Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Tuscan chicken pasta pairs seared chicken breast with penne, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach in a creamy (but not too rich) sauce. Makes a great weeknight dinner in just over 30 minutes! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Why You Should Make It

• Restaurant-quality flavor: between the sun dried tomatoes, bell pepper, parmesan, and a careful selection of spices, this Tuscan chicken pasta has an incredible depth of flavor that is satisfying and impressive.
• Weeknight ready: this recipe takes just 35 minutes from start to finish and feeds the whole family with six servings. Leftovers don’t reheat quite as well as my Greek chicken orzo, but they are still incredibly tasty!
• Veggie and protein packed: we’ll toss in some fresh spinach with the other veggies for extra fiber, and we’ll get plenty of protein from 1 ½ pounds of chicken.
• Easy and beginner-friendly: while you will have some prep work before cooking (mostly chopping veggies and chicken), none of it is too difficult or time-consuming.

A variation of my Tuscan chicken, this is a super flavorful and simple dish, great for weeknights because of how quickly it comes together. I love that it packs both protein and fiber (use a whole grain pasta for even more!) and makes enough to feed my whole family (and then some!). Is it indulgent, too? Perhaps, but it’s all about balance! ⚖️

What You Need

• Chicken. Dice your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, about 1″. (Psst: if you prefer to just sear whole chicken breasts that totally fine, too, but I prefer the pre-cut bite-sized pieces like I do in my cajun chicken pasta). We will coat them in flour, salt, and pepper before cooking until golden brown. This not only adds great flavor to the chicken, but also creates some caramelization on the bottom of the pan, which will serve as a flavorful base for our sauce.
• Spices. Like basil, thyme, paprika, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. You can always skip the crushed red pepper if you are sensitive to heat (or are serving to kids).
• Veggies. Including yellow onion, red bell pepper, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and baby spinach. Look for julienned sun-dried tomatoes (or you’ll have to thinly slice them yourself) and make sure to drain them really well if you buy the kind that is packed in oil! Too much oil can cause the sauce to split and be greasy, so I always drain my jar, pour the tomatoes onto a plate or smaller dish and then gently pat them with a paper towel.
• Pasta. I like penne, but really any shape will work. Something tube-like (or a spiral shape, like rotini) is especially nice here though, as it gives the sauce something to cling to (and trust me you want as much sauce in every bite as possible).
• Half and half. You can alternatively use one cup each of milk and heavy cream. Using half and half (as opposed to all cream) keeps this pasta from being too rich.

SAM’S TIP: Grate your own parmesan cheese! It will melt into the sauce so nicely for the creamiest, smoothest texture. I recommend this for my lemon pasta and risotto as well.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Tuscan Chicken Pasta

1. Sear the chicken in olive oil and butter until golden brown on all sides and fully cooked. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm, then add butter to the pan and let melt.
2. Add the onions and peppers and cook until they’re softened (only takes a few minutes, just stir them occasionally). Making the sauce in the same pan as the chicken means we won’t lose any of that flavor left over from the chicken.
3. Boil the pasta in a separate pot of salted water. Cook until al dente (still a bit firm!), then drain well. I recommend reserving some pasta water just in case your sauce splits or gets too thick, but I usually don’t need it.

1. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the peppers and onions, then stir in the spices. Let the spices toast for up to a minute to develop their flavor (keep them moving so they don’t burn) then drizzle in half of the chicken broth, scraping the pan as you go. Let the broth you’ve added reduce by half (helps concentrate the flavor!) before adding the rest.
2. Stir in the half and half, then reduce the heat and stir frequently until your pasta finishes cooking (if it hasn’t already). Be careful at this point now that you’ve add the cream; letting the sauce come to a boil or get too hot can cause it to separate.
3. Add the pasta, chicken, cheese, and spinach and stir until everything is coated. Don’t be too overwhelmed if it seems like the spinach is taking over, it’ll wilt and settle down! The sauce should thicken up a bit, and once it reaches your desired consistency, you’re good to go! If it gets too thick, you can always thin it out with a splash of reserved pasta water.
4. Serve immediately, adding a sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top and your favorite side (some of my favorite suggestions below!).

SAM’S TIP: The sauce will thicken the longer it sits, so this dish is best served immediately. The same goes for leftovers, so while I definitely would save any to eat the next day, just expect they won’t be quite as creamy when reheated.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’d like more pasta dishes I have a few more listed for you below (the chicken Alfredo is one of my favorites), but you can find even more my full collection of savory recipes. I’ve been having a lot of fun making savory recipes recently, let me know if you’re enjoying them and if there are any specific recipes you’d like to see in the future.

Enjoy!

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Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Tuscan chicken pasta pairs seared chicken with penne, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach in a creamy (but not too rich) sauce. Makes a great weeknight dinner in just over 30 minutes!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

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Course: Dinner, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 655kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

For the chicken

• ▢ 1 ½ lbs (680 g) chicken breast cut into 1” pieces
• ▢ ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon salted butter

For the pasta & sauce

• ▢ 8 oz (227 g) penne pasta or your favorite shape
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon salted butter
• ▢ 1 cup (140 g) diced yellow onion about 1 medium yellow onion
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper diced
• ▢ 1 cup julienne-cut sun dried tomatoes well-drained of oil
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried basil
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
• ▢ ¾ cup (177 ml) chicken broth
• ▢ 2 cups (473 ml) half and half
• ▢ 4 cups (100 g) fresh baby spinach
• ▢ 1 cup (80 g) grated parmesan cheese (plus additional for topping, if desired)

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Large skillet

Instructions

For the chicken

• Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large ziploc bag (or large mixing bowl) and shake or stir to combine.
  ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Add chicken and toss until all chicken is well-coated.
  1 ½ lbs (680 g) chicken breast
• Heat oil and butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, shake any excess flour off of the chicken (discard the excess) and cook chicken (do this in batches if necessary, you may need to add more oil between batches) cooking until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil, and set the chicken aside while you prepare the pasta and sauce. You’ll prepare the sauce in the pan the chicken was cooked in, no need to clean it!
  2 Tablespoons cooking oil, 1 Tablespoon salted butter

For the pasta and sauce

• Reduce stovetop heat to medium and add oil and butter to the skillet (use the same skillet that I cooked the chicken in). Once butter is melted, add onion and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 5 minutes).
  1 Tablespoon cooking oil, 1 Tablespoon salted butter, 1 cup (140 g) diced yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper
• Meanwhile, begin cooking pasta in well-salted water according to package instructions.
  8 oz (227 g) penne pasta
• Add tomatoes and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant (about 30 seconds).
  1 cup julienne-cut sun dried tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• Add basil, thyme, salt, pepper, paprika, and crushed red pepper (if using) and stir well.
  2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme, ½ teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Drizzle in approximately half of the chicken broth and cook until broth is reduced by at least half.
  ¾ cup (177 ml) chicken broth
• Drizzle in remaining chicken broth then immediately add the half and half. Reduce heat to medium-low (keep the heat on the lower end so the sauce doesn’t separate) and stir frequently while the pasta finishes cooking.
  2 cups (473 ml) half and half
• Once pasta has cooked through, drain well.
• Add cooked, drained pasta to the skillet along with the cooked chicken, spinach, and parmesan cheese. Stir well and cook until sauce thickens (this may happen even before you add the chicken).
  4 cups (100 g) fresh baby spinach, 1 cup (80 g) grated parmesan cheese
• Serve warm, topped with additional parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

Storing

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The sauce thickens in the refrigerator and will not be as creamy/smooth/velvety when reheated.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 1041mg | Potassium: 1508mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3317IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 317mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

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