This Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta is loaded with chicken, tomatoes, deliciously cheesy and a creamy sauce. Ready in 30 minutes!
This Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta is my kind of comfort food. This dish is loaded with chicken, tomatoes, green onions, all in a creamy sauce and finally topped with lots of cheese. It’s happiness in a bowl.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA
It’s super easy and simple to make this pasta dish. The hardest part is just getting all your ingredients all chopped up and ready to use.
- Cook the pasta al dente first.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet, large enough that will fit all the pasta.
- Add the chicken and the spices to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through.
- Add in your veggies, such as the tomatoes, green onions and parsley. Now is a good time to add in additional veggies, like spinach or asparagus. Cook for a couple more minutes until the veggies soften a bit.
- Add the half and half and chicken broth, then bring to a boil. Always taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Add in the cooked pasta and stir everything together.
- Sprinkle with lots of mozzarella cheese or Parmesan cheese and garnish with more parsley if preferred. Serve warm.
TIPS FOR MAKING CREAMY TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA
- I prefer using chicken breast or boneless and skinless chicken thighs for this. Make sure to cut them in equal bite size pieces, this way all the chicken pieces will be cooked evenly.
- Don’t buy pre-shredded cheeses, I recommend shredding your own cheese, because pre-shredded cheese usually has added ingredients which help prevent the shredded cheese from naturally sticking together.
- Don’t be shy, add more veggies to your pasta. Spinach or asparagus would be perfect in this dish.
- You can easily turn this into a gluten free pasta. All you need is to use gluten-free pasta instead. There are lots of gluten-free options.
WHAT IS HALF AND HALF
Half and half has 12 percent fat content. Heavy cream can also be used. Heavy cream is also called heavy whipping cream because it is whipping cream with a milk fat content between 36 and 40 percent.
I prefer to use half and half in pasta dishes like this because of the lower fat content, but heavy cream can be used as well.
HOW TO COOK PASTA AL DENTE
Al Dente basically means cooked so as to be still firm when bitten. Nobody likes mushy pasta. In order to get pasta to the al dente point, cook it about 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions.
Note that the pasta will also absorb all the sauce the longer it sits, which will also make it softer.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT LEFTOVER CHICKEN PASTA
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Make sure to refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Keep in mind that the pasta will soak up all the sauce.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS CHICKEN PASTA IN ADVANCE
You can absolutely make this in advance and as a matter of fact, the longer this sits, the better it will taste because the flavors will develop even better. However, do keep in mind that this pasta won’t be as creamy anymore as when you first make it because the rotini will absorb all the sauce.
If planning to make this ahead, another option would be to just make the sauce, and when ready to serve, cook the pasta and heat the sauce together with the pasta. This way it will taste fresh and it will still be super creamy and delicious.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CREAMY TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA
This dish is perfect served on its own but if you must serve something else with it, a salad is always a good choice. I’d keep this salad pretty basic with greens, a kale salad or spinach salad.
CRAVING MORE CHICKEN PASTA RECIPES? TRY THESE?
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake
- Chicken Pesto Caprese Pasta
- Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- 30 Minute Skillet Chicken Enchilada Pasta
Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz rotini pasta uncooked
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 lb chicken breast skinless and boneless, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 cup tomatoes chopped
- 6 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium or no sodium added
- 1 cup mozarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions until it's al dente (cooked until it's still firm when bitten). Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to the skillet, then sprinkle with the chili powder, red chili flakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through, should take about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, green onions and parsley. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the half and half, chicken broth and cook until it comes to a boil.
- Add the rotini pasta and stir everything together.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parsley if preferred. Serve while warm.
Video
Notes
- Half and Half: Half and half has 12 percent fat content. Heavy cream can also be used. It is also called heavy whipping cream because it's whipping cream with a milk fat content between 36 and 40 percent.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Make sure to refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Keep in mind that the pasta will soak up all the sauce.
- Make ahead: Make the sauce ahead, then refrigerate. When ready to serve cook the pasta, then add the pasta to the sauce and cook until heated through.
- Nutrition: Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
I didn’t know red pepper flakes were so hot. lol
I think it’s fantastic but too hot for my kids, next time I’ll just nix the peppers 🙂
This was an easy dinner to make and my family liked it very well. I cut down the amount of spice, as I was afraid it would be too much. Next time, I may add some frozen peas right near the end. Thanks for this recipe!
I used half heavy cream and half non-fat milk for the 1 cup of half and half. After I added that and the chicken broth to the pan things seem very runny, but it started “soaking” in! This is a yummy, easy dish. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!