Caramelised Onion Chicken Pasta
Chef Jack Ovens
Qualified Chef · 1.63M Subscribers
Updated October 2026
Caramelised onions are the whole point of this pasta. Four big onions cook down with sun-dried tomatoes until they’re sweet, sticky and deep golden, and they become the base of the sauce.
The trick is to put a lid on for the first 8 minutes. The onions steam in their own liquid and soften fast, which saves you around 20 minutes of stirring. Then the lid comes off and they brown properly.
Cream cheese keeps the sauce smooth when you reheat it, and the pasta is cooked slightly short so it doesn’t go mushy. It makes five meals and takes under an hour.
Caramelised Onion Chicken Pasta
CHICKEN · MEAL PREP · EASY
Why You'll Love This Caramelised Onion Chicken Pasta
Sweet, Savoury and Built to Reheat
The sun-dried tomato oil from the jar goes into both the onions and the chicken. It carries concentrated tomato flavour through the whole dish, so you don't need any extra seasoning to make it taste like more than the sum of its parts.
Chicken thigh is seared in two batches so it browns instead of steaming. It stays juicy through four days of reheating, which breast usually can't manage.
The sauce looks slightly loose when you portion it, and that's on purpose. The pasta soaks it up in the fridge, so by day four it's creamy and not dry.
Caramelised Onion Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Caramelised Onions
- 30 ml Sun-Dried Tomato Oil From The Jar
- 4 Brown (Yellow) Onions Sliced
- 4 g Brown Sugar
- 4 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 1 g Dried Thyme
- 80 g Sun-Dried Tomatoes Chopped
- 30 ml Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Chicken
- 1 kg Chicken Thigh, Boneless & Skinless Diced
- 8 g Garlic Powder
- 4 g Smoked Paprika
- 15 ml Sun-Dried Tomato Oil From The Jar
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Sauce
- 500 ml Chicken Stock
- 150 g Light Cream Cheese
- 250 ml Light Milk
- 15 g Dijon Mustard
- 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano Grated
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Pasta
- 350 g Rigatoni (or Pasta of Choice)
- 150 g Baby Spinach
- 250 ml Pasta Water Reserved
Method
- Heat the sun-dried tomato oil in a large, wide pan over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar and a pinch of salt, put the lid on and cook for 8 minutes, stirring once, until the onions have softened and released their liquid. Take the lid off, drop the heat to medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until deep golden brown. Add a splash of water if they start to catch. Stir through the garlic, thyme and sun-dried tomatoes for 1 minute, then add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute until syrupy.
- While the onions cook, toss the chicken with the garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Heat the sun-dried tomato oil in a second large pan over high heat and sear the chicken in two batches for 6-7 minutes each, until golden and cooked through (74°C/165°F internal temperature). Set aside.
- Boil the rigatoni in well-salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet time. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
- Pour the stock into the onions and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce by a third. Turn the heat to low and stir in the cream cheese, milk and Dijon until smooth. Take the pan off the heat and stir through the Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Add the pasta, chicken and spinach to the sauce and toss with a splash of pasta water until glossy. The sauce should look slightly loose, because the pasta soaks it up in the fridge. Divide between 5 x 750ml containers.
Private Notes
Chef's Tips
Steam first, then brown. Lidding the pan for the first 8 minutes softens the onions in their own steam, which cuts the caramelising time from 45 minutes to about 25. After that, keep the heat at medium-low. Onions brown from their natural sugars at about 120-150°C (248-302°F), so low heat gives deep colour without burning.Sear the chicken in batches. Crowding the pan steams the chicken instead of browning it, and browned chicken tastes better. The thigh also stays juicier than the breast through 4 days of reheating.Keep the sauce loose and the pasta short. Cook the rigatoni 2 minutes under the packet time and leave the sauce slightly wet. Pasta keeps absorbing liquid in the fridge, so this is the right texture on day 4, and the pasta won’t go mushy.
Storage & Reheating
Cool within 1 hour of cooking, then refrigerate at 4°C (39°F) or below and eat within 4 days. It freezes for up to 3 months, so thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating. The cream cheese sauce can tighten or separate once frozen, so reheat it gently and stir through a splash of milk or stock to bring it back together. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes with a splash of water, stirring halfway, until steaming hot and at least 74°C (165°F) throughout.
Serving 650gCalories 856kcalCarbohydrates 85.8gProtein 63gFat 28.9gSaturated Fat 9.1gPolyunsaturated Fat 4.02gMonounsaturated Fat 12.04gTrans Fat 0.4gCholesterol 221.5mgSodium 754.4mgPotassium 1808.2mgFiber 6.8gSugar 19.5gVitamin A 538IUVitamin C 24.96mgCalcium 299.6mgIron 5.4mg
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Common Questions
Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh?
Yes, but breast cooks faster and dries out more easily. Dice it and sear it in two batches for 3-4 minutes each over high heat, until golden and cooked through (74°C/165°F internal temperature). Thigh is the better choice for meal prep because it stays juicier through reheating.
Can I use a different pasta shape?
Yes. Any short shape with ridges or a hollow centre works, like penne, fusilli or conchiglie. Cook it 2 minutes under the packet time, so it finishes in the sauce and doesn't go mushy when you reheat it.
What if I don't have sun-dried tomato oil?
Use olive oil instead. The dish will be a little less tomato-forward, but the chopped sun-dried tomatoes still carry plenty of flavour.
Can I freeze this meal prep?
Yes, it freezes for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently with a splash of milk or stock, stirring until steaming hot (the cream cheese sauce can tighten or separate once frozen). The rest of the batch keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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