Sun-dried tomato pasta is hearty, rich, flavorful chicken pasta recipe that can be made in under 30 minutes. It has a chewy, sweet intense tomato flavor sun-dried tomato with creamy chicken, and loads of baby spinach. This family favorite dish is perfect for a weeknight dinner.
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Chicken pasta with sun-dried tomatoes
Everybody loves an easy pasta dish. Here’s why we love our sun-dried tomato chicken pasta recipe –
- Intensely flavored pasta. Tangy sun-dried tomatoes have an intense tomato flavor with a hint of sweetness. It packs a punch of flavor to this pasta dish.
- Easy to make. Bring dinner to the table in under 30 minutes. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner for the whole family.
- Packed with nutrients. This creamy pasta is packed protein rich and packed with nutrients. It’s loaded with cooked chicken and baby spinach.
- Luxurious in taste. A splash of dry white wine makes the sauce rich, luxurious, and extra delicious.
- Creamy & cheesy. Half and half to make the sauce creamy. Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for extra deliciousness. Give me all the cheese!
Ingredients needed
Here’s what you’ll need-
- Sun dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil
- Chicken
- Pasta
- Baby spinach
- Butter
- Garlic
- Smoked paprika
- Salt & pepper
- Flour
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh basil leaves
- Red chili flakes
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
All ingredients exact measurements are mentioned in recipe card below.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – use best quality sun dried tomatoes. I highly recommend sun dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil. If you can’t get it, use sun dried tomatoes that are not soaked in oil. You need to drain sun dried tomatoes from olive oil before use. To utilize all the wonderful flavors of tomatoes soaking in oil, I drain most oil but leave about a tablespoon which I use in the recipe to sauté chicken, thus chicken gets flavored from the oil.
- NOTE– do not waste the olive oil in which dried tomatoes were soaked. You can use it to make other pasta dishes or in other recipes like grilled fish, chicken, or beef.
- Pasta – any pasta shape will work. Short pasta works best as it’s easy to toss it in a creamy sauce. I used penne. Fusilli, farfalle, rotini all works great.
- Chicken – use boneless chicken breast cut into small pieces. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts in the recipe.
- Garlic – if you love garlic flavor feel free to increase the amount of garlic in the dish. I used about 3 cloves of garlic minced fine.
- Spices & seasoning – smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning add wonderful spice and flavor to the pasta. Smoked paprika can be substituted with cayenne pepper or red Cajun seasoning for extra punch.
- Baby spinach – the recipe calls for 6 oz baby spinach, you can use 1 to 2 cups of baby spinach. Baby spinach can be substituted with chopped regular spinach or chopped kale.
- Basil leaves – I like to add a tablespoon of fresh basil leaves for extra freshness and flavor.
- Cheese – a mix of freshly grated mozzarella cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese makes this pasta dish rich, creamy, and hearty.
How to make it
Cook pasta according to packet instructions, until al-dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooked water. Drain pasta and set aside.
In a large skillet or pot drain out olive oil in which sun dried tomatoes are soaking. Heat the oil, add chicken breasts, and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon of salt over the chicken.
Constantly stir and cook chicken for 2 to 3 minutes until chicken turns white.
Add butter to the pan along with minced garlic.
Sauté and cook for 30 seconds.
Add drained sun dried tomatoes and cook for a minute until fragrant.
Sprinkle flour, stirring constantly, and cook for 2 minutes until flour is cooked through. Remember to keep stirring to prevent flour from burning at the bottom of the pan.
Pour white wine, stir, and allow it to simmer down for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.
Reduce heat to medium, pour half and half, and stir well.
Season sauce with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
If the sauce begins to thicken a lot, adjust by pouring little pasta water.
Add cooked pasta, baby spinach and stir until combined.
Cook for a minute, then add fresh basil leaves, red chili flakes. Stir well to combine.
Turn off the heat, add freshly grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Fold pasta until cheese melts.
Adjust seasoning if required.
Finally serve immediately hot sprinkle with fresh basil, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes if desired.
Tips for creamy sun dried tomato pasta recipe
- I always cook pasta a few minutes (2-3 minutes) less than mentioned on the packet. As pasta continues to cook even after draining it, it’s best to cook less. Remember cooked pasta is again added to the sauce which continues to briefly cook pasta further.
- To prevent pasta from sticking together, wait until the water comes to rapid boiling before you add pasta to cook in it. Also, stir once or twice as it cooks.
- Salt water well. Always cook pasta in salted water. Pasta will infuse the flavors will cooking, else pasta will taste under-seasoned.
- Save pasta water. You’ll need it to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
- Season to taste. There’s nothing worse than under-seasoned pasta, always add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
- To make a lighter version, half and half can be substituted with whole milk. With milk, the sauce will be lighter and lesser creamier.
- For more concentrated tomato flavor stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste in the sauce while cooking.
- Always reduce heat to medium-low before pouring half and half (or cream).
- Use good quality Parmesan and mozzarella cheese block and grate yourself.
Serving
Creamy sun dried tomato pasta is hearty enough to be enjoyed as a stand-alone meal. Or you can serve it with a simple chopped salad on the side. It also pairs well with beet salad, broccoli cheddar salad, or other simple salads. Enjoy this pasta with a glass of sauvignon blanc or pinot gris.
Leftovers
Any leftover pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. While reheating, add a splash of water or milk, reheat on the stovetop in a pan until warm, and serve.
I don’t recommend freezing it, diary-based creamy sauce loses its texture and doesn’t reheat well.
Variations
Make it the way you like depending on what’s available to you. Switch protein, instead of chicken shrimp or sausage can be used.
Add vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli or yellow squash. Substitute baby spinach with chopped regular spinach or use kale.
Common questions
Ripe red tomatoes are dehydrated either in the sun or in the oven until it loses all their moisture. It’s then preserved in olive oil. The flavors get concentrated. These tomatoes are chewy, tart, slightly sweet, and packed with strong flavors.
Although sun dried tomatoes packed in oil are best you can use dry-packed sun dried tomatoes as well. They are very chewy. They are usually rehydrated by soaking them in oil or water before use.
Any pasta shape will work. Short pasta works best as it’s easy to toss it in a creamy sauce. I used penne. Fusilli, farfalle, rotini all works great.
Sun dried tomatoes are the hero ingredients of creamy sun dried tomato pasta. You can use fresh tomatoes like cherry tomatoes cut into half as an additional ingredient but not as a substitute for sun dried tomatoes, as fresh tomatoes don’t have the same flavors.
My recipe includes smoked paprika and red pepper flakes in it, these two ingredients add flavor and slight heat to the dish without making it too spicy. If you want to make it spicy, feel free to increase either of them or both.
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📋30 Minutes Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta any shape you like
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 4 oz sun dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoon flour
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup half and half
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon smoked paprika divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup Mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to packet instructions, until al-dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooked water. Drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large skillet or pot drain out olive oil in which sun dried tomatoes are soaking. Heat the oil, add chicken breasts, and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon of salt over the chicken.
- Constantly stir and cook chicken for 2 to 3 minutes until chicken turns white.
- Add butter to the pan along with minced garlic.
- Sauté and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add drained sun dried tomatoes and cook for a minute until fragrant.
- Sprinkle flour, stirring constantly, and cook for 2 minutes until flour is cooked through. Remember to keep stirring to prevent flour from burning at the bottom of the pan.
- Pour white wine, stir, and allow it to simmer down for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce in the pan begins to thicken.
- Reduce heat to medium, pour half and half, and stir well.
- Season sauce with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- If the sauce begins to thicken a lot, adjust by pouring little pasta water.
- Add cooked pasta, baby spinach and stir until combined.
- Cook for a minute, then add fresh basil leaves, red chili flakes. Stir well to combine.
- Turn off the heat, add freshly grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Fold pasta until cheese melts.
- Adjust seasoning if required.
- Finally serve immediately hot sprinkle with fresh basil, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- I always cook pasta a few minutes (2-3 minutes) less than mentioned on the packet. As pasta continues to cook even after draining it, it’s best to cook less. Remember cooked pasta is again added to the sauce which continues to briefly cook pasta further.
- To prevent pasta from sticking together, wait until the water comes to rapid boiling before you add pasta to cook in it. Also, stir once or twice as it cooks.
- Salt water well. Always cook pasta in salted water. Pasta will infuse the flavors will cooking, else pasta will taste under-seasoned.
- Save pasta water. You’ll need it to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
- Season to taste. There’s nothing worse than under-seasoned pasta, always add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
- To make a lighter version, half and half can be substituted with whole milk. With milk, the sauce will be lighter and lesser creamier.
- For more concentrated tomato flavor stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste in the sauce while cooking.
- Always reduce heat to medium-low before pouring half and half (or cream).
- Use good quality Parmesan and mozzarella cheese block and grate yourself.
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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