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.
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.
Whats half and half?????
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.
thats right i only use heavy cream i dont know why they say half and half thats not the right way heavy cream and whole milk if anything
Looks delicious! My family is coming over for dinner and i am definitely making this.
Thank you! Enjoy!
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!
Thank you so much, Ann, for such a thoughtful comment! I've never heard of lemon basil - it sounds so delicious!
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.
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?
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.
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.
Mozzerilla clumped and sauce was not creamy, dissappointed. Flavor was ok
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!
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.
Definitely a big hit! Will make again!