Tuscan Chicken Pasta is rigatoni pasta tossed in cream sauce with spinach, cheese, and tomatoes and topped with baked seasoned chicken. If this sounds good to you, be sure to try my Tuscan Chicken, Creamy Tuscan Salmon and Tuscan Stuffed Shells.
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Tuscan Chicken Pasta got rave reviews from everyone who tried this dish. It is a phenomenal mash-up of simple flavors that pull together for a strong Tuscan vibe. If you want a saucy, creamy, flavorful chicken dinner, this is the recipe to make! If you are looking for a lighter dish, I also have Tuscan Lemon Chicken you will enjoy.
Ingredients
There are two parts to this recipe–the chicken and the pasta with sauce. Make sure you have an oven-safe skillet (like a cast-iron skillet) to use.
Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
Pasta: Tube-shaped pasta, like rigatoni, is perfect for this creamy sauce. You could use pasta you have on hand, or make your own homemade shaped pasta.
Sauce: The sauce is a cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach (among other ingredients) added to the mix. I will let you know how to soften the sun-dried tomatoes before they go into the sauce.
Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is at least 30% fat (as opposed to half and half, which is only 10-18% fat).
How to Soften Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Before you make the sauce, be sure to soften and chop the sun-dried tomatoes. They are softened so they blend into the sauce (and not be crunchy). The packaging may give instructions on how to soften them. However, if not, first, bring a pot of water to a boil. Next, add the tomatoes to the boiling water, cover the pot, and bring to a simmer.
Let the sun-dried tomatoes simmer for about 3 minutes. Then, drain them and let them cool before chopping. Set them aside until ready to add them to the sauce.
Can I Make the Tuscan Chicken Pasta Sauce without Milk?
Yes, you can use just heavy cream in the sauce (3 cups total) if you leave out the milk. In fact, that is the first way we tested this recipe. Everyone loved it; it was super rich and creamy. However, when it came to reheating the leftovers in the microwave, the heavy cream would separate, leaving you with LOTS of oil (which is not the most appetizing).
Using half milk and half cream made the sauce slightly lighter, but still rich and creamy. If you are planning to reheat the sauce, no matter how you decide to make it, reheat it slowly in a saucepan over low heat on the stovetop.
How to Store Tuscan Chicken Pasta
If you have leftovers of Tuscan chicken pasta, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last up to 3 days. Reheat the pasta in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
More Pasta Dishes
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, approximately 1 pound
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta
- 8 ounces rigatoni pasta noodles, cooked al dente according to package instructions
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick, 57 g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (40 g) shallot, finely diced
- ¼ cup (27.5 g) sun-dried tomatoes, softened in hot water and chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups (357 g) heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (245 g) milk
- 1 cup (30 g) fresh spinach
- 1 cup (100 g) parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for garnish)
- 1 cup (149 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- fresh parsley, for garnish
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Chicken
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over chicken on all sides and rub it in.
- In a small bowl combine paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Sprinkle seasoning mixture over chicken on all sides.
- In a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add chicken. Sear for 3 minutes on each side (or until browned). The chicken will not be cooked through at this point.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Place the chicken onto a plate and tent to keep warm as you prepare the pasta and sauce.
Pasta
- Add rigatoni to a pot of boiling salted water. Cook al dente according to package instructions (about 14 minutes for rigatoni).
- In the same large skillet as you cooked the chicken, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook until the shallots are softened (3-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add tomato paste, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add heavy cream and milk. Stir to combine.
- Add spinach, parmesan cheese, and tomatoes. Toss to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer until cheese is fully melted and spinach is wilted, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat.
- Slice or cube the chicken and add to the pasta and sauce.
- Serve topped with more parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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Instructions were easy to follow and it ended up delicious! My whole family loved it, I substituted shallots with onions and it worked well and I used 2 types on noodles. I definitely recommend
I made this and my family now won’t talk to me. It cause the food, but because I am a bad father and husband
😂 Points for creativity.
I made the recipe tonight and it was amazing and so easy. Will definitely make this again. Thank you!!
Made this tonight for the family and they all went back for seconds. This will definitely become part of a regular rotation. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
You are my chef. I like more of your recipes than any other online. Keep up the great work.
Why sun dried tomatoes, can we use regular fresh or canned tomatoes?
BY FAR best recipe I have ever made. I made one batch with chicken and one batch with shrimp. DELICIOUS!!! Best reviews that I have ever gotten from my family. They said save this recipe because it is restaurant quality! Please keep this up on your site forever! Thank you so much!
Wow, high praise, Alexis!! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I don’t usually take the time to rate, but dang, this recipe is SO good. Better than a lot of restaurants….I doubled it so I could use the whole package of pasta (I ended us using 1 less cup of milk and it was plenty of liquid) I also used sun dried tomatoes in oil so I skipped the softening step.
This recipe is a keeper. Thanks
I plan on making this tonight. What would I do if I wanted to use 16 oz of pasta?
Really good. Made exactly as recipe called for except added more spinach. Definitely a keeper.
This was a GREAT dish my family loved it I added some fried bacon chopped it into small pieces would have used Canadian bacon but I was out will definitely make this again thanx so much for sharing 😀
HOUSTON ,TEXAS
made it and flavors are delicious. unless u want to simmer for 30 mins longer tho, i recommended an additional tablespoon of tomato paste put in at the same time recipe calls for, then 3 tablespoons cornstarch for a nice bind with pasta. hope this helps anyone who wanted the sauce thicker!!
Delicious, only added a cup of milk and turned out great!
Pasta and chicken do not go. It’s a sin. You need banning from ever touching pasta again.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA ok
I just made the Tuscan Chicken Pasta and it is the absolute best pasta dish I’ve ever had! Even compared to professional restaurants.
More prep work than I care for but was rewarded by the amazing result. I’ll add this to my repertoire and use it once a month when I feel we need to carb up. Your instructions and photos were very useful. Thanks.
FABULOUS!! 5 STARS, MUST TRY!
Deliscioso!! My husband, son, daughter-in-law, and 1 year old granddaughter loved this dish. A true keeper!
Look delicious AND easy.. but…
Can I sub sour cream for the heavy cream… heavy cream is just not something I buy. ;O)
I haven’t tested that specifically, but in theory it should be fine. Might be a bit tangier but should still be good. 🙂
Thanks… I like tangy ;O)
I’ll certainly give it a try with my next Costco rotisserie chicken.
My first time making this recipe. Great flavour. I have enjoyed other recipes of yours. My first recipe made was the won ton soup. What a hot. Tonight’s supper was amazing. Easy and all the different spices really pulled it together. My own green onions, chives and parsley. Thank you
Blind Bay BC Canada 🍁 eh
Making this tonight it’s just the Mr and I. Hope he loves it I’m excited to cook together without the kids