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Pasta Chicken

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Published: Nov 25, 2014 | 48 Comments

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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!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce in a large All-Clad skillet

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 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 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):

cooking chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper (process shot)

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:

adding half and half and cheese to the pasta (process shot)

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.

stirring everything together in a large skillet

5 from 4 votes
Print
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

Penne pasta smothered in a flavorful, creamy sauce spiced up with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and crushed red pepper flakes!  Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce - Make this Italian-inspired pasta dish at home.  

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Julia
Ingredients
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
  • 1 lb chicken breasts , sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 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)
  • 1/2 pound broccoli florets
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes , at least, use more to taste
  • 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water or more
  • 1/4 teaspoon 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.

Filed Under: Broccoli, Cheese, Chicken, Dinner, Gluten Free, Mozzarella, Pasta, Recipe, Vegetables Published: Nov 25, 2014 48 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jackie

    Feb 02, 2021 at 3:44 am

    To make it less calorie heavy could you use light creme frais

    Reply
  2. Roberta

    Aug 20, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    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!!!!

    Reply
  3. Richard

    Jul 06, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    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 .

    Reply
  4. Stephanie B Rettenmaier

    Sep 03, 2019 at 3:35 pm

    Was checking to see if it was 1/2 lb of broccoli or if it was supposed to be 1/2 cup. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Julia

      Sep 28, 2019 at 3:16 pm

      1/2 pound of broccoli.

      Reply
  5. Laura

    Apr 26, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    Hi, just wondering what ‘half and half’ is?

    Reply
    • Julia

      Jun 03, 2019 at 3:14 pm

      To make 1 cup of half-and-half, you can combine 1/2 cup of heavy cream + 1/2 cup of milk.

      Reply
  6. Cheyanne

    Aug 09, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    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 .

    Reply
    • Julia

      Aug 16, 2018 at 1:02 pm

      This is so cute – dinosaur shaped pasta! Enjoy! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Luis Rebolledo

    Jun 10, 2018 at 8:53 am

    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

    Reply
    • Julia

      Jul 17, 2018 at 4:48 am

      You’re very welcome! I am glad you liked this recipe! Spinach and cherry tomatoes are great additions!

      Reply
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