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Enjoy this delicious Tuscan chicken pasta recipe for lunch or dinner any day of the week. Quick and easy creamy pasta recipe made Tuscan Style and ready in 30 minutes.
This Creamy chicken pasta recipe is the ultimate comfort meal. It is made with added chicken bites for some added protein, loaded with spinach for a nutrient boost, and infused with creamy Tuscan flavors. Ready in just under 30 minutes, this Tuscan chicken pasta recipe is going to be on your weekly menu because it will be a huge hit. Cheesy, garlicky, full of flavor, and a one-pot meal that’s perfect for everyone.
Why you will love this chicken Pasta dish
- Easy and complete meal: making this Tuscan chicken pasta is so easy. Not to mention it’s all made in one pot and you don’t have to worry about making any sides.
- Delicious: It’s packed with creamy goodness and flavor. Everyone will love this pasta recipe and promise to be a huge hit.
- Vegetarian-friendly: Make this without the chicken and you got yourself a vegetarian meal.
Ingredients you will need to make this creamy pasta
- Pasta of choice: use whatever kind of pasta you already have. You may use gluten-free if needed or lentil pasta for a healthier option.
- Chicken: go with chicken breast for a leaner and healthier option.
- Oil: we used olive oil. You may use avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
- Garlic cloves: we recommend you use fresh garlic cloves and not garlic powder. You may also use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
- Italian seasoning: if you don’t have this handy, use 1/4 tsp of the following seasonings- basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sun-dried tomatoes: use the ones that are packed in oil and not the packets.
- Almond milk: if you don’t have almond milk, use any milk of choice.
- Flour: use any flour you have on hand, or use cornstarch.
- Fresh baby spinach: we prefer that you use fresh spinach. If you want to use frozen, you can but just thaw and drain first.
- Parmesan cheese: grate your own. You may sub this cheese with grated Romano Cheese.
How to make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Boil and prepare pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente.
- Prepare and cook the chicken: Chop the chicken into 1-inch pieces and place it into a bowl. Stir in the oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook until cooked through for about 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the milk and flour until no visible lumps.
- Pour the milk mixture over the cooked chicken in the pan, and mix well to combine. Allow the sauce to bubble for a few minutes to thicken up. It should take no more than 3-4 minutes.
- Add spinach and cheese: Once the sauce is done, add spinach and stir until wilted. Add cooked pasta together with grated parmesan and stir to combine. Enjoy.
Recipe Notes and tips
- Pasta: use pasta of choice. Gluten-free, whole wheat, lentil pasta, or chickpea pasta.
- Chicken: we used chicken breast but you may use boneless thighs. Consider using shrimp instead of chicken if desired.
- Spinach: we recommend using fresh spinach. Frozen spinach can be used but thaw first and drain to remove excess water.
- You may use other veggies like kale.
- Use fresh garlic or replace it with 1 tablespoon of garlic powder.
- Cook the pasta al dente since it will cook again with everything else to prevent having soft and soggy pasta.
- Store leftover chicken pasta in a container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- PLEASE NOTE: *****To make this dish healthier we used almond milk. But you can use any other milk, heavy cream, or whipping cream if you don’t mind the added calories.****
Frequently asked questions
To make a healthy-ish creamy pasta sauce we recommend skippy any sort of heavy or whipping cream and use milk instead. To make a creamy pasta sauce, you will need a combination of oil/butter, cheese (parmesan or cream cheese), garlic for flavor, salt, pepper, any type of milk, cornstarch, or flour to thicken the sauce.
You may cook the chicken first in the same skillet until it is thoroughly cooked before adding the pasta. Pasta is usually cooked al dente ahead of time so that when your creamy chicken sauce is almost done cooking, you toss in the pasta with your remaining ingredients like cheese and let it cook together.
It depends on what you are making. If you are serving the chicken breast as a whole, you don’t need to cut it. But if the recipe calls for smaller chunks of chicken we recommend you cut them into smaller pieces.
Yes. You can make the sauce ahead and freeze it for up to 3 months. Place in an airtight container before freezing. Allow the sauce to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on your stovetop or microwave.
Other pasta dishes to try
- Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
- Creamy Salmon Pasta
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
- Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad
- Easy Creamy Shrimp Pasta
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Easy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 10 oz short pasta, gluten-free if needed, whole wheat, or lentil pasta
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil, or use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 8 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained and chopped
- 3 cups 2% Milk, any other milk, or use lite coconut cream
- 2 tbsp gluten-free flour, or corn starch
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente.
- Chop chicken into 1-inch pieces and place into a bowl. Stir in the oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook until cooked through about 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the milk and flour until no visible lumps.
- Pour the milk mixture over the cooked chicken in the pan, and mix well to combine. Allow the sauce to bubble for a few minutes to thicken up. It should take no more than 3-4 minutes.
- Once the sauce is done, add spinach and stir until wilted.
- Add cooked pasta together with grated parmesan and stir to combine. Enjoy.
Video
Notes
- NOTE: *****To make this dish healthier we used almond milk. But you can use any other milk, heavy cream, or whipping cream if you don’t mind it. Also, be careful not to use sweetened almond milk!!!!****
- Flour: you can use cornstarch in place of flour for a thicker consistency.
- I have remade this dish a few times. Some find it bland maybe because of the almond milk. You can use 2% of full-fat milk. Also, if you are looking for a more creamy texture, use heavy cream or add 1/4 cup of cream cheese while making the sauce. This is meant to be a healthier option. Feel free to modify it.
- Pasta: use pasta of choice. Gluten-free, whole wheat, lentil pasta, or chickpea pasta.
- Chicken: we used chicken breast but you may use boneless thighs. Consider using shrimp instead of chicken if desired.
- Spinach: we recommend using fresh spinach. Frozen spinach can be used but thaw first and drain to remove excess water.
- Use fresh garlic or replace it with 1 tablespoon of garlic powder.
- Cook the pasta al dente since it will cook again with everything else to prevent having soft and soggy pasta.
- Store leftover chicken pasta in a container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So good! I will be making this again and again!
Perfect! Glad you loved it
So….. I intended to follow the recipe exactly, but, after I started cooking I realized, I only had about 3 ounces of sun dried tomatoes and a huge bag of spring mix(not spinach). Also we have no sensitivites, so we did flour and regular milk. I decided to just wing it and wow! It was a hit! I even had a couple ounces if ham and Chipotle peppers I tossed in. My husband topped his with crushed red pepper and extra parmesean. I will totally be making this again! Thank you for the recipe!
Do I need to use gluten free flour or is regular flour okay? Thank you!
regular is fine
Very easy. I didn’t have spinach so I subbed in some peas, canned sliced mushrooms, a little bit of cooked chopped bacon, and about a tablespoon of sweet vermouth. I also used half and half thinned with some of the pasta water instead of almond milk. Not AS healthy, but it rocked!
Sounds perfect
u need to add more milk because mine was a bit thick but overall it was DELCIOUS!
Am I missing something here? 5oz pasta for 4 portions?
I think you are missing something. It says 10 oz pasta…
Yes, 10oz for 8 portions is says….
What cheese could I use instead of parmesan? I’m not a massive parmesan cheese fan.
Asiago or romano?
What is the serving size?
I will be making this recipe again. I did add more parmesan as a topping with fresh basil.
It was absolutely delicious with great flavor! I used 1 cup heavy cream and 2 cups of 1% milk and the sauce was amazing. My husband said I can make this anytime as he thought it was good as well.
I halved the measurements to make the recipe for 2. Sauce was a little too thick, so just loosened with some pasta water which did the trick. Also added black olives. Would maybe add a little more salt next time, but very enjoyable.
This recipe was not tasty at all. The almond milk is a terrible idea. This made the entire meal sweet. I actually think this is the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. I wouldn’t even subject my dog to the loads of leftovers that remained. I’m honestly so dejected after making this meal that I don’t even have the energy to expand. Please learn from my mistakes. Xoxo
Hi Jen. Is it possible you used sweetened almond milk? I am shocked because it should not be sweet at all.
I don’t usually feel compelled to comment on these things, but I completely disagree. Many recipes for anything “creamy” calls for heavy cream, which we don’t even have an equivalent to in Canada, and probably for a good reason. I typically skip creamy stuff because all the recipes I find are well above the recommended daily calorie intake. This recipe is one of the few that uses almond milk (I use cashew), and it turned out perfect the first time. Nothing sweet about it. Just savoury. I do add some hot pepper flakes to give it a little heat now though. But that’s just me.
Hey! Nice recipe. What’s the serving size based on the calories ?
I believe this recipe would’ve turned out absolutely delicious if there was less sun dried tomatoes. I might’ve done something wrong and not had enough pasta or cream, but the sun dried tomato flavor was overwhelming and difficult to enjoy. I will redo this recipe with less sun dried tomatoes and see if it changes!
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!
Thanks for the feedback Tiffany
Tried this recipe today. Used almond milk and did not like the taste of at all.
Excellent recipe! I didn’t follow the recipe, just read the ingredients and made it lol Fried some onions, garlic, cut up chicken breast I cooked the night before, added baby tomatoes (didn’t have sun dried tomatoes), spinach plus heavy whipping cream, salt,pepper and left simmering a bit over very low heat. If the sauce is too thick you can add some pasta water! Added whatever hard cheese I had at home. Excellent flavor. Next time would be fun to add some prosciutto or bacon, maybe some peas, fresh herbs (do not like dried ones) It’s a keeper recipe!!! Would be a great recipe when having people over!!! Thank you!!! And you can’t beat heavy whipping cream. lol
Hi there. Thanks for the feedback. The full recipe is always at the bottom of the recipe card. Glad it all worked out.
Loved it, easy recipe
Thank you
This was very good. I had shredded cooked chicken in the freezer, so after defrosting it, I sautéed it with the olive oil and spices. I also used grape tomatoes since I didn’t have sun dried, and used 1 can of light coconut milk. It was the perfect amount of sauce for us.
yes. So good