Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach - with everything smothered in a delicious Asiago cheese sauce. Easy recipe that tastes great and looks great.
If you love Asiago cheese, this is a great recipe to try! Asiago definitely has a very strong and distinctive flavor, and when melted into a creamy sauce for this Asiago Chicken Pasta, that flavor becomes more smooth yet you can still recognize it's an Asiago cheese. To me, using Asiago cheese in a pasta sauce is my favorite way to use it. And it is perfectly complemented by chicken sauteed with garlic, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes!
Short pasta, such as penne, is perfect for creamy pasta recipes like this one - Asiago cheese cream sauce perfectly coats every single pasta bite. Both pasta and chicken are literally drowning in the Asiago sauce deliciousness! This recipe can easily be made gluten free by using gluten free brown rice penne.
Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach
Ingredients
- 8 oz penne pasta (use gluten free brown rice penne, for gluten free version)
- â…“ cup sun-dried tomatoes with oil 2 tablespoons
- 1 lb chicken breast sliced in half, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup half and half and more - (half milk - half cream to form a lighter cream)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Asiago cheese shredded
- 2 cups spinach fresh
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain, rinse.
- Use sun-dried tomatoes in oil - if the sun-dried tomatoes are too big, chop them into smaller bites.
- Heat sun-dried tomatoes (cut them) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped garlic on medium heat. Add chopped chicken breast to the sun-dried tomatoes and oil - generously season the chicken in the skillet with salt and paprika. Cook chicken until it's cooked through completely.
- To the same skillet with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, add 1 cup of half and half and ¼ teaspoon salt - bring to boil. Add ½ cup of grated Asiago cheese (half of what the recipe calls for) and stir for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Reduce the heat from boil to medium and continue stirring to make sure all cheese melts. At this point, if the sauce is too thin, gradually add the remaining ½ of Asiago cheese on medium heat, constantly stirring all around the skillet.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add another â…“ cup of half and half and stir.
- Taste the sauce - if ¼ teaspoon salt was not enough, add more.
- Add cooked and drained pasta to the sauce. Add spinach, mix everything - cover with the lid and let the pasta sit to allow spinach to wilt, on low simmer. After spinach has wilted, stir everything together to combine, taste and add more salt, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Does this recipe freeze well?
I discovered this recipe seven years ago. It is my favorite!
I guess my comment wasn’t good enough
Diane, maybe give it more than 11 minutes for a reply?
Excellent especially if you like asiago cheese
Has anyone made this with whole box of pasta which is 12 0z not 8. Not sure if I should double sauce recipe for full box of pasta?
Heather, I wouldn't double the sauce. This recipe has enough sauce for 12 oz of pasta.
Just made this tonight and it was awesome. So much flavour and creamy texture. One of those recipes that turns out as expected.
Mike, your comment really made my day! 🙂
My family likes this recipe however I hate cooking it. I’m a beginner so it’s hard for me to fix the consistency of the sauce, the cheese only separates. Never melts. I looked at the other reviews and saw someone had the same issue and saw she fixed it by using heavy whipping cream. I feel like that could be put in the instructions somewhere to help people out.
Allison, yes, using heavy cream will help the creaminess. Also, shred the Asiago cheese at least 30 minutes before using it in the recipe. Room temperature cheese will melt better, too.
Made the asiago chicken pasta tonight sooo delicious I hadded more garlic,never have enough, shallots and added some of the pasta water and a bit of sambal oelek to kick it a notch,will make it again for sure
Thank you Julia for your great recipe.
Pierrette
Pierrette, thank you for taking the time to share this glowing review - I really appreciate it! 🙂 I am on the same page with you - the more garlic, the better! 🙂