Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta (Printable)

Tender chicken and spinach combine with sun-dried tomatoes in a luscious garlic-Parmesan cream sauce.

# Ingredient List:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or fettuccine
02 - 1 tbsp salt (for pasta water)

→ Chicken

03 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
04 - 1/2 tsp salt
05 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
06 - 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
07 - 2 tbsp olive oil

→ Sauce

08 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
09 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
10 - 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
11 - 1/2 cup chicken broth
12 - 1 cup heavy cream
13 - 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
14 - 3 cups fresh baby spinach
15 - 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
16 - Salt and pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

17 - Chopped fresh basil or parsley
18 - Extra grated Parmesan cheese

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
02 - Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 5–6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and let rest 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
03 - Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and cook an additional minute.
04 - Pour in chicken broth, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. Simmer gently for 2–3 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
05 - Stir fresh baby spinach into the sauce until just wilted.
06 - Add cooked pasta and sliced chicken to the skillet. Toss to coat evenly, adding reserved pasta water gradually until desired sauce consistency is reached.
07 - Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil or parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It feels fancy enough to impress people, but it's genuinely just one pan and under 40 minutes start to finish.
  • The combination of tangy sun-dried tomatoes and silky cream sauce is addictive in a way that keeps you coming back for more.
  • Spinach hides in there so perfectly that even skeptics don't notice they're eating greens.
02 -
  • Don't wash the skillet after cooking the chicken—those golden bits are flavor you want to keep, and they'll deglaze beautifully with the broth.
  • Reserve that pasta water before you drain; it's starchy and works like glue to bind the sauce to the noodles.
  • Add the spinach last, just before the pasta, or it'll lose its bright color and turn muddy.
03 -
  • Taste your pasta water before you drain it—if it's not salty, your whole dish will taste flat because that's where the seasoning happens.
  • The difference between a good sauce and a great one is taking thirty seconds to stir in the Parmesan slowly instead of dumping it all in at once; it melts smoother that way.
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