Chicken Riggies

5 from 47 votes

Chicken Riggies aka Utica Chicken Riggies is spicy comfort food that takes pasta dishes to a whole new level of deliciousness. The cheesy, creamy tomato sauce is loaded with flavor and can be easily customized to your taste preference.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Entree, pasta course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 932kcal

Author: Chef Dennis Littley

Ingredients

1 lb rigatoni
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds chicken thighs boneless skinless
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup bell peppers chopped
2 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
3 cherry peppers chopped (hot or sweet peppers) seeds and stems removed
1 cup dry red wine
28 oz crushed tomatoes San Marzano crushed by hand or with immersion blender
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh basil finely chopped
½ - 1 teaspoon table salt season to taste
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
¾ cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated - locatelli brand is my preference
1 cup reserved pasta water use if needed
1 tablespoon Italian parsley finely chopped for garnish

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta aldente, per instructions on the package.
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken until fully cooked (5-6 minutes per side). Place the chicken on a plate and tent with foil.
Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the chicken is at least 165 degrees F.
Add the bell peppers to the pan and saute for 4-5 minutes. Peppers should be soft and start to brown.
Add the chopped garlic to the mixture and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Don't let the garlic burn!
Add the cherry peppers to the pan and continue cooking for another minute.
Add the red wine to the pan, scraping all the tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Increase the temperature to high heat and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes until the liquid reduces by half.
While you're finishing up the chicken riggies, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to package instructions for al dente.
Add the tomatoes to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Let the mixture cook for another five minutes.
Add the cream to the sauce, stirring to mix it into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer until it begins to thicken.
While the sauce is simmering, cut the chicken thighs into small bite-sized pieces.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
Add the pasta and chicken to the sauce and mix well until the pasta and chicken are well coated with sauce.
If the sauce is too thick, add ½ cup (or more) of reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for 1 minute.
Add the grated Pecorino Romano to the pan and blend into the ingredients. Add a little more of the pasta water if the sauce is starting to look too thick.
Garnish with chopped basil, and serve with additional grated cheese.

Notes

Hot peppers vs sweet peppers: I used sweet cherry peppers instead of hot cherry peppers. They still had a fair amount of heat to them, but if you like a lot of heat you can use hot peppers instead of sweet peppers. For added heat you can also add red pepper flakes to the spicy tomato cream sauce.

Bell Peppers: When it comes to bell peppers I usually pick red peppers, as they always seem a little sweeter to me. I added yellow peppers for color, but feel free to use green peppers or which ever peppers you have on hand. Cubanelle peppers can also be used. They have a sweet taste with a little heat.

Romano vs Parmesan: People always ask me why I use Pecorino romano cheese instead of parmesan cheese. Romano has a sharper flavor that tends to stand out more in dishes. Parmesan is a good cheese and has a nutty flavor that is less salty, creating a more mellow flavor. I also like the finer grated texture that most romano cheeses have, parmesan can have more of a grated look to it and because of that it doesn’t melt into the sauce as easily.

Red wine vs white wine: When adding wine to a dish, its always best to use a wine that pairs well with the dish. Cooking with the same wine you’ll be serving with the dish is always the best choice, but you can use white or red to make this regional specialty. If you’d rather not use wine in this dish, you can substitute chicken broth for the wine.

Chicken thighs vs chicken breasts: This traditional pasta dish from upstate New York was originally made with thighs but you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. The thighs tend to stay moist and dark meat has more flavor than white, but you can use either to make this dish.

Pasta Choice: This dish is called chicken riggies because it uses rigatoni pasta. Rigatoni is the best choice since the noodles hold a lot of sauce, but you can also use penne, or ziti to make this pasta dish. If you’ve got pasta lovers in your household, the best pasta available is De Cecco. You’ll find their iconic blue boxes at most grocery stores.

Onions: Some recipes add a chopped yellow onion to the dish when you add the peppers. I didn’t see them in the original recipe, but you can add them for additional flavor. I have also seen olives and mushrooms in different versions of chicken riggies, so feel free to add those if you like.

Crushed tomatoes vs tomato puree: I always use San Marzano tomatoes to cook with and they only come as whole tomatoes in juice. I use a handheld immersion blender to puree them. Feel free to use either type of tomato you like, including jarred marinara sauce. Tomato paste can be used but isn’t the best choice as you’ll need to add more liquid to the dish.

Nutrition