The Cozy Cookbook is here! This Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe is an easy ONE POT recipe that you can make using any kind of pasta, from pappardelle to penne! You’ll love the creamy sauce, seasoned chicken, sundried tomatoes, and spinach.
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
If you are looking for a creamy one pot pasta recipe that’s easy to make and full of flavor, you’ve come to the right place. I have been making this recipe for years, but just recently made some improvements to up the flavor even more.
Scroll down to see how this meal comes together, read through my PRO tips, storage info, and more!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Season/Sear the chicken in olive oil on each side until golden and cooked through. Set aside and let it rest for 5 minutes, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add white wine, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half, 3-4 minutes.
Add chicken broth, then stir in the half and half and sundried tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
Add the uncooked pasta and let it return to a boil. Cook according to package instructions. (Taste test a noodle before proceeding.)
Reduce heat to low and gradually sprinkle in the cheese. Stir to combine. Add the chicken back, along with the spinach. Stir and heat through for 1-2 minutes. Serve!
Pro Tips
- Grate the cheese from a block if possible as it will melt much better than packaged grated cheese.
- Make sure the base isn’t too hot when you add the cheese, otherwise the dairy can separate and create a grainy consistency.
- Any kind of pasta can be used in this recipe, I used pappardelle.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 164!
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Cream based pastas don’t always reheat quite as well, but I like to freeze and reheat this for easy lunches.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 4-Quart Dutch Oven– this is the perfect size for this recipe.
- Pappardelle Pasta is great in this recipe.
- Kitchen Tongs– Makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing.
- Box Cheese Grater– Cheese melts (and tastes) much better when shredded/grated from a block at home.
- Garlic Twister– Makes it quick & easy to mince garlic and it takes very little storage space.
Try These Next
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- Tuscan Mac and Cheese
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- Buffalo Chicken Pasta
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- One Pot Taco Pasta
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- Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken
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- Creamy Lemon Chicken
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- Smothered Chicken
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, equal to 1 lb.
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Salt/Pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine, see notes
- 1 tablespoon tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups half and half, (half cream/half milk)
- 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- ½ lb. pasta, any kind. I used pappardelle
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Romano cheese, grated
- 2 cups spinach
Instructions
- Slice the chicken into 3 thinner slices and pat completely dry. Season each side with Italian seasoning and salt/pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear on each side for 4-5 minutes, until a golden brown crust has developed. Set aside once cooked through. Remove any leftover oil but keep the brown remnants in the pot. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Add any juice from the chicken plate to the pot.
- Melt butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, wine, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pan to incorporate more flavor into the sauce. Cook until thickened and reduced by half, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth. Slowly stir in the half and half. Add the sundried tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil. Add the pasta and submerge it into the liquid. Let it come to a boil again and cook according to package instructions. Stir a few times throughout cooking to ensure pasta doesn't stick to the bottom. Taste test a noodle for doneness before proceeding.
- Reduce heat to low. Slowly sprinkle in the cheese and stir to incorporate until smooth.
- Add the chicken and spinach and stir to combine. Heat 1-2 minutes, until chicken is heated and spinach is wilted. Serve!
Notes
- Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay are good wine choices for this recipe. Chicken broth may be used if you don’t cook with wine.
- Grate the cheese from a block if possible as it will melt much better than packaged grated cheese.
- All Parmesan cheese may be used if needed.
- Make sure the base isn't too hot when you add the cheese, otherwise the dairy can separate and create a grainy consistency.
- Any kind of pasta can be used in this recipe. I used pappardelle. Other options include penne, fettuccine, linguine, or even shell pasta.
- You can boil the pasta separately instead of in the sauce: You will need to use 3/4 cup chicken broth instead of 2 cups.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 164!
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.
Excellent recipe. I used Gemelli pasta and the only thing I would suggest is stick with parpadelle – it cooks faster . If you choose a thicker pasta, par boil it first. It took a while for Gemelli to cook in the sauce and I had to add more chicken broth to cook the pasta down and and have enough sauce for the cheese, chicken and spinach.
Thanks so much for the great comments and for taking the time to leave a review Nori!💗 I’m so happy you liked this one!
I helped my youngest make this recipe. We had to make a few adjustments because we lacked some ingredients and I only had Marsala wine. This recipe is so yummy! We used egg noodles but could have used the recommended pasta’s. We did not have the one pictured. I could not get enough of the sauce!
That’s so cool you made this with your kid Tracy, I’m so happy it was a hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such great comments!💗
I used fat free half and half and low sodium chicken broth. It was fantastic!
That’s so great to hear Kelli! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
The sauce here is amazing and I haven’t even added the chicken back in yet! I wonder how much better it would have been if I used wine.
I’ve been known to eat a lot of the sauce with bread before adding the chicken lol. Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
I made this recipe for the first time yesterday. Now, I was exhausted and did not feel like cooking and when I cook when in that mode it doesn’t go well. For example, I read the recipe and still proceeded to cook the pasta….so when I realized I had a lot of liquid in my pan, I grabbed a new box of pasta and continued on. And all worked out perfectly!! This recipe is super easy, fast and delicious!! There are no leftovers! Bonus for my error in cooking the pasta, tonight all I have to do is cook the creamy tomato pasta and dinner is done!! Stephanie, Thank you for all your recipes!! I finally ordered your cookbook and can’t wait to receive it!!
I’m so happy this was such a hit Michelle, nice work! Thanks so much for your support, it’s so much appreciated!💖
This sounds and looks so delicious! I just have a quick question. Is there a specific reason you don’t cut the chicken into small pieces before cooking it? Is it for more flavor, to keep it more juicy, or just your personal preference? Thanks!
Hi Denise! I find that it’s a bit juicer if you cook the whole breast, let it rest, and then slice!
I can’t wait to make this! Looks incredible! Question; it says 3 teaspoons of dried oregano, but how much do I put on the chicken and how much in the sauce? Also, could you estimate the amount of salt you use on the chicken? Thanks!!
Hi Mary, it’s 3 tsp Italian seasoning and 1 tsp oregano. The Italian seasoning goes on the chicken and the oregano goes in the sauce. I’d use probably 3/4 tsp salt on the chicken but try to use your judgment based on surface area, it’s just a light sprinkle. There is also a video that shows this recipe being made in the blog post as well. Enjoy!
Hi Stephanie! Thanks so much for your reply! One last question! If I want to double the recipe, should I just buy a bigger Dutch oven? One with a larger surface area? Looks like the 4 quart Dutch oven only has surface room for the 3 breasts. Thank you!! 🙂
Hi Mary! Yes, I do think that would be very helpful for doubling this recipe!
WOW…delicious! I was too “lazy” to make the chicken(this time) so I bought Perdue Chicken Patties and cut them into strips(after baking in the oven). I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes(I don’t like them). Used 4 cups chicken broth and uses the tomato paste that had basil, oregano & garlic in it. DEFINITELY will make this again and will make the chicken per the recipe. Wish I could attach my photo.
Using those chicken patties is such a great time saving hack! Nice work Tiffany, I’m so happy you’ll be making this one again. Thanks so much for the great review!😃
Delicious
Thanks so much Stephanie, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!😀
A winner! So delicious! We had it last night and can’t wait to make it again. Used fettuccini and replaced the spinach with sautéed onion, red pepper and mushrooms. Next time I’ll cook the pasta in a separate pot and add it later to the sauce to save time I think the pasta took too long to get soft when cooked in the sauce.Otherwise A++++! Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!! I would just be aware for next time that a large portion of the chicken broth is absorbed by the pasta while it cooks in the sauce, which gives it plenty of flavor, if you cook pasta on the side in water, you will want to use less chicken broth as there will be no pasta to absorb it.
Followed the directions exactly. Good flavors! I used linguine which I broke in half before putting it in the pan. I was thinking that artichokes might be a good addition to this, as well.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this one Lori, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!😃
I’ve tried so many of your recipes and they are all amazing.
Do you have a conversion for liquid if I don’t want to cook the pasta with the sauce? Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying the recipes Elisa!! 🙂 I would only make one modification, and it would be to use 3/4 cup chicken broth instead of 2 cups. Easy-peasy! Enjoy!