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)
- ⅓ 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 ⅓ 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
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.
I made it twice last weekend for 2
Dinner parties. The first time I used half & half & the sauce separated a little & became graining. The second time, I used half & half & it was delightful & creamy. Both times, I received fantastic reviews by my guest. Was wondering if anyone has used shrimp (seafood of any kind) in place of the chicken. I know the cooking would be different but wondering if it would pair well. Thank you!
Sorry I meant I used heavy whipping cream the 2nd time.
Danielle, thank you for this helpful feedback! Yes, sometimes using heavy cream instead of half-and-half is better for the creamy sauce. I also recommend shredding the cheese as the first step in the recipe or even earlier. So that the cheese is at room temperature when you add it to the sauce.
Danielle, shrimp would be delicious with this sauce! You can add it instead of chicken and it will pair really well!
Can this be froze?
Kristina, I do not recommend freezing creamy sauces as they lose their texture after freezing.
I’ve made this twice and both times it came out absolutely delicious! I don’t measure but I eyeball everything! Love it!
Wendy, I am so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you for the comment and 5-star review! 🙂
Ten stars! I knew just from the ingredients I would love this so I doubled the recipe. Did exactly as stated. Delicious and seconds worthy. Can not wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow! Thank you so much.
Donna, thank you so much for such a positive and enthusiastic comment! Glad you loved this! 🙂
We make this all the time and it is definitely one of our families favorites. We cannot find Asiago cheese but use Pecorino instead. Great recipe, highly reccomended.
Daniel, I am so flattered by your feedback! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment. Pecorino cheese is so flavorful, too!