Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta: Easy 30-Minute Dinner
Creamy Tuscan chicken pasta is an easy 30-minute dinner made with juicy chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and pasta tossed in a creamy garlic Parmesan sauce.
It feels like proper comfort food, but you don’t need to spend an hour cooking it. Everything except the pasta comes together in one frying pan, making it a good choice for busy weeknights.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 20 minutes | Total: 30 minutes | Serves: 4
Alt text: Creamy Tuscan chicken pasta with sliced chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and Parmesan.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is one of those dinners worth keeping in your regular rotation.
- Ready in around 30 minutes
- Simple, easy-to-find ingredients
- Creamy without being bland
- Filling enough to serve on its own
- Easy to adapt
- Great for busy weeknights
Need dinner even faster? Have a look at our 15-Minute Dinner Recipes for more quick meal ideas.
Ingredients
You’ll need:
- 450–500 g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 300 g fettuccine, tagliatelle or your favourite pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced
- 120 ml chicken stock
- 240 ml double cream
- 60 g Parmesan, freshly grated
- 60 g baby spinach
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh parsley or basil, to serve
Optional: ½ tsp chilli flakes for a little heat.
[IMAGE 2 – INGREDIENTS]
Alt text: Ingredients for creamy Tuscan chicken pasta including chicken breast, pasta, spinach, Parmesan, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.
How to Make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
1. Cook the pasta
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.
Before draining it, scoop out around 120 ml of the pasta water. Keep this for later.
Drain the pasta and set it aside.
2. Cook the chicken
Season the chicken breasts with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
If your chicken breasts are particularly thick, slice them horizontally or flatten them slightly so they cook evenly.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and cook for around 5–6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness, until golden and cooked through.
The thickest part of the chicken should reach 75°C.
Transfer it to a plate and leave it to rest.
[IMAGE 3 – CHICKEN COOKING]
Alt text: Seasoned chicken breasts cooking until golden in a frying pan.
3. Cook the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes
Turn the heat down to medium.
Add the garlic to the same pan and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add the sliced sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute.
Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Don’t clean the pan first. The browned bits left behind by the chicken add flavour to the sauce.
[IMAGE 4 – GARLIC + SUN-DRIED TOMATOES]
Alt text: Garlic and sliced sun-dried tomatoes cooking in the same pan used for the chicken.
4. Make the creamy Parmesan sauce
Pour in the double cream and stir everything together.
Bring it to a gentle simmer.
Gradually add the Parmesan while stirring until it melts into the sauce.
Add the spinach and cook for another minute or two until it wilts.
Keep the heat fairly low at this stage. Boiling a Parmesan cream sauce aggressively can make it separate.
[IMAGE 5 – CREAMY SAUCE]
Alt text: Creamy Parmesan sauce with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes simmering in a frying pan.
5. Add the pasta
Add your cooked pasta directly to the sauce.
Toss until every piece is coated.
If the sauce looks too thick, add a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water.
Keep adding small amounts until the sauce becomes silky and coats the pasta rather than sitting heavily at the bottom of the pan.
[IMAGE 6 – PASTA BEING TOSSED]
Alt text: Fettuccine being tossed through creamy garlic Parmesan sauce with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.
6. Add the chicken
Slice your rested chicken.
You can either stir the slices through the pasta or arrange them over the top.
Finish with freshly grated Parmesan, black pepper and chopped parsley or basil.
Serve immediately.
[IMAGE 7 – FINISHED DISH]
Alt text: Finished creamy Tuscan chicken pasta topped with sliced golden chicken and fresh herbs.
Don’t Skip the Pasta Water
That mug of cloudy pasta water might not look particularly useful, but keep it.
The starch in the water helps bring the sauce and pasta together. It also lets you loosen a sauce that’s become too thick without pouring in more cream.
Start with a tablespoon or two. You can always add more.
What to Serve With Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
This pasta is rich and filling, so I prefer relatively simple sides.
Try it with:
- Garlic bread
- Green salad
- Roasted broccoli
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Broccolini
Our Garlic Roasted Broccolini is particularly good alongside creamy pasta.
You can also pick something from our 8 Easy Vegetable Side Dishes if you’re feeding a larger family.
[IMAGE 8 – SERVING SUGGESTION]
Alt text: Creamy Tuscan chicken pasta served with roasted green vegetables for an easy weeknight dinner.
Easy Variations
Make it spicy
Add ½–1 tsp chilli flakes when you add the garlic.
If sweet and spicy food is more your thing, try some of our Swicy Recipes.
Add mushrooms
Slice around 150–200 g mushrooms.
Cook them in the pan after removing the chicken. Let them brown properly before adding your garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.
Use chicken thighs
Boneless chicken thighs work well here too.
They’re harder to dry out than chicken breast and work particularly well with the creamy sauce.
Add more vegetables
You don’t have to stick to spinach.
Try:
- Broccoli
- Peas
- Asparagus
- Mushrooms
- Roasted red peppers
Change the pasta
Fettuccine and tagliatelle hold the creamy sauce beautifully, but there’s no need to buy a specific pasta for this recipe.
Penne, rigatoni, linguine and spaghetti will all work.
How to Store Leftovers
Let any leftover creamy Tuscan chicken pasta cool before transferring it to an airtight container.
Keep it refrigerated and eat within 3 days.
Cream sauces thicken considerably in the fridge.
When reheating, add a splash of milk, cream or chicken stock and warm it gently, stirring occasionally.
If you’re specifically cooking meals to keep for later in the week, our 15 High-Protein Meal Prep Recipes are better suited to batch cooking.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta FAQs
What is Tuscan chicken pasta?
The popular creamy version usually combines chicken with garlic, cream, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach before adding pasta.
Despite its name, this particular creamy chicken dish is better described as Tuscan-inspired rather than a traditional Tuscan pasta.
Can I use leftover chicken?
Yes.
Make the sauce as normal, then add sliced or shredded cooked chicken at the same time as the pasta.
Heat it gently until the chicken is hot.
Why did my Parmesan sauce turn grainy?
Usually because the pan was too hot.
Turn the heat down before adding Parmesan and add the cheese gradually while stirring.
Freshly grated Parmesan tends to melt better than pre-grated cheese.
Can I make it without spinach?
Absolutely.
Leave it out or replace it with another vegetable.
Can I make Tuscan chicken pasta without double cream?
You can use single cream or a lighter cooking cream, although the sauce won’t be quite as thick or rich.
What’s the best pasta for creamy chicken pasta?
Fettuccine and tagliatelle are particularly good because the wide ribbons hold plenty of sauce.
Penne and rigatoni are good alternatives if you prefer shorter pasta.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
Looking for your next dinner?
Try our 15-Minute Dinner Recipes when time is tight.
For something warm and filling, browse our Best Comfort Food Recipes.
And if you want something to serve alongside your main course, try our Easy Vegetable Side Dishes.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 450–500 g chicken breast
- 300 g pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 120 ml chicken stock
- 240 ml double cream
- 60 g Parmesan, freshly grated
- 60 g baby spinach
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Fresh parsley or basil
Method
- Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 120 ml pasta water before draining.
- Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken for around 5–6 minutes per side, until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and leave it to rest.
- Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the same pan.
- Cook briefly before adding the chicken stock.
- Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Gradually stir in the Parmesan.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- Add the pasta and toss through the sauce.
- Add a little reserved pasta water if the sauce needs loosening.
- Slice the chicken and place it over the pasta.
- Finish with Parmesan, black pepper and fresh herbs.
[IMAGE 9 – PINTEREST IMAGE]
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Made This Recipe?
Tell us how it turned out in the comments.
And don’t forget to save it for the next evening when you want a creamy, comforting dinner without spending ages in the kitchen.