Creamy tomato chicken pasta in creamy tomato sauce is the ultimate comfort food. This tomato pasta comes together pretty quickly using simple pantry ingredients. It’s a quick and easy weekday meal that is bursting with flavors and ready in 30 minutes.
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Why I love creamy tomato chicken pasta recipe
Making delicious creamy tomato sauce from canned tomatoes is easy. With canned tomato and tomato paste (I used ketchup as I ran out of tomato paste the last minute), the sauce has a bright pop of tomato flavor. Hot sauce gives it a little heat that helps balance the rich creaminess from heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and Mozzarella cheese.
It’s comfort food that is ready in 30 minutes. Bite-sized chicken pieces are sautéed with onion, garlic, and seasoning until tender. Canned tomatoes (chopped) along with tomato paste (I ran out of paste so used ketchup) are stirred for a rich, tang, tomato-y flavor. Heavy cream and stock give the sauce rich, creaminess. Dunk the pasta in rich creamy tomato sauce, and you have the ultimate comfort food in a bowl. Because one cheese isn’t enough, I decided to add two cheeses parmesan and mozzarella cheese to give the dish a richer taste.
This chicken pasta dish is great when you want to cook something quick and delicious with less effort. Trust me, everyone will be raving about this delicious tomato pasta dish.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need-
- ½ pound pasta (rotini, penne or spaghetti)
- 2 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup white onion (I used from green onion), can also use yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 can (14 ounce) tomato (chopped tomato)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste (I ran out of paste, used tomato ketchup)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup heavy cream (or half and half)
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
- Parsley or fresh basil for garnish
Pasta – any pasta will work here, I recommend rotini, penne, or even spaghetti.
Tomato – I used canned chopped tomatoes. You can use any type of canned tomatoes – fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes. Fresh chopped Roma or cherry tomatoes are perfectly fine too.
Chicken – boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best. You can use pre-cooked chicken breasts or leftover cooked boneless chicken. Chicken thighs can be used too, you will need to adjust the cooking time.
Onion & garlic – builds flavor in the sauce. Gives it savory flavors. You can use yellow onion or shallots. I used the white part of the green onion as I like its flavor of it.
Garlic is a must if you ask me. Use more if you like garlic flavor.
Cream – use any cream like heavy whipping cream, heavy cream, half and half.
Stock – you can use chicken stock or vegetable stock. I used chicken stock made with a cube.
Cheese – since one cheese isn’t enough, I decided to add two cheese parmesan and mozzarella cheese to give the dish a richer taste. Feel free to add Parmesan cheese only.
How to make it
Start by boiling water in a large pot. Salt boiling water generously. Cook pasta al-dente in boiling water as per packet instructions. Drain pasta immediately and set aside.
Add butter and olive oil to a pan. Saute finely diced onion and minced garlic for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add chicken cut into small pieces to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Saute and cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink and cooked through.
Once the chicken breast is cooked, add canned tomato, tomato paste, hot sauce, and Italian seasoning.
Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
Add cream and stock to the mixture and cook until the sauce just begins to boil.
Add cooked pasta, and stir until well combined.
Turn off the heat. Finish off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly grated Mozzarella cheese. Stir until the cheese melts and incorporates the sauce.
Serve hot with fresh parsley or fresh basil leaves.
Note: you can sprinkle little red chili flakes for added heat to help balance the richness of the creamy sauce.
Expert tips
- I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Make sure to chop the chicken into small even bite-size pieces so it cooks evenly and faster.
- Grate cheese from the block. It melts better and makes a smooth sauce. DO NOT BUY pre-grated cheese. They have additives added to them like corn starch to keep them from sticking. Always buy real cheese blocks.
- Turn off the heat before adding grated cheese. If the pot is too hot, the dairy in the cheese will separate and create a grainy consistency.
- Hot sauce is great. Though optional I highly recommend it. It doesn’t make the dish spicy but adds flavors and a savory notes to the dish which helps balance the rich creaminess.
- Add vegetables. Spinach, asparagus, and mushrooms would be perfect for this dish.
Make ahead instructions
While you can make this tomato chicken pasta ahead, pasta may not be creamy and silky soon as your serve it fresh. The longer pasta sits, it will absorb all the sauce as well as flavor. The flavor of the dish is enhanced after resting, but the dish will be creamy anymore.
If you do plan to make it ahead and store it, I’d suggest you make the sauce and store it separately. When you want to serve, heat the sauce add cooked pasta, and serve.
Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an air-tight container and refrigerate them for up to 3 days.
To reheat, add a splash or milk or pasta-cooked water while reheating.
FAQS
Any type of pasta will do like rotini, penne, fusilli, farfalle are great as the shape of pasta helps the sauce to cling to it.
I won’t recommend using milk unless you prefer the sauce to be thin and runny. Heavy cream is best, and if you want a lighter version use half and half.
Always cook pasta for 2-3 minutes less than indicated in packet instructions.
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📋Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound pasta rotini, penne or spaghetti
- 2 small chicken breasts cut into bite sized cubes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup white onion I used green onion, can also use yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper adjust to taste
- 1 can 14 ounces tomato (chopped tomato)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste I ran out of paste, used tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- Parsley or fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Start by boiling water in a large pot. Salt boiling water generously. Cook pasta al-dente in boiling water as per packet instructions. Drain pasta immediately and set aside.
- Add butter and olive oil to a pan. Saute finely diced onion and minced garlic for about a minute stirring constantly.
- Add chicken cut into small pieces to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Saute and cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink and cooked through.
- Once the chicken breast is cooked, add canned tomato, tomato paste, hot sauce, and Italian seasoning.
- Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add cream and stock to the mixture and cook until the sauce just begins to boil.
- Add cooked pasta, stir until well combined.
- Turn off the heat. Finish off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly grated Mozzarella cheese. Stir until the cheese melts and incorporates the sauce.
- Serve hot with fresh parsley or fresh basil leaves.
- Note: you can sprinkle little red chili flakes for added heat to help balance the richness of the creamy sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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