Creamy Tuscan Chicken Penne
Creamy garlic sauce with spinach and sun dried tomatoes mixed with chicken and penne pasta. A quick and easy, yet delicious meal for those busy weekdays.
During the week I’m pulled in so many directions, from work, to mom and house duties, to my kids extracurricular activities. I don’t have time for some elaborate dinner, but that doesn’t mean my family has to have boxed mac n cheese every night. This creamy tuscan chicken pasta takes less than 30 minutes, and is so easy. But it looks and tastes gourmet!
Serve with the World’s Best Cheesy Garlic Bread.
My husband and I often dread dinner time, when we are exhausted from a busy day, and have to come up with something to feed the kids. Darn those kids needing to eat every day. What is with that? Haha. Anyway, pastas are so easy to throw together, and make a complete meal without having to worry about sides. Plus I like to sneak veggies into them for my picky eaters! My little ones have no idea they’re eating spinach in this creamy chicken pasta recipe. They’re too busy being sidetracked by the creamy, garlicky goodness, and the chunks of delicious chicken.
I know I mentioned that pasta is a complete meal all on it’s own, but it also pairs nicely with so many things. A few things I love pairing with this dish are 5 minute cheesy garlic bread, roasted asparagus oven baked, garlic roasted broccoli, and garlic green beans. These are all quick and easy as well, meaning less time in the kitchen and more time at the table.
How long does it take to cook Tuscan Chicken Penne?
I love a good Tuscan Chicken, like this one made in the Instant Pot. But I love how quick and easy it is to make Tuscan Chicken.
So, how long does it take to make this penne? Not long at all! In less time than it takes to look up a take out menu and order, you can get this meal done. It requires you to cook pasta, and sear some chicken, then mix everything together.
In under 30 minutes you could have a delicious dinner on your table. But if even 30 minutes is too much, you could cut some time by using rotisserie chicken or even leftover chicken, but honestly, I don’t recommend it. The flavors are going to be far tastier and better if you make the chicken yourself. And it does not take much time. But either way you go you’ll be so pleased with the end result, it’s heavenly!
I made this chicken penne pasta dish when I had a bunch of family in town visiting, and it was gone so fast, I didn’t even get any.
What can I add to my Tuscan Chicken Penne Pasta?
This dish really is perfect as is, but is very versatile as well. Like I mentioned above, you could add rotisserie chicken to save some time, or you could use some thighs if you prefer dark meat. Another great addition would be topping it with some fresh basil and parmesan. This will not only make it look more put together, but the fresh basil will add a little pepperiness. The parmesan will add a little saltiness.
Also if you like a saucier pasta you could add more cream to achieve that. I have also added oven roasted asparagus which was divine. You could also swap out the penne for another type of noodle. Or omit noodles altogether making it low carb and keto friendly. But before adding any extras or making any changes, I highly recommend trying the recipe as is.
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Creamy Tuscan Chicken Penne
Ingredients
- 12-16 ounce package of penne pasta cooked according to package directions
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to even thickness
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups fresh spinach leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream or other milk
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, strain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place chicken between pieces of plastic wrap, and use a meat mallet to pound chicken until even thickness
- Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Put olive oil in a large skillet, and turn on to medium heat.
- Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side over medium heat until browned and cooked through.
- Transfer to a plate, and cover to keep warm.
- To same skillet add spinach, garlic, and sundried tomatoes to skillet and saute over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
- Add chicken broth and stir another 2-3 minutes until spinach is wilted, scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Add heavy cream and stir, let simmer another 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until liquid is slightly reduced and creamy.
- Slice chicken up, add chicken into skillet, add pasta into the skillet, and toss
- Taste, season with salt and fresh cracked pepper if desired.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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