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This simple one pot Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta is the perfect winter dinner. Quick, easy, hearty, and so delicious! Pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken in a creamy Italian chili sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. 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. Elegant enough for a special holiday dinner yet equally great to make at the end of a busy day. You can’t go wrong with this chicken pasta recipe.
Growing up, Valentine’s Day was definitely more of a holiday celebrated at school than at home. In our house, a house full of boys, no one cared much for Valentine’s Day. Even my mom, who you’d think might have some interest, does not care for the holiday. My dad refers to it as a “Hallmark Holiday“.
But there was one person in my life who always made Valentine’s Day special, my Nonnie. No matter where she was, Florida or Cleveland, she’d send us a small gift for V-Day every year. She always made it special and fun.
I can’t say that Valentine’s Day is my favorite day of the year, but I honestly find the holiday of love to be very sweet. I love any excuse to bake chocolate and make a yummy dinner that feels super special.
On Friday, I shared what I’ll be making for my Valentine’s Day dessert. With today’s pasta dish we now have a full Valentine’s Day meal (I do have another fun dessert coming tomorrow too!)
And if where you live is as booked up for dinner reservations as it is here in New York, you’re going to want to stay in and cook!! And this creamy chicken pasta, which also happens to be super easy, is just perfect.
Here are details
I mentioned last week sometime that I’ve really been enjoying cooking with Italian jarred Calabrian chili paste. I’m finding it so delicious and a great way to add a small amount of spice and flavor to my Italian-inspired dishes.
I wanted to make a red pasta for Valentine’s Day that was not tomato based. It’s funny, this is actually a request I get often. Apparently, not everyone enjoys a tomato heavy pasta.
You’ll want to start with sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. Yes, these are tomatoes, but they’re stirred, and so different than fresh or canned. I love them so much. Drain the oil and save that for cooking. Then chop the tomatoes.
Now add the chicken, I used breasts but you could also use chicken thighs and Italian seasoning to a big pot that will also fit your pasta. Cook the chicken until browned, then add a bit of parmesan cheese. The cheese melts on the chicken, then turns crispy.
Once you’ve cooked the chicken, add the chilies and other spices/seasonings into the pot with some oil. Let that cook for a minute, then add water or chicken broth to the pot and bring it to a boil. Now add the pasta and let the pasta cook until it’s al dente. I like to use rigatoni, but penne pasta is also great.
At this point, all you need to do is add some milk or cream and a handful of spinach. Then more parmesan and mix, mix, mix.
As soon as the cheese melts. Serve the pasta directly from the pot with fresh basil on top. It’s going to smell and look incredible, so you’ll want to eat it all up right away!
I recommend some soft bread on the side like a garlic roll or maybe beer bread. A crusty no-knead bread could also be delicious.
Then a big Caesar-style salad would be great as well! Super elegant, even romantic meal, right? It could be wonderful for tomorrow night! Hope you all enjoy this as much as I do! Leftovers are great stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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
southerSouthern Style Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Tuscan 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!
Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 622 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 jar (8 ounce) 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
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons crushed Calabrian chili paste
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
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 a drizzle of oil and the butter. Add the shallot, garlic, Calabrian chili paste, and 1 teaspoon of 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, spinach, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and remaining 3/4 cup parmesan. Slide the chicken in, and any juices left on the plate.4. Serve the pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.
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 February 13, 2023
Where is the butter used?
Hey Andrea,
So sorry for any confusion, you are going to add the butter in step 3. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Can’t wait to try this! I see butter in the ingredients but don’t see where it’s used in the recipe. Can you please clarify?
I couldn’t find it either and did a word finder to look at each butter mention. Still couldn’t find out when to add it unless cream is butter and the heavy cream? I was in a rush and I’m sure I’ll have a where’s waldo moment later. I put it with the shallots although I’m sure it’s the wrong time for it. It still turned out perfectly though so woohoo!
Hey Tracy,
Sorry for any confusion, I fixed the recipe, you are going to add the butter in step 3. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Following up – we made this for Valentine’s dinner and it was SO good! We had enough oil from the sundried tomatoes that we just skipped butter altogether (guessing it was meant to be added if there wasn’t enough fat left after removing the chicken?). Another delicious recipe – thanks, Tieghan 🙂
Hey Stephanie,
Wonderful!!😊 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was delish! xT
Hey Stephanie,
You are going to add the butter in step 3. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
So making this tonight after a quick trip to the grocery! I have loved EVERY other recipe of yours that I have tried! Agree with Sophie’s comments, most bloggers I know of create content in advance so while on trips, say to NYC, they don’t disappoint all those that look forward to their posts…don’t doubt for a second that all content is created and executed by Tieghan. May Youss someday learn to organize a blog and become so successful that he or she needs an occasional helping hand, be it family or otherwise! (And perhaps think twice before hitting send) Sending love and good energy your way!
Hey Susan,
Thanks so much!! ❤️ Let me know how this dish turns out, I hope you love it:) Have a great week! xT
Very easy to make, and delicious! I did not drain water, not much remaining in pot. Also, I used half and half, and no butter. I also used Thai chili sauce.
Thanks for the wonderful ideas. Happy Valentines Day.
Hey Mary,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a hit! xT
This might be a silly question…do you drain the water after cooking the pasta? I am making this tonight for Valentines Day and want to make sure 🙂 Thanks!
Hey Amber,
No need to drain the water:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Omg. Making this tonight!!! Would shrimp instead of chicken work?
Hey Michelle,
Sure, shrimp would be delicious! Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xx
So you don’t need to drain the pasta?
Hi there,
Correct, you can follow the recipe as written:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
When do you add the butter? Don’t see that listed in the instructions.
Hey Haley,
So sorry for any confusion, you are going to add the butter in step 3. I hope you love this recipe! xT
With all due respect, I wish you would be honest about the behind the scenes help you get. It’s very disappointing and discouraging to food bloggers who truly do it all to see you create the false image that you do everything by yourself or with just a little help from your mom and dad. Your Instagram stories show you’re in New York City, but yet you’re able to post brand new recipes to your site and stories every day (and write cookbooks while simultaneously add new recipes to your website and socials. Meanwhile those of us who are truly small businesses work hard to produce at best 2-3 new recipes a week.
You’re awful- why does it matter who is helping her? The recipes are amazing and easy to make normally. I’ve never made anything bad from her website. I hope I never use your recipes – you should learn from her instead of hate. I’m sure she started small
Perhaps you should put your efforts into improving your time management and workflow, rather than putting someone else down? Focus on becoming a better you, and building a better business model, so you can accomplish more, and be happy with yourself and your progress. You say you are a small business struggling to create 2-3 recipes a week? Can you link to your blog?
I’ve been a long time supporter of HBH, and Tieghan DOES do all the cooking/recipes herself. You can tell because it’s always her hands in the videos. She has mentioned many times, if she is going out of town, she will batch content/recipes, so that she has something to post everyday. I actually find this extremely admirable. She never wants us to be a day without an incredible HBH recipe ! I feel as though Tieghan is one of the most honest people in general, and i think her passion and dedication should be celebrated, not frowned upon. Plus, everyone has to travel once in a while, for business, or, simply for pleasure ! Try not to be so spiteful concerning how others run their businesses, especially this woman, who works so hard to cater to us and creates FREE recipes and content, when she doesn’t have to ! Enjoy xx
And she already addressed how hard she worked prior to travel to keep things going,,with all due respect ,this is unnecessary
Not sure why you feel it’s necessary to post this here. It reeks of jealousy and that doesn’t look good on you.
Your inability to do what Tieghan does doesn’t mean you’re allowed to accuse her of lying or belittle her hard work and accomplishments. She’s capable of pre-filming recipes and saving them to her phone. This was incredibly rude of you.
The wild thing about the World Wide Web is you can carry it in your pocket…and post from anywhere. One could even plan ahead and record something in one place, put the WWW in their pocket for a while and post that content from an entirely different time zone. It’s so neat.
Go away, YOUSS.
In addition to what everyone else mentioned, your comment is factually incorrect. She mentions her team all the time. It’s probably the second most answered question after “are those your kids”.
She’s been doing this for over 10 years. Maybe you just aren’t good at being a food blogger. Or you don’t have the same grind and work ethic that Tiegan does. Maybe it’s both. Instead of having this victim mentality while also putting a fellow content creator down, stop whining and learn from her.
“with all due respect”… and then proceeds to say something completely disrespectful and accusatory. anyone who has followed Tieghan’s career or even tuned into her instagram for a week or two can see that she is an extremely hard worker and perfectionist, all to deliver us amazing recipes. the girl barely even takes enough vacation time! I don’t even understand the point of this comment besides your unrestrained jealousy. she has never once hidden the fact she has help behind the scenes, and it’s obvious that she herself is always cooking and testing these recipes! so she posted previously recorded videos from NYC, how is that confusing to you? and don’t be shy… link your blog and drop your @. I’d love to take a look at your “truly small business” and see if it’s as unappealing as your comment.
This “Youss” poster has no blog and is not at all posting from a place of sincerity or truth. It’s just another made-up user name by another t.r.o.l.l. hell-bent on targeting HBH. You are right about the disrespect and the lack of appeal though, these individuals are…incorrigible.
If you are “so hard at working” why are you bashing another hard worker. She’s very transparent. I’m sorry if you can’t work that hard but please don’t put someone else down!
So instead of focusing on you and your “small business” you decide to waste time hopping onto one of her recipes and hiding in reviews of one of the most successful, kindest, and honest food bloggers out there? This just screams insecurity and victim mentality. I’m sorry your food blog and recipes probably suck and you’re just salty that you haven’t had the success that Teighan has had. She’s always been honest about the very little help she has for the grand scale of FREE recipes, content, cookbooks, and partnerships she has and yet is still so personable and kind to all those who follow her. It’s evident that she does most of HBH’s work just from looking at her Instagram and website. I’m not sure what your end goal was with posting this – did you actually think people would agree with you? Get out of the comments, Youss, and try working hard for once.
Teighan – you are incredible.
What a bad take – you’ve made so many unfounded assumptions. I’m not even a blogger and I know posts can be scheduled in advance. I’ve only been following her on social media for a year and I know that she makes all the recipes before she goes on a trip. This post says far more about you than it does her.
Actually….I think she’s quite SMART and WISE because she can MANAGE a business and do other things. I’m pretty sure that’s the point of planning and organizing? You do know that you can pre-record videos?
Also…of all the horrible and negative things happening in the world (even just this week) and you decide to add more negativity to the world with your demeaning comment? I don’t understand the audacity and ruthlessness of that. Do better.
Hey Youss. This screams jealousy and it’s so gross. If you’ve been a follower for any period of time, you know she talks about her team all the time. She talks about how many videos she’s doing because she’s traveling and needs to post while she’s gone. She talks about the long hours and how much work it takes. Instead of worrying about the success she’s having, why not focus on YOUR following and what YOU need to do to be successful. Winners aren’t looking at the lane next to them, they’re eyes ahead worrying about their own gig. If you’re only getting 2-3 recipes out a week, why not worry about why you’re only able to do that many instead of why other bloggers and influencers are able to do more. This comment is just pathetic.
I have a question? In reference to the Calabrian Chili paste – one of the clicks at the beginning of the description show the Calabrian Chili paste and down below in the actual recipe it shows another click which shows a link to Target – but it looks like a tomato based Calabrian Chili paste with garlic. Which one do you use? Thanks!
I had to add more water for the pasta ! Otherwise, it was delicious!
Thanks so much Karyn!! So glad this dish turned out well for you:) Have a great Tuesday! xx
Hey Vicki,
I used this one:
https://shopstyle.it/l/bSB6x
But depending on what you have access to, the one from Target is great! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
What if we don’t have the chili paste?
Hi Sarah,
If you have access to the chili paste I would recommend purchasing that for this recipe:) If not, you can use tomato paste, it’s just going to give a different flavor to this dish. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Wondering about how to make a low-spice version of this recipe. Just leave out or sharply reduce the chili paste? (I assume that’s where the real heat comes from.) So many recipes have the word “spicy” in their title, and they sound wonderful, so I want to make them, but need to keep the heat level to ‘mild’.
Suggested approach for this and similar “spicy” recipes?
Thanks for the continually-interesting recipe feed. I’ve got the books!
Hey John,
I would just reduce the Calabrian chili paste to 1 tablespoon, that should help! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it turns out well for you! xT
what can I use instead of heavy cream
Is there a sub for the calabrian chilli paste. I haven’t seen it over here in England and it is unavailable on Amazon. Can i just use tomato puree?
Hey Gill,
Sure, that will work well for you! Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xx
I am trying chili garlic sauce (Vietnamese) as it’s in my fridge.
Hi there,
You could use whole milk in place of the heavy cream. Please let me know if I can help in any other way, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Think coconut milk would be ok to use instead of a milk-based product?
Hey Marisa,
Yes, that would definitely work well for you! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this is delish! xx
I am substituting half and half.
Could I substitute the heavy cream with anything non dairy?
Oatly do a non-dairy creme fraiche if you can get it. Otherwise she said cream or milk so any non dairy milk should be okay.
Hey Rosanne,
Sure, any other non-dairy milk that you enjoy will work well for you, coconut cream would be great! Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope it’s delish! xx
I made this recipe with coconut milk instead of cream and it was delicious! Thank you!
Hey Rosanne,
Happy Monday!!💐 Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
i. am. DROOLING. a better-than-vodka if i dare say <3
Lol thanks so much Natala! Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx