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
- Sundried 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 This Creamy and delicious Tuscan Chicken Pasta from scratch
- 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 it.****
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.
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
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
- 8 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained and chopped
- 3 cups almond milk ( not sweetened) any other milk, or use lite coconut cream
- 2 tbsp gluten-free flour
- 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!!!!****
- 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.
Nökkvi Helgason says
I’m going to be completely honest here, I’m pretty disappointed with this dish. It is just plain dull. I’m a beginner chef, so maybe I’m to blame, but the sauce is more like a soup, a milk soup with pasta and chicken. I used milk instead of almond milk, I definitely would’ve preferred cream
Cynthia Hegarty says
It’s fine, but a better Italian Tuscan chicken pasta uses a chicken broth base finished with a little heavy cream and gives it more depth if flavor. This seemed thin.
Sue says
I wanted to love this….I made this exactly as it called for. I used unsweetened Silk almond milk for the milk. There were so many good ingredients and layers of flavor in here. I thought it would be amazing and it was just ok. The sauce tasted sour, almost bitter with the almond milk. I tried at the end to stir in fresh grated parmesan to give it a better flavor but it still wasn’t that good. Use dairy milk if you can. I think that would help improve the flavor. I noticed most of the 5 star reviews used regular milk. I think that makes the difference because all the flavors were there but the almond milk couldn’t carry them.
Tiffany says
I will be making this week, I’m on a calorie counting program so how much is a serving maybe like one cup?
D says
I adjusted a few things but all4 kids and husband loved this. Added shrimp and seasoned a little differently for some spice. Made it heavier with cream But this was awesome!!
Rena Awada says
Perfect. Glad they loved.
Jade says
I was really impressed with how this came out. I used 2% milk instead of almond milk, regular flour, and red lentil pasta. Will be adding to my recipe book.
Connie says
Happily surprised at the outcome of this dinner! I didn’t have a full jar of sun dried tomatoes so I threw in a handful of fresh grape tomatoes.
My neighbor cut and gave me a large bag of spinach from her garden yesterday so I was looking for a dinner idea with spinach.
This was a nice treat along with my roasted Brussel sprouts and french bread.
I am saving the recipe! Thanks for the inspiration!
Rena Awada says
Thanks for the feedback. Glad you loved it
S. Pettis says
A new favorite in our recipe rotation!
Sheri says
Delicious and very quick recipe to fry a healthy dinner on the table. Both my boys ate it without complaint. I think adding a little bacon next time would make it even better.
Marilyn says
Excellent recipe packed with so many nutrients and so delicious! I modified it by adding just a handful of sundried tomatoes and blanched chopped broccoli. Next time I will substitute the flour with almond flour. I will use this recipe again, even sharing it with my sister, who lives on the West Coast. Thank you for sharing!
Marilyn says
Excellent recipe packed with so many nutrients and so delicious! I modified it by adding just a handful of sundried tomatoes and blanched chopped broccoli. I will use this recipe again, even sharing it with my sister, who lives on the West Coast. Thank you for sharing!
Gail says
Very good recipe! I would add more sun-dried tomatoes next time though, 8oz wasn’t enough. We used half and half and just loved it. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Natalie says
We love this recipe. I am making for dinner tonight for the 10th or so time. I add mushrooms and onion as well and just use regular milk. My 4 year old requested it this week. So most definitely kid friendly.
Rena Awada says
This makes me so happy
Jess C. says
So good! I will be making this again and again!
Rena Awada says
Perfect! Glad you loved it
Bethany says
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!
Ashley says
Do I need to use gluten free flour or is regular flour okay? Thank you!
Rena Awada says
regular is fine
LaynieCat says
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!
Rena Awada says
Sounds perfect
maria Toalisa says
u need to add more milk because mine was a bit thick but overall it was DELCIOUS!
K says
Am I missing something here? 5oz pasta for 4 portions?
NJ says
I think you are missing something. It says 10 oz pasta…
K says
Yes, 10oz for 8 portions is says….
Lauren says
What cheese could I use instead of parmesan? I’m not a massive parmesan cheese fan.
Rena Awada says
Asiago or romano?
Lizette Acevedo says
What is the serving size?
Denice England says
I will be making this recipe again. I did add more parmesan as a topping with fresh basil.
Cathy says
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.
AW says
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.