Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta – The BEST Easy Dinner Recipe!
One of my favorite things about this Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta recipe is that it can go from easy weeknight healthy dinner to next-level dinner party. It’s so versatile, delicious, and made with wholesome ingredients! It can also be meal prepped and refrigerated or frozen for later. It reheats wonderfully!
Aside from cooking the pasta on a separate burner, this recipe is also a one-pot dinner, making clean up super easy. I love how quick and simple it is, yet so full of delicious spring and summer flavors that impress!
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Table of Contents
Ingredients/Substitutions
There are 4 main components to this recipe: the pasta, the chicken, the creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, and the spinach and parmesan at the end. Here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need!
The Pasta
I love using whole wheat pasta or chickpea pasta for healthy pasta recipes like this one. In this case I used penne pasta, but any type should work great!
Flavorful Chicken
A little bit of olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper make for deliciously flavorful chicken in this recipe. However, feel free to use any flavorful chicken seasoning that you like! You can also use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken.
RELATED: Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
The creamy sun-dried tomato sauce in this recipe is made with chopped or sliced shallot, minced garlic, flour (regular or almond flour), broth, milk (regular, unsweetened cashew milk, or unsweetened almond milk), a small amount of dijon mustard (trust me on this!), oregano, salt, pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes. You can also use onion powder or garlic powder instead of fresh!
Spinach & Parmesan
Once the sauce is made, I added in some fresh spinach and grated or shredded parmesan! Grated parmesan seems to work a little better than shredded, but both end in delicious results. You can also use kale or arugula instead of spinach!
How to Make Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta (VIDEO)
Here’s how to make Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta in 30-minutes or less:
- Cook the pasta according to directions.
- In a separate pan (preferably a large skillet, sauce pan or deep sauté pan), cook the chicken.
- Once fully cooked, set the chicken aside and whisk together the creamy sauce in the same pan.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan.
- Add the cooked chicken and pasta back in.
- Mix, serve, and enjoy!
Time-Saving Tips
Want to save even more time on this easy recipe? Here are a few ideas:
- Use leftover rotisserie chicken or batch cook the chicken at the beginning of the week.
- You can use onion powder instead of a fresh shallot to save time.
- Prep ingredients ahead of time.
Refrigerating/Freezing
Another one of my favorite things about this recipe is how well the leftovers reheat, even from frozen! Here’s how to store Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta:
Refrigerating – Place the Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta in an airtight container with a lid and let cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Move to the refrigerator and store for 3-4 days!
Freezing – To freeze, refrigerate serving sizes of the pasta in airtight containers for about an hour. Then simply move the containers to the freezer and store for up to 3 months!
Reheating – To reheat, simply microwave until evenly warm, stirring often. Top with more parmesan and crushed red pepper and enjoy!
More Healthy Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Tomato Pesto Burrata Pasta
- The BEST Easy Healthy Lasagna Recipe
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Recipe
- Spinach Ricotta Mac & Cheese
- Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake
- Creamy Salmon Pasta Recipe
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to give it a rating below and tag your photos @jar.of.lemons!
The BEST Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat pasta (or chickpea pasta)
- 1 medium shallot (or 1/2 small yellow onion)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 medium chicken breasts)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt/pepper (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- crushed red pepper (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the shallot into small pieces and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 3/4" – 1" cubes).
- Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Cook the chicken in 1 Tablespoon of the oil and the paprika for about 10 minutes (or until fully cooked and juices run clear).
- Set the chicken aside.
- Mix the chicken broth, milk, dijon mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
- Set aside.
- Cook the shallot and garlic in the remaining oil for about 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat (or until soft).
- Add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute.
- Pour in the creamy pasta sauce and whisk.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce begins to slightly thicken and reduce (whisking often).
- Add in the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Remove from heat and add in the spinach and parmesan cheese.
- Add the cooked chicken and pasta back into the pan.
- Mix until evenly warm, top with crushed red pepper (optional), and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Use leftover rotisserie chicken or batch cook the chicken at the beginning of the week.
- You can use onion powder instead of a fresh shallot to save time.
- Prep ingredients ahead of time.
Linda Iannone says:
This recipe was delicious. So easy and done in no time. Will definitely make this again.
Silvia says:
There were no leftovers! My family devoured this pasta. I love how easy is to prepare it and the combination of sun-dried tomatoes and spinach is amazing.
Amy Liu Dong says:
Wow! This looks absolutely yummy. The presentation makes it enticing and tempting. I just love pasta, we can never go wrong with it!
Tristin says:
I love any recipe that involves sun-dried tomatoes plus pasta, so this I just knew I had to make this one! So flavorful and my whole family loved it. Great easy dinner idea!
Laura Arteaga says:
Such a great recipe for the whole family! My toddler loved it too, so it’s definitely a recipe we will be making again soon! So flavourful, we love sun-dried tomatoes and this pasta is the perfect way to use them 🙂
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says:
What a wonderful dish! I love sun dried tomatoes and don’t use them enough! We eat a lot of chicken in my house so this will be a fab addition to mealtime!
Mikayla says:
Wish I could say we froze left overs for later, but we did not as there were no left overs. Great fresh flavor and a healthy meal too!
Megan says:
All the best flavours in this dish. Everyone loves this meal so much in my household.
Nancy says:
I always prefer whole wheat pasta, the taste is just better. My boyfriend is a meat eater and I’m vegetarian but this meal would be see to make for us both. Delicious recipe and can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Allyssa says:
The sun dried tomato is so flavorful and so perfect with chicken and pasta! Thanks a bunch for this super delicious recipe! Loved it!
Devan says:
Can’t believe how good your photos are! Seriously, how do you do that?! Recipe looks clean, clear and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing this!