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This ultra creamy sun-dried tomato chicken pasta is the ultimate family-friendly dish that comes together easily but tastes like it’s straight from an authentic Italian trattoria. Tender chicken and linguine pasta are tossed in a luscious cream sauce that coats every strand of pasta and chicken.
Why You’ll Love This
- This tried-and-true creamy sun-dried tomato chicken pasta is a true winner when it comes to busy weeknights as it’s all made in one pot! It’s creamy, easy, and loaded with tender chicken, baby spinach, and chewy sun-dried tomatoes.
- Easy clean-up is always a winner in my book because I just want to get on the couch and vegetate the rest of the evening! This one-pot pasta makes it so that is possible!
- It’s restaurant-quality at home. It’s as if you imported this pasta from an Italian trattoria. It’s that good!
Ingredients for Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
- Chicken breast – boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed into 1″ pieces. You can use chicken thighs here too, just be sure they are boneless and skinless.
- Salt and black pepper – this is to season the chicken!
- Sun-dried tomatoes – you can use sun-dried tomatoes in oil (which I prefer because it’s a punch of flavor and you can use the oil from the jar to cook with), but you can also use sun-dried tomatoes that just dried and plainly packaged. It’s totally up to you. Make sure to buy the pre-sliced otherwise add in a tiny bit extra of prep time.
- Garlic – you know a good pasta dish has to have at least 3 cloves of garlic!
- Chicken stock – have you ever made your own? Store-bought is totally fine though!
- Whole milk – you can use heavy whipping cream here if you want to be extra indulgent!
- Fettuccine pasta – I like using fettuccine in this because it’s just thick enough to have all the strands of pasta be evenly coated in the creamy sauce. I would stick to either spaghetti or fettuccine for this dish specifically if you are using long pasta. Penne or rigatoni work for shorter pastas. You may need to adjust cooking time.
- Parmesan cheese – freshly grated is the best!
- Baby spinach leaves – for that color and a little bit of iron!
How to Make Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Full and more detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Season and cook the chicken. Season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper. In a large, high-sided skillet, place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add oil then add the chicken. Cook the chicken until browned on the exterior and cooked through. Remove the chicken and put into a bowl and set aside for later.
- Sauté the aromatics. In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium. Sauté the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes until fragrant.
- Add the liquid. Gently pour in the chicken stock and milk and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a boil.
- Cook the pasta. Add the pasta to the liquid and make sure all pasta is completely submerged. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and allow pasta to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through and liquid is mostly gone and into more of a cream sauce consistency.
- Put it all together. Add the spinach leaves and allow the residual heat to wilt it. Add the cooked chicken back in, along with parmesan cheese. Stir all together until well-combined.
Recipe Variations
- Add more fresh herbs or a blend. Finely chopped basil to garnish or add Italian seasoning to the sauce mixture.
- Omit the chicken. Meatless? No problem. Omit the chicken or try my meatless version, Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta.
- More protein. On the other hand, if you want more protein, adding in shrimp is yummy!
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Allow pasta to cool then put into an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, gently warm it in a skillet on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through. You’ll likely need to add a bit of liquid (water or more chicken stock) to loosen up the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving my sun-dried tomato chicken pasta with my Easy Garlic Knots and/or Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls. The garlic flavors of both tie beautifully with this pasta and help sop up all that extra creamy sauce! A Quick Basic Chopped Salad is a great addition too.
Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
A one-pot pasta recipe that's exceptionally easy and irresistibly delicious! The creamy sauce is SO good!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup (55 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups (473 ml) chicken stock
- 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk, more may be needed. Heavy whipping cream may be used instead, if desired.
- 8 ounces (227 g) dried fettuccine pasta, broken in half
- 2 cups (60 g) packed baby spinach leaves
- ¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Season diced chicken breast with kosher salt and black pepper.1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast, Salt and pepper
- In a large high-sided 12-inch skillet add olive oil and set over medium-high heat. If you're using sun-dried tomatoes in oil, use the oil from the jar! It's so flavorful.2 tablespoons olive oil
- When the oil is hot add in the chicken breast and cook until browned on the outside and almost fully cooked throughout. Remove chicken from the pan and set onto a plate and set aside for later.
- Place the skillet back to on the stove, lower the heat to medium and add in sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.1/2 cup (55 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, 4 cloves garlic
- Pour in the chicken stock and whole milk, stir to combine. Bring to a boil.2 cups (473 ml) chicken stock, 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
- Add in pasta and stir to combine and fully submerge the pasta.8 ounces (227 g) dried fettuccine pasta
- Gently simmer the pasta until it’s fully cooked, about 10-15 minutes. If your liquid seems to be cooking down too fast and the pasta is not fully cooked yet, simply add in a little more milk or chicken stock.
- When the pasta is fully cooked, you should be left with a creamy sauce that sticks to the pasta. If you find the sauce too thick simply add a splash of milk. If the sauce is too thin just cook it down a little further.
- Add back in the chicken, stir in the baby spinach and top with parmesan cheese. Stir to distribute and incorporate thoroughly.2 cups (60 g) packed baby spinach leaves, 1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- Serve warm with bread and salad!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (343 grams), Calories: 558kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.05g, Cholesterol: 137mg, Sodium: 475mg, Potassium: 1354mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 11g
My milk curled in the broth.
that shouldn’t have happened…what type of milk did you use?
I generally “tinker” with recipes but I changed NOTHING for this recipe. Wonderful flavor and will be a good go to dinner for those nights I want something quick and easy. Thank you.
I made this tonight, and it’s so simple and so delicious. I didn’t have spinach, so I chopped up some kale in small pieces and for the cream I used oat creamer. Came out perfectly!
Can you use frozen spinach?
yup!
Made this for dinner a couple nights ago and it’s delicious! I had dinner done in less than 30 minutes, including all prep. I completely forgot the spinach, but we didn’t miss it. I also had all the ingredients, which made this a great weeknight dinner. I saw Julie make it on IG stories with chicken sausage, which I bet is delicious. I think it’d be good even without the chicken if you were out. Highly recommend!
Made this tonight and it’s a winner! A successful one-pot dish and even added some broccoli.
(Couldn’t find in the recipe when to add chicken back in, but added it close to when the noodles were almost done and it turned out fine)
ahh, thanks for that! my oversight. you did it right!
As soon as this post went up, I was buying all the ingredients to make it. This recipe is divine! Made as directed. 🤩 I will definitely make this again!
omg i love this! thank you so much!
This looks delicious! I just wanted to be clear–are the sundried tomatoes you used the kind that are packed in oil or the ones that are not?
the ones that are not. just plain ones that come in a resealable bag
@Julie Chiou, Hi there! This recipe sounds incredible and I’m definitely going to make it, I can’t wait to try it! I just found you on Pinterest and I couldn’t be happier, you have sooo many dishes that sound AMAZING!!
I wanted to address the comment/response above though and thought others may appreciate some clarification as well.
Kat asks if she should use the sun dried tomatoes packed in oil or just the resealable bag (which would not have the added oil) and you responded that she should go with the resealable packaged tomatoes, not the ones in oil.
However, as part of your description “story” regarding this recipe, prior to reaching the actual “recipe card”, This is one of your statements (aka: a possible reader question) that you include in bold print:
“Should I strain the sun-dried tomatoes (of the oil) before adding them to the pot?”
Your response…
“That’s up to you, but I don’t strain them. When you also add the oil that they’re packaged with, you get a lot more of the tomato flavor in the pasta sauce, and who wants to miss out on flavor?!”
(my sentiments EXACTLY!!😋 ❤️😋❤️ lol)
I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and I would almost always choose the tomatoes packed in oil (they won’t work in absolutely EVERY recipe out there, but the majority of the time, they’re wonderful! 😋😋), I personally feel that they have a far superior flavor to the others (just my opinion, of course).
I just wanted to clarify on YOUR THOUGHTS THOUGH, as I imagine there could be other readers with the same concern/question and in many cases readers/followers won’t continue on with creating the dish or won’t even attempt to make it until they have a satisfactory response.
I realize that this really isn’t a huge deal and I wouldn’t feel the need to ask for clarification in this type of situation, I would just use what I prefer and continue on. However, from all the hundreds of thousands of comments I’ve read over the years, there are many people who will call the recipe quits if they can’t get a response to even the most simple questions, i.e., “will Fat Free/ Oat / 2% / Almond / Lactose Free/ Soy, Milk etc., work, or must I only use Whole Milk?” Or, “can I use Ground Turkey instead of Ground Beef?”
I totally understand and respect their questions and hesitancy in moving forward if they aren’t comfortable in the kitchen, if they’re just learning to cook or only feel comfortable when they are following a recipe step-by-step, exactly as written, especially if they’ve had bad experiences in the past by making a substitution or not following the directions exactly.
I apologize for the lengthy message, I didn’t intend to write a novel, hopefully this will help someone out though… 😊
Happy Cooking to everyone and here’s to a much better year in 2021!!! 🎉🥐🥑🥳🍷🍾🎊🥩🍤🥡🥂
Phew, this was definitely a lengthy message but one that i really appreciated! i’m glad you asked me to clarify b/c i can see the confusion as i kind of created it, LOL
TYPICALLY, i do use sundried tomatoes in olive oil b/c I do believe it creates more flavor, but I also have used the regular plain ones in the resealable bag in many recipes too. FOR ME, it’s really whatever I have on hand. i hate dictating to others what they should and shouldn’t use b/c like you said, some people might not make something if it’s “too oily” or “too specialized in ingredients” – so i guess that’s why i put it in people’s hands whether or not they should use the oil packed sundried tomatoes or the plain. as for this recipe, i should clarify that it doesn’t matter which people use but if they choose to use the oil packed ones…don’t strain but also don’t like scoop with a spoon and dump excessive amounts of oil in. i typically use a fork so the oil kind of just drains off and stays mainly on the sundried tomato.
i had replied to the previous reader about using plain b/c that’s what i had been using for several weeks when i have been making this on my dinner rotation without even thinking that when i first developed this recipe, i had also developed it to use the sundried tomatoes packed in oil.
long story short – people should use whatever they have on hand lol
Delicious! Thank you for this recipe😊
haven’t tried it yet, but i know its gonna taste good