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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.
Does this dish reheat well the next day?
I would like to make it one & serve it the next.
I added rosemary to this, loved it.
Was good but i also added a small amount of
Blue cheese cause it was bland. Came out better with a extra kick
I am glad you liked it!
Thank you ; good to know all kinds of pasta could be used !
Enjoy!
I definitely want to make this recipe. Your recipe calls for 8 ounces of Penne pasta. Your recipe does not go much into the pasta. Is the pasta just measured out dry to 8 ounces? Do you just cook it according to package directions?
Thanks!
Yes, I used 8 ounces of dry pasta - I think my package actually had exactly 8 oz. I cook it according to package instructions al dente. I've made this recipe with regular pasta and with gluten free brown rice pasta as well.
I made this recipe once before and it was delicious. I am going to make it again. Can I use fresh mozzarella? I just happen to have some.
I've only used pre-shredded packaged mozzarella here. I would think fresh mozzarella (shredded) should work too, but not sure.
I used fresh mozzarella and chopped it fine to simulate shredded. It softened then stretched then clumped together as I stirred it. It never melted into the sauce. I have to wonder if it had something to do with the cheese being fresh.
I never used fresh Mozzarella for the sauce. I always use pre-shredded Mozzarella in bags at grocery stores. Fresh Mozzarella is probably not the best to use for the creamy sauce.
Thank you for this recipe. Made for the first time tonight. Used half fat creme fraiche, and skimmed milk. Also added chopped smoked bacon absolutely delicious. Thank you
You're very welcome! Good to know this recipe worked with half fat creme fraiche and skimmed milk.
Just made this. Flavor is excellent and well balanced and the texture is super creamy; a very delicious meal.
My only advice would be to prep everything (get it all measured out and ready) before you start, as this recipe goes really fast.
Thank you, Mike! So glad you liked it! Yes, good advice on having everything ready before starting the recipe.
Can I use cream instead of half and half? We don’t have this in Norway 🙂
Yes, you can use cream. Depending on what kind of cream you use, the cream might be too thick, in which case you might have to thin it out with milk. Usually, a good approximation for half and half is this: 1 cup of half and half can be made with 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
Can this be made ahead earlier in the day, transferred to a baking dish, and heated back in the oven?
Thanks!
Yes, I think it's doable. However, do reheat the pasta in the oven over gentle heat and watch the dish closely, as the sauce might separate at higher temperatures.
I do love this, make it about once a month. But it takes me much longer than a minute to cook chicken, like 10-12 mins and they r bite sized pieces. Just wondered if I was cutting pieces wrong to get it cooked in a min on each side. So roughly takes me after prep an hr or so. But other than the time which could be my timing this is so one of my favorite thing I have on here to make. Thank you.
Thank you for such a sweet comment - I am so glad you've been enjoying this recipe. 🙂 When you initially cook the sliced chicken covered with paprika and salt for 1 minute on each side on high heat, the chicken might not completely cook through during that step - which is OK, because in the next steps you're adding the sauce ingredients to the same skillet with the chicken still in it, and the chicken continues to cook through with the sauce. This way, we make sure that the chicken is not overcooked.
Thank you it was very delicious. My husband is very picky with pasta an he loved it.
You're very welcome! I am glad you both enjoyed it. : )
Made this tonight! Fantastic. Added 7oz of Sundried Tomatoes as I love them and a little extra mozzarella. Omitted the red pepper flake as I forgot to buy it.
Thank you, Veronica! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe. I also love sun-dried tomatoes and add extra for my plate. 🙂
I've made this before and my family LOVED it. Making tonight for a sick friend. Can she reheat in the oven at dinner time?
Yes, she can reheat it in the oven. Just make sure to reheat it gently, on lower heat and watch closely: heating the creamy sauce on high heat will make it separate.
Do you use fresh basil or dried?
I used dried basil.