Delicious Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce - Italian-inspired recipe. Penne pasta smothered in a flavorful, creamy sauce spiced up with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and crushed red pepper flakes!
Broccoli and creamy sauce always go together as in this chicken broccoli alfredo pasta and this fettuccine alfredo with chicken, broccoli and bacon, especially if you add sun-dried tomatoes and basil!
What is half and half
To make 1 cup of half and half, combine ½ cup of milk and ½ cup of heavy cream.
How to make creamy chicken and broccoli pasta
First, drain and reserve all olive oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar. Then, add 2 tablespoons of that reserved oil to the hot skillet and saute first sun-dried tomatoes, then add chicken (generously salted on both sides and sprinkled with paprika):
Add half-and-half and Mozzarella cheese, heat it up to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce to simmer. Cook constantly stirring until cheese melts, adding basil and crushed red pepper flakes along the way:
In the mean time, cook both pasta and broccoli florets in a single pan (or steam broccoli separately, if you prefer), chop the broccoli into smaller pieces, and add both pasta and broccoli to the creamy sauce. Stir everything in. Remove pasta from heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
- 1 lb chicken breasts , sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
- ½ pound broccoli florets
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes , at least, use more to taste
- ½ cup reserved cooked pasta water or more
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) and saute for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add sliced chicken breasts (generously salted on both sides and lightly covered in paprika, for color) and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side. Remove from heat.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. When pasta is about half done, add the broccoli florets. Continue cooking both pasta and broccoli for about 5 more minutes, until pasta is al dente. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
- Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits and add them back to the skillet with chicken. Add half and half and cheese to the skillet, too, and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick - don't worry - you'll be adding some cooked pasta water soon. Add cooked pasta and broccoli to the skillet with the creamy sauce, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, at least ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
- Add about ½ cup reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once - you might need less or more of it). This will water down the thickness of the cheese sauce and make it creamier. Immediately, season the pasta with salt, more basil, and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.
- Note: Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
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.
This is definitely a fast weeknight meal. Comes together quickly. Having everything prepped ahead of time makes it fast. Only had Italian blend cheese on hand. It was perfect. Thanks for the recipe
So glad this recipe turned out well for you, Sandie! Thank you for your 5-star review!
So good, thanks, Julia! I had to sub parmesan for mozzarella because we were out, but we loved it. Definitely doing this again!
I am so happy the recipe was enjoyed! Yes, this pasta works well with Parmesan cheese!
Hi there,
Can this dish be frozen?
It's best to serve this immediately, as cream-based sauces can be tricky to reheat.
To make it less calorie heavy could you use light creme frais
I loved this recipe! It went together very quickly, the addition of sundries tomatoes added a great complexity to the dish as well as the mozzarella! This is such a versatile dish and the suggestion of adding spinach and grape tomatoes will be definitively added next time!!!!
Recipe is simple enough and certainly flexible enough to do a change up. Has all the things I like in it.
My question is what pan is that? Clearly an All-clad .
Was checking to see if it was 1/2 lb of broccoli or if it was supposed to be 1/2 cup. Thanks.
1/2 pound of broccoli.
Hi, just wondering what ‘half and half’ is?
To make 1 cup of half-and-half, you can combine 1/2 cup of heavy cream + 1/2 cup of milk.
Making this tonight for dinner and I know it will be a hit.i have made this before without broccoli.this time though we using dinosaur shaped pasta that my seven year old son picked out .
This is so cute - dinosaur shaped pasta! Enjoy! 🙂
I am a firehouse cook and fireman can be a finicky bunch. This dsh was a definite crowd pleaser and is now in my repetuar. I added some spinach and cherry tomatoes at the end because I had extra and it went well. Flavorful and very satisfying. Hosting poker this month and going to try it on the boys. Have no doubt it will win them over too, Thankyou
You're very welcome! I am glad you liked this recipe! Spinach and cherry tomatoes are great additions!