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This simple one pot Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta is the perfect winter dinner. Quick, easy, hearty, and so delicious! Pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken in a creamy sun-dried tomato spinach sauce. Cooked together with rigatoni pasta for a quick dinner made in one pot. Truly one of those all-in-one dinners that everyone at the table will love. Great for a weeknight, but equally fancy enough to serve up at your next holiday dinner. You can’t go wrong with this Tuscan style pasta.
This December has been a special one in that four out of six of my brothers are here in Colorado all month. Normally, they’ll all come in the days leading up to Christmas, but with some snowboard events happening here all month long, the boys have been at home.
And when I say the boys, I mean Kai and Red. Well, Creighton is here too. I’m not exactly sure of his reasoning for being here all month. But I truly believe it’s because he misses Oslo when he leaves. And Trevor has been back and forth. I love having them home. Each one provides a little inspiration on any given day.
Lately, the boys have been requesting a lot of pasta and chicken. I’ve been making random dishes every night. But this one turned out so good that I wanted to recreate the dish and share it.
Everyone at the table loved this pasta. Even my dad, who’s not that into chicken and pasta, said the flavor was delicious.
And what do I love about this dish? Just how quick and easy it is to prepare!
The details
Seeing as this is a one pot recipe, it’s pretty straight forward. I start with the sun-dried tomatoes. I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
While I’m cooking the chicken, I season it with a homemade Italian seasoning blend…dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage. Then I add smoked paprika and chili flakes. It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Oh, and I add some parmesan too!
Once the chicken has cooked, add some water to make a paste. Then add the pasta and cook until the pasta is just al dente. Stir in a bit if cream, lots of spinach, the sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan.
Add the chicken back to the pasta and toss everything until it is creamy.
I serve each bowl with extra parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. DELICIOUS!
It’s everything you’d expect out of a multi-step recipe, but all made in way less than an hour – and in one pot too. Simple, simple – and we love that.
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for holiday dinners with friends and family. I’m sure I’ll be remaking this over the holidays. My family members are slowly starting to make their way back to Colorado for Christmas (my remaining brothers and cousins), so this will be on repeat.
Looking for winter pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Basil Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Chicken, Prosciutto, and Arugula
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 519 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning (see note)
- 1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- 1. Drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a large pot or skillet with sides. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.2. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, the paprika, and a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup parmesan, cook another minute, then remove the chicken from the pot. 3. To the same pot, add the butter, shallot, garlic, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes. Stir in the cream, mustard, parmesan, spinach, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Slide the chicken and any juices left on the plate.4. Serve the pasta topped with lemon juice and fresh parmesan.
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Store in a sealed container.
Fantastic recipe. Made it pretty darn close to your exact specs. Was a big hit!
Hey Jim,
Happy Sunday!🌾🌽 I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Excellent results only cooked the pasta first and added pasta water and pasta worked out great. Thanks
Hey Fred,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
Really enjoyed this recipe! I toasted up some seasoned panko and tossed it on top when serving. The crunch was a nice accoutrement to the already incredible pasta.
Hey Josh,
Awesome! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
Hello, do you think leftovers would freeze well? Thank you!
I just made this tonight. I had almost everything to prepare it. Including the raw chicken. Anyway, I had to run to Walmart for fresh spinach because I forgot to add that to my pick up list earlier today. I did not use the parmesan in the early sauté stage for the chicken. That didn’t make sense to me (I am not a novice cook), but what do I know? I might try it next time. I was concerned about the pasta getting to el dente using 8 min and the requested 3.5 cups of water (I used chicken broth). Anyway it did cook up with my Lodge Cast Iron Lid and an extra minute or so. I did add about a 1/8 c of water during the pasta stage. I might use 4 cups next time or just use the recipe and wing it as I go which I did tonight. This was VERY good. I used a large cast iron skillet and my induction cook top, only because that’s all I have here in my apartment. The mise en place took longer than what was suggested in the recipe, so I’d fyi on that. It’s just me here, no idea how I’ll share or store just yet. It might be breakfast, lunch and dinner again tomorrow! Probably won’t freeze this with the cream base. It’s a winner and I believe a fun recipe to cook for guests as they watch (open kitchen with high chairs which is so common now and especially an apartment) and nibble and sip as I cook. Try it first and time yourself or have a really large salad to serve as they wait and a big bottle of veno! It did take me longer than I expected (again, probably my cook top/heat, etc.)
Hey Tim,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) xT
Not sure why my 5 stars didn’t pull up on my original recipe. Also thinking about it, mushrooms might make sense on this recipe.
No worries, thanks again Tim:)
I made this recipe last night. I am a single woman so had to cut the recipe quite a bit but it was wonderful and tasty. I will be making it again for my friends.
Hey Sandi,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
2nd time making this and have loved it both times! A huge hit with my kids and husband (the dog even got a few nibbles of the chicken after it was cooked and set aside). I’ve done it both with cooking the pasta separately and adding it to the pot (to keep it all to one pot). It was totally doable both ways, although one tip: if you’re doing the one pot approach, keep your sink water available with hot water so you can add more water if your pasta is absorbing more than enough to leave for a sauce and it’s not yet cooked through. It helped me a lot to do it that way so that I didn’t cool the pasta water too much when adding more water and cause it to take too long to reboil. Hope this makes sense to someone who needs the tip!
Hey Lisa,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
So so good! A lot of reviews mentioned boiling pasta separately, so I did that. But I also don’t mind cleaning multiple pots 🙂 it was amazing. My 1 year old couldn’t eat enough of it. Impressed as always with these recipes!
Hey Kari,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xx
Absolutely delicious! But I read reviews before I started so I only used 3/4 a lb. of pasta and added somewhere between 4.5 and 5 cups of water and it turned out perfectly!
Hey Korin,
Happy Monday! 👻 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Happy Halloween! 🎃
Fabulous taste but depending which rigs you use it takes waaay too long. also I noticed the instructions in the looong editorial text are different than the recipe instructions. For instance, the editorial above suggests adding water to the chicken and adding pasta whereas the recipe advises setting sauteed chicken to the side and cooking pasta in 3.5 cups water until el dente. Then the chicken is added ON TOP. The photos do bot reflect what a one pot rigatoni meal looks like.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. I don’t share the exact step by step instructions in the editorial text, but I remove the chicken from the pot before adding the pasta and water as the recipe calls for. I’m sorry you feel the photos don’t reflect a one pot pasta. Let me know if I can help in any way! xx
Super delicious. Like other reviewers I needed a lot more water (and time) to get the pasta cooked. Next time I’ll try doing the pasta separate and see how that goes, but either way will make this again!
Hey Cait,
Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try!🍁 xxT
Yummy. We needed to add more water and a decent amount of salt at the end. I think we’ll adjust for it to be a bit saucier next time, but we will definitely make it again.
Hey Bethany,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for trying it out! Have a great weekend! xx
This is my family’s new favorite pasta dish! I cooked the pasta separately so I could have gluten-free (penne) and regular pasta (bowtie) options. I marinated the cubed chicken for a few hours in the oil from the sundried tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and seasonings, then dumped it all in the pan to cook and also added chicken sausage. Added the cream and other ingredients to the pot with the chicken, and then served it over the pre-plated pasta. So flavorful! The smoked paprika is a must!
Hi Deborah,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
How can I reheat?
Hi Joan,
I would just reheat on the stove top on low stirring frequently. I hope this helps! xx
Second time making this recipe – the first time, the flavor was good, but I wasn’t able to get the pasta to cook all the way through. I reviewed the comments this time and followed the advice to add extra water – I added 5 cups total. I think the amount of water will depend on the type of pasta you use – the brand I used said it would take 11 minutes rather than 8 as recipe lists to cook, so if your pasta takes more than 8 minutes to cook, adding extra water might be the right move. Next time, I’ll add a little salt to the water while it cooks – I ended up needing to add a lot at the end for it. Overall, moving in the right direction, and I’ll master a one-pot pasta recipe one day!
Hey Jaime,
Thanks for making this recipe twice and sharing your feedback about the pasta! This is super helpful! Hope you’re off to a great Tuesday! xTieghan
I love your recipes so much!! Im going to name my first born after you!!?????
Lol thanks so much Brittany:) Love to hear that you have been enjoying the recipes! xTieghan