Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta

This creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta is such a comforting dish, with a delicious creamy sundried tomato sauce, chicken, and cheese for a rich flavor that everyone will love, in an easy weeknight dinner! 

This Tuscan chicken pasta is such a great comfort food dish. It is loaded with chicken and pasta all covered in a creamy and cheesy sundried tomato sauce. It’s ready in less than 1 hour for the perfect easy meal that you’ll love adding to your weekly menu! 

This dish is a delicious taste of Tuscan flavors, and is bound to be a new favorite at your home! 

Why you’ll love this dish:

• Easy and complete meal – while you can add your favorite sides to this dish, this Tuscan chicken pasta is filling, and loaded with veggies, protein, and carbs so you can have you whole meal all in one dish.
• Ready in less than 1 hour! 
• So tasty – it’s packed full of a creamy tomatoey flavor that everyone will love! 

Ingredients Needed:

This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.

• rigatoni pasta – you can use your choice of pasta if you have any other short noodles on hand. Gluten free noodles should work great if needed. 
• olive oil and butter – to cook the chicken in and give it a nice crust
• chicken breasts – boneless skinless chicken breasts are a good lean protein option.
• canned sun-dried tomatoes – drain off the oil, and roughly chop them up 
• minced garlic – we recommend using fresh garlic cloves that you chop up, but pre-minced from the store will work in a jiffy.
• pesto – just a couple tablespoons add a nice basil flavor to the sauce. Try sundried tomato pesto for a twist.
• chicken stock – the base of the sauce, adds a nice flavor, but substitute water in a pinch
• heavy cream – heavy cream has more fat than other alternates and will give you a nice rich and creamy sauce.
• baby spinach – use fresh spinach for the best flavor
• parmesan cheese – I prefer to grate my own parmesan cheese so there are no additional anti clumping agents in the cheese. But you can also use the powdery (grated) kind from the store.
• salt and pepper – for flavor
• garlic powder and onion powder – for flavoring the chicken

How to make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta?

1. Fill your Dutch Oven with water and bring it boil over medium heat. Follow the package instructions to cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and set it aside. Dry out the pot with paper towels. 
2. Add the oil and butter to the pan and let it melt. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces and coat the chicken in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add the chicken in 3 batches to lightly brown the edges and cook each piece through. A few minutes for each batch. Once cooked place the chicken on a plate and set it aside.
3. Add the sundried tomatoes, garlic, and pesto to the pan and stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. 
4. Add in the chicken stock and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.
5. Add in the cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat.
6. Then add in the baby spinach, salt and pepper, and let the spinach cook for a couple minutes in the sauce.
7. Add in the chicken, parmesan, and cooked pasta. Stir to combine everything together and coat it all evenly in the sauce. Continue to cook until everything is heated through.
8. Serve immediately with extra parmesan for garnish. Fresh basil on top would be nice too.

Tips and Tricks:

• You can use your favorite short pasta for this dish. You can use penne, fusilli, farfalle, cavatappi, or rotini, instead of the rigatoni as shown. 
• If you want a stronger sundried tomato flavor, substitute sundried tomato pesto sauce in place of regular pesto. Or use some of both! 
• Make sure to use sundried tomatoes from a jar, not from a packet. This way they are soft, otherwise follow instructions on the packet to soften. 
• Add some veggies to the dish if you want. Some good additions would be sliced bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, or grape tomatoes. If they are vegetables that need to be sautéed, cook them up after you cook the chicken, before you make the sauce.
• Add some red pepper flakes to the dish to add a light kick.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How to store leftovers?

This will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The noodles will soak up some of the sauce the longer this sits in the fridge. I recommend adding a couple Tablespoons of chicken stock to the pasta then reheat it on low heat in a pot on the stove top.

What to serve with Tuscan Chicken Pasta?

While this can easily be a complete meal on it’s own, here are some of my favorites to bulk the meal up.

• a simple side salad
• roasted broccoli
• roasted asparagus
• roasted squash
• garlic bread or garlic sticks

More chicken pasta recipes:

• Lemon Chicken with Pasta
• Cheesy Chicken Pasta 
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
• One Pot Chicken Alfredo
• Chicken Pot Pie Pasta 

Connect with Like Mother, Like Daughter

Be sure to follow us on social media, so you never miss a single post!

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Email