Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta

This deliciously creamy Tuscan chicken pasta with fresh flavors of sun-dried tomatoes and spinach delivers restaurant quality comfort food in under 30 minutes.

Today we’ll be making a creamy Tuscan chicken pasta bursting with flavors of the Mediterranean; with seared chicken breasts cut into thick slices in the pasta of your choice cozying up in a rich, creamy and decadent cream cheese and Parmesan sauce peppered with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach.

It only took me less than 30 minutes to get it finished from start to finish  and should yield at least 6 hearty servings. So if you’re in the mood for easy to make comfort food that should last you a couple days, try this one out. Let’s get started.

CREAMY TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA TIPS AND TRICKS:

Pasta: The recipe uses penne pasta but you can try other tube-type pastas or even spaghetti, linguine, fettucine, angel hair or bow-tie pasta. The choice of pasta will not make or break the recipe so feel free to use your favorite.

Chicken:  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You’ll know when the chicken is fully cooked when the meat turns white and when the juices run clear when you cut into it. An easier way would be to invest in a instant read meat thermometer and to cook until it reads 165 degrees F.

Sun-dried tomatoes:  I used julienne cut California sun-dried tomatoes in oil to make the chopping a whole lot easier and to use some of the oil while searing the chicken to give it a hint of sun-dried tomato flavor.

Spinach: I used fresh baby spinach which looks like a whole lot of bulk when you first add it to the pot. Don’t worry, it will cook down quickly. You can also use frozen chopped spinach as long as you cook it according to the packet instructions and drain any excess liquid before adding it to the pot. If you don’t like spinach, you can sub it with kale.

Cream sauce: When making the cream sauce, it’s easier to buy a block of cream cheese and cut them into cubes so they can melt quicker. I also used freshly grated Parmesan cheese as opposed to the pre-shredded ones you can buy in grocery stores because the preservatives in them tend to make them harder to melt and usually results in a lumpier sauce. For this, any block of Parmesan will do and a microplane or box grater. The sauce is a very, thick cheese sauce. If you prefer it a little more saucy, reserve 1 cup of pasta sauce and add it in until it reaches your desired consistency.

Onions and garlic: For simplicity sake, I used onion and garlic powder but you can substitute it with minced fresh yellow onions and garlic. Just sauté them in the beginning before the sun-dried tomatoes.

Reheating leftovers: When reheating leftovers from the fridge, add some milk to the pasta before microwaving it to make it saucy again.

And that’s about it. If you’re a vegetarian or just don’t like chicken, I have a meatless and slightly lighter creamy sun-dried tomato and spinach pasta. For other pasta recipe ideas, there’s also spinach and three cheese manicotti, tortellini Alfredo spinach casserole, chicken Alfredo pasta bake and spinach and artichoke ravioli bake.

Happy eating and enjoy the comfort food!

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