Humble chicken and pasta in a simple cream sauce get dressed up with fresh spinach and sundried tomatoes for a fantastic meal that feels extra special. Make this Creamy Chicken Pasta dish this week!
This is one of those perfect quick dinner recipes for weeknights!
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After years of feeding children whose tastes changed with the wind and too many dinners wasted because some kid didn’t like it, I fell into a rut of serving only what was safe. And then I read French Kids Eat Everything and decided to get my brave on.
Getting brave for a mom can sometimes mean adding spinach to your Creamy Chicken Pasta and holding your breath. In fact, when I crafted this chicken dish with spinach and sundried tomatoes, I figured there would be plenty for leftovers.
Au contraire, mon frere.
That first night my peeps were fighting over the itty bitty that was left. Had I known this, I would have made a double batch. Now, five years later when I do make a double batch, there are still no leftovers.
Except for maybe those random bits of sundried tomatoes that someone has left behind on his plate. Pearls to swine, what can I say?
Seriously, though, this Creamy Chicken Pasta is pretty out of this world. It cooks up quickly, reheats beautifully, and is packed with all kinds of flavors and textures: moist chicken, sweet, chewy tomatoes, slightly bitter spinach, and tangy, melty cheese. It’s a feast for the senses!
And if you (or your kids) are not so brave, you can easily divide the mixture into two pans before you add the tomatoes and spinach. Either way it’s delicious!
How I make this cheap:
This Creamy Chicken Pasta is pretty economical by virtue of its being a simple pasta dish. Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe even more affordable:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale! When I see a great price on pasta, I buy a lot of it. We almost always have a stockpile of noodles in the pantry. Fresh spinach and chicken go on sale often.
- A little goes a long way – Parmesan cheese and sun dried tomatoes are packed with flavor so you only need to use a small amount.
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment to cook pasta! However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- large stockpot – Mine is a Kitchenaid that I’ve had for 14 years!
- collander – We just bought this one this year to replace a broken plastic one.
- large pasta bowl – I have this one and love it!
- plastic cutting board – I have several: blue for veggies; white for meats
- Ergo chef chef’s knife – some of my favorite knives
Creamy Chicken Pasta With Spinach And Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast , trimmed and cubed
- 1 clove garlic , chopped
- salt
- black pepper
- ⅓ cup dry sherry
- 2 cup baby spinach chopped
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes (julienned)
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried rubbed sage
- 1 lb rotini pasta cooked and drained according to package directions
- Parmesan cheese (shredded) for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a skillet over high heat, heat the butter and oil.
- Add the chicken and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Chicken should be almost cooked through, but still slightly pink inside. Remove to a covered dish with a slotted spoon.
- Add the sherry to the pan, scraping up any bits. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, allowing the liquid to cook down a bit.
- Add the spinach, cream, tomatoes, and sage. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the spinach is slightly wilted and the sauce has thickened a bit. Do not boil.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce.
- Add the chicken and sauce to the drained pasta in a large serving bowl. Toss to blend.
- Serve with shredded parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally posted February 29, 2012. Updated October 21, 2017.
pam cox
In the recipe for the creamy chicken pasta .Do you have to use sherry,or is there something else you can use?
Jessica Fisher
You can omit it if you prefer, or use white wine or marsala. The alcohol cooks away and leaves some yummy flavor behind.
Martha Artyomenko
Looks really good!
Laura@ Stealthy Mom
I bet our brood will love your chicken recipe! Mmmm sundried tomatoes… Thank you for your chicken-inspired link-up. I shared Garbanzo Chicken, a one-casserole dish. Enjoy!
Victoria
I am finding that I am lacking leftovers with just about any dish I server now that I have a 16 year old son. I was just telling my husband last night, when I served a huge dish of chicken and noodles, and had just one small container left for his lunch the next day, “remember when I use to make this and serve it and then the two of us could eat it for lunch for two days?” Welcome to life with a hungry teenage boy I guess!
mjskit
Your chicken and pasta dish looks delicious! Love the addition of the sun-dried tomatoes. Thanks for hosting.
Michelle @ Simplify, Live, Love
Looks so good! I pinned it so I don’t forget about it. Thanks also for the linky. I added a recipe for a really delicious chicken with mushroom & artichoke sautee!
Johanna
This looks delicious! I’m going to have to try it this next week, I think!
City Share
Your dish looks great. I love the idea of a chicken recipe link up because we are always looking for new ways to dress up chicken. I’m sharing a curry chicken salad. It’s super quick and easy, but it feels special and it’s a crowd pleaser.
Jan
Oh man, that looks good!! Sounds like something I had a while back at a restaurant, throw in a dab of ricotta on top for extra creaminess and it would be perfect!! Saved to March recipes to try! Thanks for sharing!
Jen Blacker
Thank you for hosting. I’m always looking for new chicken recipes, this is a great idea today!
I shared my oven “fried” chicken this week. I love it and make it several times a month. It does come out nice and crispy.
Savannah McQueen
Thanks for hosting and I don’t think that I can ever have enough chicken recipes.
Erin
That looks so yummy! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Kristin
Sounds heavenly! I’ve never cooked with sherry before. Would it be with alcohol products in the grocery store? Does brand matter?
Jessica Fisher
Yes, there’s sherry in the liquor department or you can get cooking sherry with the vinegars. Foodies would tell you to get the first, but for the money, I use the second.