This tremendously delicious Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta is definitely a winner. It’s quick and easy to make, incredibly rich in flavors, and can be on your table in about 30 minutes. Perfect for weeknight dinners!
Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
Any quick dinner that tastes this good will be a favorite of mine. This chicken pasta recipe is absolutely full of flavor with lots of fresh ingredients. Incredibly healthy and light, this recipe is really good with a Mediterranean flare, packed with vegetables and chicken.
This pasta is a really filling meal on its own but if you’re like me and love a piece of bread next to your dinner, my crusty bread or garlic bread are some fantastic sides to serve with it. If you have extra mushrooms, bell peppers or onion, feel free to add some into the mix. It’s also a great way to clean up some things in the fridge that need eating.
Why You’ll Want To Make This Pasta Dish
✅ QUICK AND EASY. Such an easy recipe that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
✅ DELICIOUS. This is one of the most flavorful pasta dishes and should not be missed. It’s bound to become a family favorite in no time.
✅ HEALTHY. Lots of spinach in this dish to make us strong. To make this dish a bit healthier, use whole wheat pasta instead.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta – I used penne pasta but rotini, or other small shaped pasta works just fine.
- Tomatoes – Use sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil that are chopped and then reserve the drained oil and use that instead of olive oil. Sun dried tomatoes provide so much flavor to any dish.
- Chicken – You’ll want to stick with some boneless skinless chicken breasts, but boneless skinless chicken thighs also work wonderfully.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste. Add or omit as much as you like. Feel free to add in a little Italian seasoning to your taste for extra zip.
- Red pepper flakes – I’ve included some red pepper flakes to provide a touch of heat. Add more or less to your taste.
- Tomatoes – Chop several fresh tomatoes for some healthy goodness.
- Garlic – Lots of minced garlic is used and goes very well with the other flavors in this pasta. Use as much garlic as you like.
- Spinach – Lots of fresh spinach, and if you think it’s too much, it’s not, it will all wilt down. If you can’t find any, buy frozen and drain it very well and will still give you a great tasting meal. Feel free to add a little fresh basil leaves along with the spinach.
- Cheese – Anything with cheese is better in my opinion. I used some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
How To Make Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
Cook the pasta. Boil the water and cook pasta al dente and according to package instructions.
Cook the chicken. In the meantime, add the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, chicken pieces, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to a large skillet, stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.
Finish cooking. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and spinach to the skillet or pan and cook for another 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts a little.
Combine pasta and sauce. Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese and toss everything together well.
Finish and serve: Drizzle some high-quality olive oil over the pasta and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
What Does It Mean To Cook Pasta Al Dente?
Pasta is best when cooked “al dente” which is when it’s tender but still firm to the bite.
What Kind Of Pasta Is Healthy?
Whole wheat pasta is an easy to find healthier noodle that will bump up the nutrition of your pasta dish. Made from whole grains, it boasts 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein per serving
What Other Pasta Shapes Can We Use?
There are so many different pasta shapes and any of them can be used. Try fettuccine, fusilli, linguine or macaroni to name a few. You can also use regular, whole wheat or spinach pasta as well. Mix it up to your taste.
Expert Tips
- You can use a scoop of pasta water to help with the creaminess of your sauce, this is useful if your pasta gets too dry.
- Pack this dish with other veggies such as asparagus, broccoli, peppers or even mushrooms.
- Make this chicken pasta gluten-free by using gluten-free brown-rice penne pasta instead of regular penne.
Leftovers
Store this pasta dish in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat the chicken pasta in the microwave or in a skillet, with a couple of tablespoons water to loosen the sauce and pasta.
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Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta rotini, or other small shaped pasta
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped, drained oil reserved
- 3 tablespoons olive oil drained from sun dried tomatoes
- 1 pound chicken boneless and skinless, cut into small cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 medium tomatoes chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 10 ounces spinach fresh
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta al dente, according to package instructions.
- Cook the chicken: In the meantime, add the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, chicken pieces, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to a large skillet, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Finish cooking: Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and spinach to the skillet and cook for another 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts a little.
- Combine pasta and sauce: Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese and toss everything together well.
- Finish and serve: Drizzle some good olive oil over the pasta and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Video
Recipe Notes
- You can use a scoop of pasta water to help with the creaminess of your sauce, this is useful if your pasta gets too dry.
- Pack this dish with other veggies such as asparagus, broccoli, peppers or even mushrooms.
- Make this chicken pasta gluten-free by using gluten-free brown-rice penne pasta instead of regular penne.
- Store this pasta dish in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat the chicken pasta in the microwave or in a skillet, with a couple of tablespoons water to loosen the sauce and pasta.
This recipe is delicious! Made it last night and was a hit with the who family. Served with your No Knead bread, also a hit. Definitely will make this again.
Glad you guys liked the recipes!
Made this tonight. Literally 20 minutes and followed the recipe exactly.
So tasty. It was great. This is exactly the type of recipe i look for. Thank you Jo.
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!
I added some white wine and mushrooms to the chicken mixture and a little more chili peppers and paremesean cheese. Oh No it was sooooo tasty. Thank you for a lovely and keeper recipe!
My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious, added to our family favourite list!
delicious, had to watch video as written instructions were vague. i.e cook chicken.
You must have been looking in the wrong place, here’s step 2 of the instruction to cook the chicken: Cook the chicken: In the meantime, add the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, chicken pieces, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to a large skillet, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.
Make sure you look at the recipe card for full instructions, there’s a button at the top for jumping directly to recipe card. Glad you liked it though. 🙂
It was scrumptious. This is a great week
day meal because the recipe is easy and can be prepared quickly. I made one substitution. My husband has gout and so I swapped out the spinach (which I love), for kale. Just as delicious. My husband says it tastes like “restaurant food.” I will definitely make this again!!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it. I bet it was just as good with kale.