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.
Rick
Very good, and very filling
Julia
I am glad you liked it!
Anna
This has become a go to recipe for me! After the first time I tried it I fell in love! I love pasta and this recipe was so simple and easy to follow but the dish tastes like something I’d order at a restaurant. I will sub with whole wheat pasta sometimes or shrimp for the chicken and both come out amazing!
Julia
Anna, thank you for such a wonderful comment! It made my day! 🙂
Nefertiti
Thank you for such a great recipe. My family and I enjoyed it.
Barbara
I made this tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. Definite keeper recipe.
Julia
Thank you, Barbara! I am so happy to hear that! 🙂
Cindy Medina
This is amazing. I never really believe too much in online recipes . Unless this one was just that easy to follow. This is delicious. Thank you!!
Julia
You're very welcome! So glad you enjoyed this dish! 🙂
Kelly Toedtli
This was awesome!!
Julia
Thank you! 🙂
Christy
I made this recipe and have to say it is one of the best dishes I have ever eaten… made at home or at any restaurant. I totally recommend it. Delicious!!!
Julia
Thank you for such a sweet comment! It made my day! 🙂
Christy
I made this recipe and have to say it is one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten ... made at home or at any restaurant. I totally recommend it. DELICIOUS!!!
Julia
Thank you, thank you! So nice to hear something like that! 🙂
Neetu
Making it tonight wish me luck!!
Julia
I hope you enjoyed this dish! 🙂
Jacki
It smelled so good, but wasn’t really my flavor. My husband really liked it though. I’ve been subbing out white noodles for whole wheat for a while now, I think this is one of those dishes that needs white noodles.
Julia
I am glad your husband liked it! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your feedback!
Lexie Smith
I couldn’t purchase Asiago cheese where I live so used parmasan instead. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.
This was a really tasty dish that was easy to prepare.
Thanks for the recipe.
Julia
You're so welcome! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
carlotta
Can this be made ahead, refrigerated and heated through
the next day for a party?
Julia
When making pasta dish recipes with creamy sauce as in this recipe, I really prefer to serve this right away. That said, you can certainly reheat it the next day, just be sure to reheat it on gentle heat otherwise the sauce might separate. Also, as you reheat this dish and once it gets hot, the sauce might get thick - you can thin it out by gradually adding small amounts of half and half and stirring it in.
Also, the presentation of this dish might suffer after reheating. This pasta dish looks the best when served immediately. 🙂
Denise
I’m a Personal Chef and made this today. It was fantastic and one of the best pasta dishes I have made in a long time. Thanks for posting
Julia
You're very welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Meredith HIll
I made this tonight and I have been cooking for many years. I haven’t tasted it yet but the sauce is like water and I nearly doubled the amount of Asiago. The only change I made is that I USED trader Joe’s Non fat half and half. Otherwise I followed the recipe precisely. So glad I decided not to have company for dinner,!!
June Scarantino
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Julia
You're very welcome! I am glad you enjoyed it!