Anyone who cooks pasta together with the sauce in one pot knows the risk: the tubes press against each other, the blades cut tortiglioni into stumps, and you end up with half-tubes floating in the sauce. That is exactly why we cook One Pot Chicken Pepper Tortiglioni in the Thermomix® consistently on reverse direction, with the blunt side of the blades leading.
We have been making this recipe for years as a quick family dinner during the week. 30 minutes from the onion to the plate, one mixing bowl, no second pasta pot, no extra pan for the chicken. By now we know exactly where it goes wrong and where it works. And the key factor is really the reverse direction setting.
One Pot Chicken Pepper Tortiglioni, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 16 ✓
- 1 onion
- 20 g rapeseed oil
- 400 g chicken strips
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 400 g tortiglioni
- 1000 g vegetable stock
- 200 g tomatoes
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 50 g double cream
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 sprig basil
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Chop the onion.
Peel the onion, halve it, place in the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec / speed 5 and push down with the spatula.
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2
Sweat the onion.
Add the oil to the mixing bowl and sweat for 3 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Brown the meat.
Add the chicken, salt, pepper and paprika powder and heat for 5 min / Varoma / reverse direction / speed 1.
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4
Prepare the peppers.
Meanwhile, wash the peppers, halve them, remove the seeds and stalk, and cut into strips.
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5
Add the pasta and cook.
Set the chicken aside. Place the peppers, tortiglioni and vegetable stock in the mixing bowl and cook for 8 min / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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6
Prepare the tomatoes.
Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes, halve them, remove the stalk and cut into pieces. Stir the cornflour smoothly into the double cream in a cup.
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7
Finish cooking.
Add the chicken, tomatoes, cream mixture and lemon juice to the mixing bowl and finish cooking for 5 min / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 2.
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8
Serve.
Meanwhile, wash the basil and pick the leaves. Divide the tortiglioni between plates and garnish with the basil leaves.
Tip: If the pasta is already creamy enough for you, you can leave out the cornflour and double cream.
If there are any leftovers, you can layer the pasta with grated cheese in an ovenproof dish and bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 30 minutes. You will end up with a wonderful pasta bake.
Nutrition per serving
Why tortiglioni and not penne or spaghetti
The choice of pasta matters more in one-pot dishes than many people think. Tortiglioni are thick tubes with deep ridges on the outside. Those ridges are what hold creamy sauces in place. When we pour the finished sauce of double cream, tomatoes and chicken cooking juices onto the plate, it clings to every single tortiglione and does not run off. With smooth penne the cream sauce simply slides away, and with spaghetti it only coats in a thin layer.
Then there is the wall thickness. Tortiglioni are robust enough to hold up for 8 minutes at 100 °C on reverse direction without going soft. We also tried the recipe with penne, and the cooking time had to come down to 6 minutes otherwise they fell apart. With the thicker tubes the timing is much more forgiving.
Why tortiglioni and reverse direction go together
Reverse direction protects the pasta. On reverse direction the Thermomix® moves the blades with their blunt backs leading. This turns the ingredients over without chopping them. If we accidentally use normal direction, the sharp blades will cut the 400 g of tortiglioni into short stumps within three minutes. That is exactly why the recipe says reverse direction / speed 1 everywhere pasta is involved.
Chicken out, then back in. We brown the chicken strips for 5 min / Varoma / reverse direction, then remove them from the mixing bowl and cook the pasta and peppers in 1000 g of vegetable stock afterwards. If we left the chicken in, it would be dry and stringy after 13 minutes of cooking. This way it stays juicy and only comes back for the final 5 minutes, just long enough to heat through.
Three peppers, three colours, one depth of flavour. We use one red, one yellow and one green pepper. The red brings sweetness, the yellow is mild and fruity, and the green has a slightly bitter, almost grassy note that rounds out the sauce. Using three red peppers alone makes the whole dish flat and sugary. The mix is the only reason the sauce tastes so layered without any extra seasoning.
Where pasta gets chopped or the sauce stays thin
1. Forgetting to switch to reverse direction
The most common mistake. Anyone who reaches for speed 1 out of habit without the reverse direction symbol will have broken tortiglioni in the bowl after 8 minutes. Our fix: Before every cooking step involving pasta, check twice that the arrow symbol is pointing to the left. On the TM6 and TM5 the button is labelled the same way; on the TM31 it is the switch with the counter-rotating arrow next to the dial.
2. Too little liquid
One-pot pasta needs more stock than we are used to from cooking pasta the normal way. For 400 g of tortiglioni and three peppers you need 1000 g of vegetable stock, not less. Anyone who cuts back to 800 g because it seems like a lot will end up with a sticky lump. Our fix: Stick to the full amount and thicken at the end with cornflour and double cream. The cornflour binds any excess liquid reliably.
3. Tomatoes added too early
If you cook 200 g of fresh tomato pieces together with the pasta from the start, you get collapsed tomato pulp, not tomato pieces. Tomatoes belong in the final 5-minute step together with the cream and chicken. Our fix: Stick strictly to the order. First pasta plus peppers plus stock for 8 minutes, then add the prepared tomatoes, cream and chicken for a further 5 minutes. The tomato pieces stay recognisable and give a fresh note.
Variations we actually cook
With sweetcorn and a crunchy finish. We add 150 g of tinned sweetcorn in the final 5-minute step. It makes the sauce sweeter and the children finish their plates noticeably faster.
With courgette instead of green pepper. When peppers are expensive, we use 200 g of courgette cut into half-moons instead of the green pepper. Courgette releases water, so use only 900 g of stock instead of 1000 g.
Vegetarian with chickpeas. Instead of 400 g of chicken we use one tin of chickpeas, drained. They go in only at the end to heat through, otherwise they fall apart.
Spicier. Add one dried chilli or half a teaspoon of chilli flakes along with the paprika powder. It works especially well with the sweetness of the red pepper.
As a bake the next day. Layer the leftovers in an ovenproof dish, scatter 100 g of grated cheese on top and bake at 180 °C for 30 minutes. That turns leftovers into a second full dinner.
Salad, garlic bread or Parmesan alongside
A bowl of green salad with balsamic dressing is more than enough. If you want something more substantial, serve garlic baguette alongside. We love making pizza dough in the Thermomix® and baking it thinly rolled with garlic butter. Anyone looking for more one-pot pasta ideas should also try our Spaghetti Bolognese or the Green Spelt Bolognese. Both follow the same principle with one mixing bowl and neither needs a separate pasta pan.
Keeps for 1 day in the fridge, goes creamy again with cream
Stored in a sealed container in the fridge the dish keeps for 2 days. The tortiglioni continue to absorb the sauce overnight, so when reheating add 50 g of water or stock per portion and heat slowly in a non-stick pan. The microwave works in a pinch, but cover the dish and add a splash of water, otherwise the pasta edges go hard.
Freezing is technically possible, but we are not convinced. The tortiglioni go soft and mushy when defrosted and the cream sauce can split. If you do freeze it: use portion-sized containers, keep for no longer than 4 weeks, and defrost slowly in the fridge rather than in the microwave. We prefer the bake version with cheese instead. That way the leftovers have a clear second purpose the next day and no pasta crisis.
What other recipes do differently
Serve with: Parmesan.
Many Thermomix® versions cook chicken breast all the way through, which leaves it dry and stringy after 13 minutes. We deliberately remove the chicken and only return it in the final 5-minute step so it stays juicy. Cookidoo uses thighs with cream cheese instead of double cream for similar dishes, which also works but is richer. Some recipes use rice instead of pasta, or cook penne, which falls apart into stumps after 8 minutes. We stick with tortiglioni on reverse direction, three pepper colours and the clear order of pasta before cream and tomatoes. That is the difference between a creamy sauce and a sticky lump.
More pasta and chicken inspiration can be found on mixmyday.com:
- Spaghetti Bolognese, Thermomix®
- Green Spelt Bolognese, Thermomix®
- Pizza Dough, Thermomix®
