30 Minute Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
This creamy Tuscan chicken pasta takes just 30 minutes from start to finish for a quick and easy weeknight dinner your family will love! Sun-dried tomato and Parmesan cream sauce along with juicy herb seasoned chicken breasts are nestled into a bed of al dente fettuccine noodles.
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You Will Love This
- It’s quick and easy! Less than 30 minutes from start to finish is all it takes to get this creamy Tuscan chicken on the dinner table. It’s totally do-able on a busy weeknight or it makes the perfect date night dish for a Friday night in with your other half!
- If you loved this easy creamy Tuscan chicken pasta dish, be sure to check out my Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, 30 Minute Chicken Parmesan Pasta, or my Bacon Pasta with Corn and Basil.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken Breast – Thinly sliced chicken breast is the key to cooking this dish quickly. A large, thick chicken breast is going to take longer to cook, so I like to either buy thinly sliced chicken or cut it myself. If you’re using regular size chicken breast, cut them in half length-wise. Or you can chicken tenders!
- Olive Oil – I like to use a cold-pressed organic olive oil for best flavor.
- Dried Herbs – Dried oregano, dried sage, and dried thyme are a delicious trio of herbs that are going to add tons of flavor. You could also substitute Italian seasoning instead.
- Garlic – Freshly minced garlic is going to give you the best flavor in this Tuscan chicken pasta but you could use 1/2 a teaspoon or so of garlic powder in its place.
- White Wine – You’ll want to use a dry white wine for this recipe. Nothing sweet. I like sauvignon blanc or pinto grigio. If you don’t have wine on hand, feel free to use chicken broth instead.
- Half and Half – This is going to give your cream sauce the very best texture. If you don’t have half and half on hand, you could mix equal parts heavy cream and whole milk as well.
- Parmesan Cheese – The Parmesan in this recipe adds such a delicious layer of nutty flavor. It also makes your cream sauce extra thick and creamy.
- Baby Spinach – The spinach is going to wilt beautifully into the creamy Tuscan sauce. You can leave it out if you prefer, but it’s a really delicious addition.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes – Always use oil packed sun dried tomatoes. I like the ones that also have Italian herbs. The oil that these tomatoes are packed in is SO flavorful, which makes it perfect for sauteing chicken breast or adding to salad dressing (like in my Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad)!
- White Balsamic Vinegar – If you don’t have any on hand, you can use red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or even regular balsamic vinegar in its place. What you’re looking for is something acidic just to cut the creaminess of the sauce. A teaspoon of acid is just the thing to do the trick!
- Fettuccine – I like a wide noodle for this cream sauce so fettuccine works well, but you can really use any pasta for this dish. I like to use a longer cut of pasta – like spaghetti or linguine – but short noodles like penne or rigatoni will work too!
Instructions
Add chicken breast to a large bowl along with oil, oregano, sage, and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
Toss to coat chicken breasts evenly.
Cook chicken until a dark golden-brown crust forms on each side. You may need to cook in batches depending on the size of your pan. Set aside.
Saute garlic, oregano, sage, thyme, and a large pinch of salt and pepper in oil.
Deglaze the pan with white wine, add half and half, and simmer.
Add Parmesan and stir until melted.
Add spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and white balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Nestle chicken into the sauce and cook, covered, on low heat until chicken is heated through.
Slice chicken and spoon cream sauce over fettuccine noodles. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Make Ahead Instructions
- This creamy Tuscan chicken pasta is the perfect make ahead dish! Just follow recipe instructions and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- When you’re ready to eat, you can reheat the pasta, sauce, and chicken all together in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add a splash of half and half to help loosen up the sauce and then cook, stirring frequently until heated through.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Tips
- The perfect pan for this meal is this enameled cast iron pan. It’s the perfect size to hold this delicious dish and it is beautiful enough to go right from your stovetop to the dinner table. This pan is the work horse of my kitchen and I legit use it at least 2-3 times a week.
- If you want to stretch the pasta sauce a bit further so it will evenly coat 16 ounces of cooked fettuccine, add a couple splashes of pasta water or chicken broth. This will thin the sauce a bit and help it to coat every nook and cranny of the noodles.
Try these easy chicken recipes next!
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Creamy Tuscan Chicken
This creamy Tuscan chicken takes just 30 minutes from start to finish for a quick and easy weeknight dinner your family will love! Sun-dried tomato and Parmesan cream sauce along with juicy herb seasoned chicken breasts, nestled into a bed of al dente fettuccine noodles.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American/Italian
Ingredients
Units
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Chicken:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced length-wise
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or oil from sun dried tomatoes)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or oil from sun dried tomatoes)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1.5 cups half and half
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes (oil packed)
- 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Pasta:
- 8 oz. fettuccine, cooked al dente
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
- While you’re sauteeing the chicken breast and making the sauce, cook fettuccine according to package directions just until al dente. Toss in olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add chicken breast to a large bowl and add oil, oregano, sage, and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
- Toss to coat chicken breasts evenly.
- Add chicken to the heated pan and cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until a dark golden-brown crust forms and the chicken is cooked through or very nearly cooked through (you’ll be cooking it for a couple more minutes in the sauce). You may need to cook in batches depending on the size of your pan. Set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to that same pan and turn heat to medium-low.
- Add garlic, oregano, sage, thyme, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add white wine to the pan and deglaze the pan, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add half and half to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
- Reduce heat and gently simmer over low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add Parmesan and stir until melted.
- Add spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and white balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Nestle chicken into the sauce. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 2-4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Slice chicken and spoon cream sauce over al dente fettuccine. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- The perfect pan for this meal is this enameled cast iron pan. It’s the perfect size to hold this delicious dish and it is beautiful enough to go right from your stovetop to the dinner table. This pan is the work horse of my kitchen and I legit use it at least 2-3 times a week.
- If you want to stretch the pasta sauce a bit further so it will evenly coat 16 ounces of cooked fettuccine, add a couple splashes of pasta water or chicken broth. This will thin the sauce a bit and help it to coat every nook and cranny of the noodles.
Definitely giving this a try. The nutrition information looks a bit off though. Hard to believe there’s only 8.8g of carbs with the fettuccine.
There’s only 8 ounces of pasta in the whole recipe and it’s divided into 6 servings. 9g of carbs is accurate.
Excellent!! My whole family loved it!!
So in the middle of cooking it, chicken wasn’t cooked as much as I thought it was inside and it’s pretty pink. Is it fine to just cook it in the sauce still even if it’s pretty pink?
Hey Bri! Hmmm…I’m not sure what “in the middle of cooking it” means. You should saute the chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes. Then finish cooking it in the sauce. Feel free to browse the post for further clarification. In the ingredients section I mention that you should be using thinly sliced chicken so that it cooks quickly. And in the recipe instructions, I mention that you’ll be cooking the chicken in the sauce until it’s cooked through (after sauteing). As described in the recipe instructions “Add chicken to the heated pan and cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until a dark golden-brown crust forms and the chicken is cooked through or very nearly cooked through (you’ll be cooking it for a couple more minutes in the sauce).” You finish cooking the chicken in the sauce. I hope that helps!
Dear kylie, can i use apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic vinegar and also is it alright to use cherrie tomatoes instead of sun dried tomatoes. Thank you, adeline
You can definitely make those substitutions! It will alter the flavor, but I think you’d still end up with a great finished dish!
Delicious! Made it twice, no leftovers at all! Family devoured it!
Love This Recipe 😋🤤
I’m a little confused on the white wine/chicken broth/water….we add all three or is that the options we can add to choose from? Thanks!
You use 2 tablespoons of wine, chicken broth, or water 🙂
Can I use creme fraiche if I don’t have half and half?
I haven’t worked with creme fraiche before, but I think it would work well in this recipe!
what about yogurt?
Did you want to use yogurt in place of the half and half? I think that would be worth trying although I can’t say for sure if it will work out as I haven’t tested it! 🙂