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Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes - Italian-inspired dinner with the best homemade creamy pasta sauce! The sun-dried tomato pasta sauce is made from scratch using basil, red pepper flakes, garlic, paprika, cream, and shredded Mozzarella cheese.
I am a huge fan of pasta, and some of the most popular pasta recipes on this site include this chicken mozzarella pasta that you are reading right now, creamy chicken pasta with bacon, and pesto chicken pasta. One thing all these pasta recipes have in common is that they use creamy, comforting sauces.
If you want to try chicken pasta that is more refreshing, without the creamy sauce, I whole-heartedly recommend family favorite chicken pasta with spinach and tomatoes or super flavorful Italian sausage pasta.
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
- This recipe features sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Both ingredients are popular in Italy and in the Mediterranean region.
- The most prominent flavor in this recipe is the homemade sun-dried tomato sauce. The sauce is made from scratch by combining cream with shredded Mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes.
- Cooked chicken and penne pasta are then smothered in this delicious creamy Mozzarella pasta sauce. There is enough sauce to coat every single bite.
Ingredients for sun-dried tomato sauce
- 3 garlic cloves
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes
- olive oil
- salt
- paprika
- basil
- 1 cup half-and-half (or ½ cup heavy cream + ½ cup milk)
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
How to make sun-dried tomato sauce
- In a large skillet, cook 3 cloves of minced garlic and 4 oz of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high-medium heat for about 1 minute.
- Add ½ cup of heavy cream + ½ cup of milk (or 1 cup of half-and-half) to the same skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
- Add 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.
- Simmer and stir until the cheese melts and forms a creamy pasta sauce.
- Add 1 tablespoon of dried basil, paprika, and at least ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- Season with about ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Cooking Tips
- Use either sun-dried tomatoes without oil or sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar). Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them.
- Sprinkle a small amount of paprika over the chicken before cooking - it adds flavor as well as the color to the dish.
- Make sure to reserve some pasta water as you will DEFINITELY need it to thin out the cream sauce.
- Feel free to increase the amount of spices for this recipe: basil, red pepper flakes, paprika. This will make the sun-dried tomato sauce even more flavorful!
- Make sure to season the chicken mozzarella pasta with just the right amount of salt. That means you might have to add more salt. Salt will enhance the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
How to Make Chicken Mozzarella Pasta
1) In a large skillet, on medium heat sauté garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in the olive oil. Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the skillet.
2) Season sliced chicken with salt and paprika.
3) Add the chicken to the skillet and cook on high heat.
4) Add back the sun-dried tomatoes. Add half-and-half and shredded Mozzarella cheese.
5) Bring the mixture to boil, then reduce to simmer and stir the sun-dried tomato sauce until the cheese melts.
6) Add spices: basil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt.
7) Add cooked and drained penne pasta and stir to combine.
More recipes featuring sun-dried tomato pasta
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Mozzarella Sauce features shrimp instead of chicken.
- Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach - this sun-dried tomato pasta is made even more flavorful with the addition of Asiago cheese and spinach.
- Scallop Pasta features scallops - another protein you can use in place of chicken in a recipe that is otherwise very similar to this one.
- Creamy Mozzarella Pasta with Smoked Sausage is a great choice if you want to make the same pasta with sausage.
- Sun-Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta is the meatless version of this recipe.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Creamy Mozzarella Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breast tenderloins , sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup half and half (or use ½ cup heavy cream + ½ cup milk)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded (do not use fresh Mozzarella, use pre-shredded Mozzarella)
- 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
- 1 tablespoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup reserved cooked pasta water or more
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar) for 1 minute on medium heat until the garlic is fragrant.
- Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the skillet, leaving the olive oil.
- Add sliced chicken (salted 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. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain the pasta.
- Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller pieces and add them back to the skillet with chicken.
- To make creamy pasta sauce, add half-and-half (see substitution for half-and-half in the Recipe Notes section below) and Mozzarella cheese to the skillet, and bring to a gentle boil.
- Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms.
- Add cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with the cream sauce, and stir to combine.
- Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- If the creamy sauce is too thick: Add about ½ cup of reserved cooked pasta water to the skillet to thin it out. Do not add all of pasta water at once - you might need less or more of it.
- Season the chicken pasta with salt 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.
Notes
- What is half-and-half? Substitute ½ cup of milk + ½ cup of heavy cream for 1 cup of half-and-half.
- If using sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained olive oil.
- Do not use fresh Mozzarella. Fresh Mozzarella is usually sold as a large ball or small balls in a brine or water solution. Do not shred fresh Mozzarella. Use pre-shredded Mozzarella cheese sold in bags.
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.
This recipe was originally published in October 2014 and updated in 2018.
Pinned it, tried it! ¡Deliciosa!
Thank you! I am glad you like it!
Have you ever tried making ahead and freezing ? I just thought it would be great to pop into the oven on a busy night after ball practice ?
I never tried freezing this, but refrigerating works great. If you freeze the cream sauce, usually the texture changes drastically after reheating: the cream sauce splits and ends up grainy. I would not recommend freezing.
Hello Julia,
Thank you for sharing this recipe, I made it last night and it was a hit. My husband and my 1 year old loved it. It was not too greasy and just the right amount of cheese. My husband was asking if it was possible to incorporate something sweet in the recipe. Do you possibly have any ideas? He has a bigger sweet tooth than me. I personally loved it without any changes.
*I made sure to squeeze all the oil out of the tomatoes which made all the difference with the grease.
Helen, I am so glad both you and your husband enjoyed it. About adding something sweet, two things come to mind: sweet Italian sausage or cooked, cubed butternut squash.
Can I sub the chicken with lobster?
Absolutely! You think the way I do - I love lobster pasta! Just make sure to not overcook lobster or it will be rubbery, cook it just a little bit, remove it, and then add it back in the end.
I just made this for my husband and he loved it! He asked me to add it to the rotation so it must be pretty tasty. It was quick and easy to make so that's also a plus.
Lindsay, thank you! I am so glad you and your husband liked this and added this recipe to the rotation!
I just made this tonight for dinner. It was delicious! I followed the instructions for draining the tomatoes and only using 2 TBS of the oil to cook with. It was not oily by any means. I never would have thought to cook with the oil from the tomatoes, kudos for that idea! I used what I had on hand; heavy cream instead of half and half, smoked paprika and I used some pasta water but also wanted to add more cream. I didn't have anymore so I actually added about 1/4 cup of buttermilk and oh my goodness this was awesome. I seasoned with salt to taste and this was not bland at all. I think using good quality ingredients makes all the difference! We will definitely make this again and I will be checking out your other recipes too. Thanks!
me being miss pick.....I loved this...this is one of my FAVORITES
Hi, is there a way to print your recipe without the ad? I printed out the Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. I don't want to waste the paper and the ink. Thanks.
Made this last night and it was great! The only comment I have is that the recipe calls out penne, but the picture looks like rigatoni... I think next time I'll try rigatoni, not that it makes a huge difference obviously, but just an observation. Still was delicious!
This is one of my husbands FAVORITE meals. Reading through some of the comments regarding cost makes me sad. My 25 year old daughter complains about this too. So she ends up not cooking meals for her family. My advise is ask for starter spices for gifts. Once you build your spice rack these recipes are not that expensive to make. Take away the spices this recipe would roughly cost $15 to make to feed 4 people. We are military so we understand a tight budget with 2 smalls.
Julia I am now following you everywhere lol and getting friends on the band wagon. Love your food.
I am in desperate need of you help. I made the mozzarella chicken with Sundried tomatoes and every time my sauce turns into a stringy clumpy mess. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks so much
I think this recipe is good! I adjusted it a little for my own preference. I added sautéed onions, fresh spinach, mushrooms, prosciutto and ended up using 2 full cups of the half and half. I added the cheese and left over water but I added so much extra I needed the extra half and half. I also cut up the sun dried tomatoes and all other additions and sautéed together. I cut up raw chicken thighs into chicken strips and cooked separately. I added the paprika, red pepper and basil, then some black pepper and Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I like taking recipes and making it a little of my own. We all have our own tastes.
I love this recipe! I have made it for my family, my extended family, and for friends and everytime it's a hit! Thanks for sharing this, I am not creative in the kitchen and am always pleased when I come across a recipe that is a hit with everyone 🙂
Just a few tips.
1) do not cook any of this on high. Garlic cooks fast and burns fast. You cook garlic on high, you'll have burnt garlic before you even really start. Cook on medium.
2) Cooking chicken tenders on high for one minute each side will give you burnt chicken with a raw center. Cook it on medium until they are cooked through.
3) If your sauce is too thick, just add more half-n-half. Much creamier this way.
4) precut your sun-dried tomatoes. Lava hot tomatoes are a challenge to cut.
5) if you skip removing the chicken, and begin the next step before the chicken is just done, you cook in those cheesy flavors. Removing the chicken is unnecessary.
The first time I cooked this, I followed the directions to the letter, and burned everything. This time I tweaked it and got a perfect dish.
Love the collection of pasta recipes. Very inspirational and gave me lots of ideas!