• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Julia's Album

I make lots of dinner recipes!

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
    • Main Dishes — >
      • Pasta
      • Chicken
      • Seafood
    • Desserts — >
      • Cakes
      • Cookies
      • Sweet Breads
      • Muffins
      • Crepes
    • Pasta
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Breakfast — >
      • Pancakes
      • Crepes
    • Gluten Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Pumpkin
    • Recipe List – Detailed
    • By Ingredient
  • Contact
  • Get Recipes by Email
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

November 25, 2014 by Julia 36 Comments

Pin165.9K
Share691
Yum4.2K
+13
Tweet7
Email

chicken pasta, broccoli pasta, sun-dried tomato cream sauce recipe

Delicious Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce: short, penne pasta smothered in a flavorful, creamy sauce spiced up with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and crushed red pepper flakes! When you taste this dish, it will make you feel like you just had a taste of Italy!

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):

cooking chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper

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:

MY OTHER VIDEOS

adding half and half and cheese to the pasta

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.

gluten free pasta recipe, best italian recipes

Print
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
  • 1 lb chicken breasts, sliced
  • salt
  • paprika (just a little bit)
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free, use Tinkyada gluten free brown rice pasta)
  • 1/2 pound broccoli florets
  • 1 tablespoon basil (if using dry basil), if using fresh basil you can add more
  • 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (at least, use more to taste)
  • 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
  4. Add about 1/2 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.
  5. Note: Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
3.1
https://juliasalbum.com/chicken-and-broccoli-pasta-with-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce/

Pin165.9K
Share691
Yum4.2K
+13
Tweet7
Email

Filed Under: Broccoli, Cheese, Chicken, Dinner, Gluten Free, Mozzarella, Pasta, Recipe, Vegetables

Follow Julia on Pinterest and Facebook to get more recipes and dinner ideas!

« How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. susan ormerod

    February 9, 2018 at 4:55 am

    Whats half and half?????

    Reply
    • Julia

      February 24, 2018 at 3:17 pm

      Half and half is a US milk product. To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup regular milk + 1/2 cup heavy cream.

      Reply
  2. James

    September 26, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Looks delicious! My family is coming over for dinner and i am definitely making this.

    Reply
    • Julia

      October 31, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      Thank you! Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Ann

    August 26, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    I know this is an older post but if you can ever find some lemon basil or know someone that grows it, try it in dishes that call for regular basil. Very fresh tasting! Great for caprese and even salsa! I used leftover chicken for this and subbed fire-roasted red bell pepper for the sun-dried tomato (didn’t feel like going shopping :D). I used heavy cream and melted the mozzarella over low heat in it in a double boiler. I like to add a bit of butter when melting cheese for a sauce like this. Came out great! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Julia

      November 3, 2017 at 6:27 pm

      Thank you so much, Ann, for such a thoughtful comment! I’ve never heard of lemon basil – it sounds so delicious!

      Reply
  4. Connie

    May 20, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    This is a real winner. I race my sailboat offshore with 7 hungry guys. We have this as a first night offshore meal. I do the chicken and the pasta ahead and then mix them on the boat. Not as good as if I’d done it all right then and there, but it really hits the spot. If there is any left over, which there usually isn’t, it’s even good cold at breakfast. Hey, when you are racing, you never leave anything good to die in the fridge.

    Reply
  5. Esther

    January 24, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    So the first time i made this, it turned out perfectly! So so good. But i made again recently, and my sauce “broke” – the half n half n Mozzarella just curdled n clumped together. how do i prevent this?? Did i heat it up too high?

    Reply
    • Julia

      January 31, 2017 at 12:03 am

      I’ve had some fails with the cheese sauces as well, and here are my take-aways:

      1) Half and half should be added to the HOT pan where you have already cooked the chicken and sun-dried tomatoes in some oil.
      2) After you add the cream (half and half), bring the cream to a complete but gentle boil.
      3) Add the cheese and keep stirring until the sauce is creamy.

      It’s important that the pan and the liquids (half and half) are really hot before adding the cheese. This will ensure that the cheese will melt nicely and quickly. It is also important to have some hot fat (oil) in the pan before adding the liquids – that’s why you cook the chicken and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil in the same pan BEFORE adding the cream (half and half). I hope this helps.

      Reply
  6. Tom Sabol

    September 8, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    I made this tonight, for my Mom and sister. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about making something new. I have to say that everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again. The next time I will double the recipe, because there were hardly any leftovers. I just added a tossed salad, and it was more than enough for all of us.

    Reply
  7. bonny

    February 5, 2016 at 7:26 pm

    Mozzerilla clumped and sauce was not creamy, dissappointed. Flavor was ok

    Reply
  8. Adrianna Vazquez

    January 26, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    I made this dish for dinner tonight, my husband absolutely loved it, as did I, it has so much flavor and wasn’t difficult to prepare. Thank you for the great recipe!

    Reply
  9. Kenny

    January 1, 2016 at 10:06 am

    The picture and list of ingredients were all agreeable, so I made it last night. Unfortunately the dish did not have much favor. Seemed like it was missing something. Sorry for the bad review.

    Reply
  10. Rebecca

    December 18, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Definitely a big hit! Will make again!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Food blog, dinner recipes, weeknight dinners, chicken dinners, pasta recipesWelcome to my blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinner recipes!
Follow me on PINTEREST
Facebook

Popular Posts

Creamy Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella SauceCreamy Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella Sauce
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream SauceChicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Broccoli, and BaconFettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Broccoli, and Bacon
Tomato Spinach Chicken SpaghettiTomato Spinach Chicken Spaghetti
Shrimp, tomato, and spinach pasta in garlic butter sauceShrimp, tomato, and spinach pasta in garlic butter sauce

Join me here:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Pinterest

Footer

Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Disclaimer

Copyright © 2018 · All Rights Reserved · JuliasAlbum.com

Copyright © 2018 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework