: Many found this recipe time-consuming and messy, with multiple pots and pans required.
- Suggestions: Consider blending the squash for a smoother sauce; reduce pasta water for a thicker consistency.
- Portions: Generous servings provided leftovers for some; others wished for more sauce to fully coat the pasta.
- Texture: Some found the sauce too watery or lumpy; an immersion blender could help achieve a creamier consistency.
Reviews from our home cooks
Absolutely delicious! The chicken cutlets were perfectly crispy and golden while staying tender and juicy inside. The rigatoni paired beautifully with the flavorful sauce, creating a comforting, restaurant-quality meal at home. The addition of the butternut squash was a really nice touch - slightly sweet, tender, and a perfect balance to the savory chicken and pasta. Instructions were easy to follow and everything came together smoothly. This is definitely one of my favorite HelloFresh recipes and I would happily order it again!
Excellent dish! It's packed full of flavor and I love how the butternut squash sauce is very light without being acidic like traditional tomato sauce. I would easily eat this again. My only suggestion would be to add some spice to it - like red pepper chili flakes or something! Otherwise, it's a 10/10!
OMG this is so good. Have to watch the chicken cause that Panko goes from not done to overdone in a blink of an eye, but who knew mashed butternut squash, and Parmesan could be so good as a sauce?!?
I loved Tini's recipe! I air fried my chicken cutlets and I added some chili flakes to my sauce in the cooking stage. Delish! Another winner winner chicken dinner!
The rigatoni was the most divine pasta I've had in a long time! I was able to disguise the squash from my picky eater son and he loved it.
Delicious!!! I stuck the cooked squash in the blender! I would also add some cream or something to make the sauce less thick once reheated
Very unique and different sauce but there wasn't enough of it, not enough butternut squash to make the sauce thick or creamy enough. Chicken was crispy and delicious though
I selected this recipe mainly to try the butternut squash pasta. The squash flavor was subtle and pasta turned out creamy. I enjoyed it.
Could have used a little more flavor but overall was pleasantly surprised by the squash based sauce. The seasoning for the chicken was better than usual. Very tasty.
Chicken is great but I think I just find butternut squash flavorless. Came together great, but I just kept needing to add more salt. Would rather have a tomato base, but this is clearly a personal preference.
