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This simple one pot Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta is the perfect winter dinner. Quick, easy, hearty, and so delicious! Pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken in a creamy sun-dried tomato spinach sauce. Cooked together with rigatoni pasta for a quick dinner made in one pot. Truly one of those all-in-one dinners that everyone at the table will love. Great for a weeknight, but equally fancy enough to serve up at your next holiday dinner. You can’t go wrong with this Tuscan style pasta.
This December has been a special one in that four out of six of my brothers are here in Colorado all month. Normally, they’ll all come in the days leading up to Christmas, but with some snowboard events happening here all month long, the boys have been at home.
And when I say the boys, I mean Kai and Red. Well, Creighton is here too. I’m not exactly sure of his reasoning for being here all month. But I truly believe it’s because he misses Oslo when he leaves. And Trevor has been back and forth. I love having them home. Each one provides a little inspiration on any given day.
Lately, the boys have been requesting a lot of pasta and chicken. I’ve been making random dishes every night. But this one turned out so good that I wanted to recreate the dish and share it.
Everyone at the table loved this pasta. Even my dad, who’s not that into chicken and pasta, said the flavor was delicious.
And what do I love about this dish? Just how quick and easy it is to prepare!
The details
Seeing as this is a one pot recipe, it’s pretty straight forward. I start with the sun-dried tomatoes. I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
While I’m cooking the chicken, I season it with a homemade Italian seasoning blend…dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage. Then I add smoked paprika and chili flakes. It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Oh, and I add some parmesan too!
Once the chicken has cooked, add some water to make a paste. Then add the pasta and cook until the pasta is just al dente. Stir in a bit if cream, lots of spinach, the sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan.
Add the chicken back to the pasta and toss everything until it is creamy.
I serve each bowl with extra parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. DELICIOUS!
It’s everything you’d expect out of a multi-step recipe, but all made in way less than an hour – and in one pot too. Simple, simple – and we love that.
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for holiday dinners with friends and family. I’m sure I’ll be remaking this over the holidays. My family members are slowly starting to make their way back to Colorado for Christmas (my remaining brothers and cousins), so this will be on repeat.
Looking for winter pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Basil Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Chicken, Prosciutto, and Arugula
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 519 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning (see note)
- 1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- 1. Drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a large pot or skillet with sides. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.2. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, the paprika, and a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup parmesan, cook another minute, then remove the chicken from the pot. 3. To the same pot, add the butter, shallot, garlic, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes. Stir in the cream, mustard, parmesan, spinach, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Slide the chicken and any juices left on the plate.4. Serve the pasta topped with lemon juice and fresh parmesan.
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Store in a sealed container.
This post was originally published on December 16, 2021
What type of pot should you use? So excited to try this recipe!
Hi Alana,
I used a large dutch oven:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This dish is wonderful! So much flavor – both my husband and I loved it. And I think it gets better when you reheat it. Huge portion so we had a lot of leftovers with just 2 of us, but I was glad to have them. I even put a couple of portions in the freezer that I hope will heat up fine. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Hi Lisa,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
Stop reading this review and GO make this! 100/10 stars.
Hi Valerie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
Wonderful recipe! In your Penne Ala Vodka recipe, you mentioned coconut milk could be substituted for heavy cream and we actually prefer that once we tried it. What do you think about substituting in this one? I know I could try, but just wanted your thoughts!
Hi Kriss,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Coconut milk would work well here.?? xTieghan
We just made this tonight and everyone loved it! My daughter snuck over and wrote six hearts on it (we use a three heart rating system to decide what we want to make again so this made me laugh) apparently she wants it again. We have a bigger family so I doubled the recipe and the pasta did take a bit longer to cook because of that but I just kept adding water and stirring it until it was done and it turned out perfectly. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Hi Marianne,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!?? xTieghan
I made a big pot of this for Christmas day brunch. It was wonderfully seasoned, creamy and a bit kicked u with the added cayenne. This was a definite crowd pleaser. I cooked the chicken separate for our vegetarian guests and both dishes turned out perfect. I served it with garlic bread and a shaved brussel sprout salad.
Note: This dish gets better the next day! The sauce was still plentiful and the pasta soaked up all the yummy flavors.
Hi Sara,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
Everyone loved it, including a finicky 9-year old. Great recipe!
Hey Cheryl,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy New Year!? xxT
Absolutely delicious! I did add an extra 1/2 cup of water while cooking the rigatoni to make it an even 4 cups. I also added a few tablespoons of water at the end as my sauce was super thick. This was a total hit in my house and I will definitely be making again.
Hi Danielle,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!?? xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!
I made this recipe twice this week, family of 6 and everyone loves it! It’s definitely a keeper! Merry Christmas!
Hi Sharon,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
Yet another amazing recipe, thank you!!
I did have to add 2C water to the past as we like it softer than al dente but it was still an easy recipe and very flavorful!
My husband LOVES pasta/Italian and to him this was as good as going out for Italian. It’s also very affordable since it makes such an enormous portion and keeps well in the fridge. It’s just us 3 and we ate it for lunch all week!!
Hey Nadia,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
Can you use fresh pasta in this recipe?
Hi Lo,
You could, but you will need to adjust your liquid since you won’t be cooking boxed pasta in the pot. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi!
Do you have an opinion on using chicken thighs instead of breasts?
At home and even at restaurants I often feel like chicken breasts in pasta recipes come out dry. I like the idea of using breasts because they are healthy, but hate dried chicken!
I used breasts and my husband was surprised how the chicken was moist and seemed as if I used dark meat.
Hey Nadia,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
Hey Claudia,
Chicken thighs will also work well for you here! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
While I still thought this was delicious, I found that boiling the water over the cooked garlic/shallot really seemed to deplete those flavors in the dish. Was that correct or was I supposed to remove those from the pan?! Regardless, thank you for another tasty dinner!
Hey Melinda,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Nope, that was correct to leave them in the pot. Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
This was so delicious and easy! Great weeknight meal!
Hi Katie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
This was SO good!! I had no trouble cooking the pasta (I used rigatoni) with 3.5 cups of water but did have to cook it a few extra minutes. It was incredible and super easy to make!
Hi Nicole,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
Delicious! A little on the rich side but very tasty!
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
So good and will definitely make again! I added fresh dill at the end and loved it (I think it needs some kind of fresh herb to help cut through some of the richness). Also, I used half and half instead of heavy cream and it worked fine… I might try whole milk next time since I rarely have half and half or heavy cream on hand.
Hey there,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??