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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
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.
Easy and delicious! I made this for supper tonight and we all enjoyed it. Thank you!
Tasha, I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment!
Oooh my goodness I had no idea that I could leave a comment until now. My family and I all love this recipe so so much. We make this at least once a month. So Delicious.
Melia, I am so happy to hear that you make this recipe regularly! 🙂 Glad you stopped by and left such a wonderful comment!
I made this tonight and it was amazing! The only substantive change I made was to use half chicken broth and half - half and half for the liquid. Simmered the broth with the ingredients, melted the cheese, and added the half and half at the end. My mom brought home some Amish paprika from a recent trip to Shipshawana - I'm sure that helped, too (.5 TBLS). I also sprinkled some Montreal Chicken Seasoning on the chicken. I can't help myself, I love spices! I lined my pasta bowl with some of the remaining raw spinach and spooned the dish over the top. HEAVEN! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Next up - the Apple Pumpkin Bundt Cake!
I love such a detailed comment - what a great feedback! I think Montreal Chicken Seasoning is delicious in this recipe! Love how you lined your pasta bowl with raw spinach and then added the pasta over it - a great way to eat more spinach!
Enjoy the Apple Pumpkin Bundt Cake - it's delicious topped with salted caramel drizzle or dulce de leche (plus chopped pecans)!
Really outstanding! Will definitely make it again but will increase the amour of sauce!
So glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to share your comment and a 5-star review - I appreicate it! 🙂
Really, really good. Made it for the first time tonight and it is now a family favourite.
Daniel, I am so pleased to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and a 5-star review - I appreciate it! 🙂
This dish looks hot & darn nice !
Enjoy!
This has been a favorite of mine now for years! It is so delicious! Do you have a crock pot version?
Nicole, I am so happy to hear that! No, I've never made this in a slow cooker. Thank you for the 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
My family loves this recipe I did add more season, garlic salt, parsley, onion powder,
Little red pepper in stead of paprika. We love it the next day so much better.
Donna, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment + 5-star review! 🙂 I appreciate it!!!
I had the same issue as another person did. Is the cheese clumping together something I did wrong? (obviously lol) or is there a way to prevent it? It's still pretty darn good though! lol
Make sure the sauce is hot enough before you add the shredded cheese. I usually bring the sauce to a brief boil and then reduce so that it simmers on medium or low-medium heat. Then, I gradually sprinkle the cheese evenly over the sauce and keep stirring at all times across the whole skillet/pan until the cheese melts. If that doesn't work, next time try heavy cream instead of half-and-half.
Can you make this ahead of time? What point should you stop…or can you reheat it when you are ready?
You can make the whole recipe ahead, refrigerate it in an airtight container. Reheat it gently on low heat, stirring, and add extra half-and-half or heavy cream to thin out the sauce when reheating.
This looks fantastic! I want to make this tonight. I only have frozen spinach, can I substitute that for fresh spinach? I also only have sundried tomato pesto, can I use that as a substitute for the sundried tomatoes? How much would you recommend of each? Thanks in advance!
Yes, you can use frozen spinach - I would thaw it completely first and get rid of any liquid before adding the spinach to the pasta. I would say add as much as you want - there is no such thing as too much spinach since it cooks down so much. I think sun-dried tomato pesto should work - add about 1/4 cup.
Looks delicious. Can you use another type of cheese?
Can I use parmesan instead of Asiago? Asiago is very hard to find where I live.
Yes, you can definitely use Parmesan!
Excellent meal!! My family loved it which is surprising because I live with very picky eaters.
I made this tonight and it was sooo yummy! But my sauce didn’t turn out like I think it was supposed to. It was like the cheese clumped together and separated….any tips on how to avoid that!? Lol I’m still new to the kitchen
I had the same issue but still pretty good!
I am glad you liked it! Thanks for the 5-star review!
Made this dish tonight and it was fabulous! Simple and delicious with minimal clean up. We will definitely be making this again!