Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta (+Video)
Are you ready for a new pasta dish? Try our Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta! It is a delicious dish made with a flavorful and light cream sauce loaded with strips of chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and farfalle pasta and it’s ready in 20 minutes! This recipe may sound and look fancy, but it is one of the easiest dishes one can make in a big skillet and serve.
An Easy Weeknight Meal!
- This is a simple, “one-skillet” meal to put together, not complicated.
- It’s ready in 20 minutes!
- The pasta along with pieces of chicken always turns tender and flavorful.
- You only need one package of chicken cutlets.
- This is an all-in-one-dish, containing carbs, protein, and veggies.
- The sauce is very light, loaded with flavor, and not weighed down with a lot of creams.
- Budget-friendly and totally satisfying for the whole family to enjoy.
- Plus, it feeds a family of 4 for under $20.00.
Best of all – each serving contains 32.5 grams of protein!
Making it a WIN-WIN!! 🙂
We LOVE quick meals like this one! It reminds us of how our mom always made pasta dishes loaded with veggies and protein.
It’s also similar to some of our favorite dishes like our pasta with chicken peas & mushrooms, and our easy skillet tortellini dinner and sauteed chicken cutlets with cherry tomatoes, olives and feta, just to name a few.
A restaurant-quality dinner your family and friends will LOVE!
For this Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe, there are 5 main ingredients: a package of chicken cutlets, a package of fresh baby spinach, sundried tomatoes, some light cream, and farfalle pasta.
So when my family requested a pasta dish, I thought of whipping up this one with additional ingredients like chicken cutlets and spinach for a substantial meal.
Much to my surprise, it turned out amazing!
Plus, it was so quick and ready in under 30 minutes!
It’s an ideal dish for busy people – like me! 😉
Ingredients needed for this Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta:
For this easy all-in-one skillet dinner, you will need:
How to Make Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta? (*full recipe card below!)
1. First, fill a large pot with water, add 1 heaping teaspoon of salt to the water and set it on high heat.
2. Next, rinse chicken cutlets and drain. Then cut each piece of chicken into 2-inch strips.
3. In a large, non-stick skillet, saute the chicken strips with a little olive oil. Season the chicken with some salt and black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Saute the chicken strips, stirring or turning them over, until they are fully cooked and in about 3 minutes.
4. Toss in the chopped ripe tomato, diced garlic cloves, and sundried tomatoes, and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.
5. Add a splash of white wine and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover again for 1 minute.
6. Uncover, and add in a few handfuls of baby spinach and cover. Simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts.
7. Then turn off the heat under the skillet.
8. Meanwhile, when the water boils, toss in the farfalle pasta. Cook the pasta until it is tender to the bite. When the pasta is ready, use a slotted spoon to spoon the pasta directly into the skillet. Continue until all the pasta has been transferred.
9. Pour in the half and half, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Turn the heat back on, and simmer until the cream thickens. Stir in some of the pasta water (about 1 ladle full) to the skillet to loosen the cream sauce and make it very light.
10. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasonings to your liking. as the sauce thickens and reduces, turn off the heat.
11. Serve immediately. Serve in pasta bowls, with additional grated parmesan cheese at the table.
Great Options for this Chicken Pasta Dinner…
- You can use 2 or more chicken cutlets, depending on how many servings you will need.
- Toss in as little or as much baby spinach as you prefer.
- Enjoy adding in other fresh greens like baby kale.
- Make it your own and toss in other vegetables like frozen peas, or mushrooms.
- After you have made this dish, you’ll want to make it again, even using your favorite pasta.
Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta is very hearty and so flavorful, your family will ask for seconds. Everyone will enjoy this dish including the kids.
And you will too! Because it is quick to cook in one skillet and takes about 8 minutes to prep.
It’s amazing!
Serve it with a healthy salad like our Healthy Apple Bok Choy Salad, or our Fennel and Apple Salad, or Beet and Mango Salad to complete the meal.
Notes and Tips for our Creamy Chicken Pasta…
- No fancy equipment is needed. But it’s best to use a large, deep skillet for this recipe and with a cover.
- I tossed in a few handfuls of baby spinach, but you can toss in as much as you like.
- For this recipe, it is best to undercook the pasta for 1 minute or so. It needs to have a nice bite to it because it will finish cooking with the cream sauce.
- It’s best to wait until the wine has been fully absorbed before pouring in the cream.
- As the creamy sauce thickens, you may add some pasta water to make it thinner and lighter in texture.
- Always taste the sauce before serving and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
- Keep in mind, that the longer the pasta sits in the skillet, the more it will absorb the cream sauce.
- Also, I used one large tomato, but you can use 2 or 3 small ripe tomatoes.
Storing and Reheating…
- TO STORE: it’s best to store any leftovers in a sealed container and refrigerate them. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
2. TO REHEAT: you can reheat in a small skillet on the stove with low heat. You can also reheat it in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes.
3. TO FREEZE: Always allow any food you prepare to cool down completely before storing it in a sealed container. Then pop it into your freezer. It will stay fresh and frozen for up to 4 weeks. Then allow it to thaw completely on your counter before reheating.
Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta will make a scrumptious dinner to serve family and friends.
Try this recipe, you’ll be happy you did!
ENJOY!!
WATCH: How to Make Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta? (1-Minute Video)
Finally, you might enjoy a few more one-dish recipes…
- Pasta with Veal in Lemon Sauce
- Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach
- Ravioli Bake Casserole
- Best Rice Ball Casserole Stuffed with Meat and Peas
- Rice and Chicken Casserole
- How to Make Lasagna with No-Boil Noodles
- Zucchini Rollatini with Spinach and Cheese
Additional One-Skillet Meals…
- Pasta with Smoked Salmon in Creamy Sauce
- Easy Shrimp Dinner
- Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
- One-Pot Pasta Recipe
- Penne with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
- Penne Tossed with Sauteed Chicken Kale and Cherry Tomatoes
- Easy Tortellini Skillet Dinner
Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta
Tuscan Creamy Chicken Pasta is a delicious dish made with a flavorful and light cream sauce loaded with strips of chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and farfalle pasta. Ready in 20 minutes, helps make dinner a snap!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound (16-ounces, about 4 pieces) skinless, chicken cutlets
- 1 large ripe tomato
- 2 garlic cloves - diced
- 5 Tbsp. sundried tomatoes in oil - chopped
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 handfuls of baby spinach
- 1/2 pound (8-ounces) farfalle pasta
- 1 cup half and half cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. First, fill a large pot with water, add 1 heaping teaspoon of salt to the water and set it on high heat.
2. Next, rinse chicken cutlets and drain. Then cut each piece of chicken into 2-inch strips.
3. In a large, deep non-stick skillet, saute the chicken strips with a little olive oil. Season the chicken with some salt and black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Saute the chicken strips, stirring or turning them over, until they are fully cooked about 3 minutes.
4. Toss in the chopped ripe tomato, diced garlic cloves, and sundried tomatoes, and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.
5. Add a splash of white wine and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover again for 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Uncover and add in a few handfuls of baby spinach and cover. Simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts.
7. Then turn off the heat under the skillet.
8. Meanwhile, when the water boils, toss in the farfalle pasta. Cook the pasta until it is tender to the bite. When the pasta is ready, use a slotted spoon to spoon the pasta directly into the skillet. Continue until all the pasta has been transferred.
9. Pour in the half and half, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Turn the heat back on, and simmer until the cream thickens. If you need to, you can stir in some of the pasta water (about 1/2 ladle full) to the skillet to loosen the cream sauce and make it very light.
10. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasonings to your liking. as the sauce thickens and reduces, turn off the heat. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
11. Serve immediately. Serve in pasta bowls, with additional grated parmesan cheese at the table.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6 servingsServing Size:
1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 449Total Fat: 19ggSaturated Fat: 8.6gCholesterol: 79mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2.8gSugar: 3.3gProtein: 32.5g
WOW. This pasta was fantastic. Thank you for sharing Anna!
Thank you so much Zoe! This recipe is a keeper! 🙂 Have a great weekend.
I’ve definitely been craving pasta with the cooler weather we’ve been having. This recipe looks so good!!
Thank you Susan! This recipe is a winner, and I bet your family will enjoy it as much as we do! Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by. 🙂
This looks so appetising! I love the bowtie pasta shape too! The spinach gives the perfect touch of colour!
Thank you so much, Sandra.