This Creamy Chicken Pasta is the best kind of comfort food! A simple, flavoursome sauce of sun-dried tomatoes, cream, garlic and fresh basil is combined with grilled chicken and al dente pasta. Finished with Parmesan cheese, this dish is ideal for an easy dinner and perfect for entertaining.
I don’t normally leave comments on recipes but this was too delicious not to! The sun dried tomato sauce was fantastic and had the perfect balance of flavors. It was creamy and savory and you can really taste the tomatoes. I used bow tie pasta and garnished with some chopped parsley. Amazing!
- Jamie
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Simple, quality ingredients combine for a dish that is so comforting with the best flavours.
- This easy dinner is family-friendly and can be on the table in 30 minutes.
- It is simple, but ideal for entertaining, because it is fast, it’s easy and it tastes great.
- There is a perfect blend of flavours.
- It is a hearty dish.
- It is flexible – I cook chicken breast up for this recipe, but you could also use tenderloins or even shredded roast chicken.
Recipe Inspiration: after I left school, I spent seven fantastic years working at a pasta shop, and this recipe is inspired by one of the best sellers. It's been a family favourite for almost twenty years.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
- Fusilli pasta - we use dried spiral pasta for this dish, but any short pasta of your choice will work well. I like to choose a pasta shape that holds the sauce well. Be sure to reserve some of the pasta water before draining.
- Chicken breasts - I use chicken breasts that are sliced in half prior to cooking. You could also use chicken tenderloins.
- Extra virgin olive oil - for the best flavour. We use the oil for cooking the chicken and starting the sauce.
- Garlic - fresh garlic is best for this recipe.
- Spring onions - also known as green onions or scallions, add a delicious flavour base to the dish along with the garlic.
- Thickened cream - also known as heavy cream or whipping cream. It has a minimum milk fat content of 35%.
- Sun-dried tomatoes - I recommend using those that come in oil. We drain them prior to adding, but you can use the oil in the sauce if you prefer.
- Dried oregano, fresh basil and chilli flakes - the combination of the herbs with some red chilli flakes adds fantastic seasoning to the dish. Adjust the level of heat to your liking! The fresh basil also works well as a garnish when serving.
- Parmesan cheese - brings the creamy sauce together.
- Salt and pepper - we use sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Seasoning the dish to your taste will deliver the best result.
Variations:
Chicken – breast or tenderloin works well in this recipe. You could also use shredded rotisserie chicken.
Herbs – if you can’t find fresh basil, use a little dried basil and garnish with fresh parsley.
Pasta – any short pasta of your choice will work well. Choose a pasta shape that holds the sauce well.
Sun-dried tomatoes – if you are unable to source tomatoes in oil, you may find it necessary to rehydrate the dried tomatoes in some warm water prior to adding them to the sauce.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Pasta:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
1 – Boil the pasta and prepare and cook the chicken:
In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cook your pasta until just al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water prior to draining. Drain and set the pasta aside.
Slice each chicken breast in half so you have four even cutlets. Season with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, add a little olive oil. Heat the pan to medium-high and add your chicken. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. Set aside to rest.
2 – Prepare the sauce:
To the same frying pan that you cooked the chicken in, add the extra olive oil and the garlic and spring onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes, being careful to not burn the garlic. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, cream, dried oregano and red chilli pepper flakes. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
3 – Slice the cooked chicken:
When you are ready to add the chicken to the sauce, slice the chicken on an angle.
4 – Finish the sauce:
Add in the Parmesan cheese, and stir to allow it to melt into the sauce. Return the chicken, any of the chicken resting juices, and pasta to the pan. Add the fresh basil. Mix well, adding in the reserved pasta water if needed. Check that the seasoning is to your liking. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese and basil to garnish.
Hint: ensure the dish is seasoned to your liking. A little salt and pepper can be the difference between a good dish and a great one.
Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:
This dish works perfectly using gluten-free pasta. Like all pasta, be sure to only cook it until al dente for the best texture. Check the labels of the other ingredients to ensure they are gluten-free.
This is a pasta dish that is best served immediately. Further, this is not a great dish for reheating - the texture of the sauce will be different, and the chicken may dry out when reheated.
No, please don’t rinse the pasta. You will wash away all the starch and it’s the starch that helps the sauce adhere to the fusilli. You will also wash away the pasta flavour.
Top Tip:
My Creamy Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta is a very simple to prepare dish. For the best results, I recommend having all of the elements prepared before you start cooking.
Serving Suggestions:
This Chicken Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta is a complete meal on its own but works so well alongside a fresh salad, such as our:
Or serve with our Easy Spelt Focaccia.
This simple pasta recipe is so full of flavour and so simple to prepare. I hope you'll enjoy this delicious recipe, and that it will become a family favourite for you, as it is in our household.
Alex xx
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Creamy Chicken Pasta
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 280 g (9.8 oz) dried fusilli pasta See Note 1
Chicken:
- 400 g (14 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts - approximately 2 medium-sized breasts
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil See Note 2
- sea salt and black pepper
Sauce:
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 spring onions/scallions- finely chopped
- ¾ cup (115 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil - drained, finely sliced
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) thickened/heavy cream See Note 3
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli pepper flakes - or to taste
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves - roughly chopped
- ½ cup (45 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese See Note 4
- sea salt and black pepper - to taste See Note 5
- ½ cup pasta water – reserve before draining pasta – you may not need to use any/all See Note 6
Instructions
For the Pasta:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just al dente in salted boiling water.Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside.
For the Chicken:
- Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally so you have four even cutlets. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a large frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Heat the pan to medium-high and add your chicken.Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. Set aside to rest.
- When ready to add to the sauce, slice the chicken on an angle – about 1 cm (0.5 inch) pieces. Add any of the resting juices to the sauce.
For the Sauce:
- To the same frying pan that you cooked the chicken in, add the extra olive oil and the garlic and spring onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes, being careful to not burn the garlic.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, cream, dried oregano and red chilli pepper flakes. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the Parmesan cheese, and stir to allow it to melt into the sauce. Return the chicken, any of the chicken resting juices, and pasta to the pan. Add the fresh basil. Mix well, adding in the reserved pasta water if needed.
- Check that the seasoning is to your liking. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese and basil to garnish.
Notes
- Pasta: use a short pasta of your choice. A tubular pasta, such as rigatoni or penne is also a good choice as the sauce becomes trapped in the tubes.
- Tablespoon: we use a standard Australian tablespoon which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons). For readers located elsewhere in the world, please use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon for each tablespoon listed.
- Thickened cream: also known as heavy cream or whipping cream, it has a minimum milk fat content of 35%.
- Parmesan: use good quality, freshly grated Parmesan.
- Seasoning: adjust the seasoning to your liking – we recommend using freshly ground black pepper and sea salt flakes for the best flavour. Add additional red chilli flakes if you like the heat.
- Pasta water: before draining the pasta, reserve ½ cup of the cooking water in case you need to thin the sauce out.
- Gluten-free: this dish works perfectly using gluten-free pasta. Like all pasta, be sure to only cook it until al dente for the best texture. Check the labels of the other ingredients to ensure they are gluten-free.
- Storage: this is a pasta dish that is best served immediately. Further, this is not a great dish for reheating – the texture of the sauce will be different, and the chicken may dry out when reheated.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Jen says
This sounds amazing! I’d like to try and do a slightly lower calorie version - could I substitute the cream for anything? Maybe Greek yogurt?
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Jen,
I haven't tried a substitute for the cream, so I couldn't say for sure.
I've never used Greek yoghurt in a pasta sauce before, but I did a quick search and it seems to be recommended that full fat is used so the sauce doesn't split. (This is similar to the cream in that respect.)
If you give it a try, I'd be curious to know how you get on!
Thanks! Alex 🙂
Jamie says
I don't normally leave comments on recipes but this was too delicious not to! The sun dried tomato sauce was fantastic and had the perfect balance of flavors. It was creamy and savory and you can really taste the tomatoes. I used bow tie pasta and garnished with some chopped parsley. Amazing!
Alexandra says
Hi Jamie, thank you so much for your fantastic comments on our Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta. I am so happy that you enjoyed it. 🙂