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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.
My family doesn’t like tomatoes, do you think this recipe will still taste good without the sun dried tomatoes?
A lot of flavors come from the sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe. Is it just sun-dried tomatoes that you don't like? What about regular tomatoes. If you like regular tomatoes, try this recipe: Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach.
If you don't like any kind of tomatoes, then try this recipe: Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Bacon.
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback and other recipes.
You are very welcome! I hope my feedback was helpful.
I love this recipe. My picky husband loves it too. The flavor combination pairs so well. This is definitely a keeper recipe.
Thank you for such a wonderful comment! So glad you like this dish!
Hi there, it looks divine, thank you for sharing, you're such an inspiration, 5 ***** rating
You are very welcome!
Amazing!!! Really yummy and fairly easy. I’ll definitely be making this again!
So glad to hear that!
Can you make this and freeze it and then reheat it? I would like to make it for a baby shower for 40 people and need something i can make ahead and re-heat in the oven
I do think this recipe is served best immediately because the cream sauce is very delicate and might separate when reheated.
I made this tonight. Although the flavor was terrific, my sauce never got "creamy". I think it separated and was wondering if you may know where I went wrong?
1) Use pre-shredded Mozzarella cheese. Do not use fresh Mozzarella cheese that you have to shred yourself.
2) Make sure to bring the sauce to the boiling point and reduce to simmer (low boil) before adding cheese. It’s important that the pan and the sauce are hot before you add the cheese. The half-and-half should be simmering.
3) Gradually add the shredded cheese, while the sauce simmers (should be boiling on low) and keep stirring at all times.
Great recipe! My brother in-in-law made it for a family get together in the Tetons and everyone loved it!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
This looks soo good.. I just recently have been learning to cook with sun dried tomatoes..i love them..cant wait to try this!
Enjoy!
Not sure if I missed it but how much chicken is needed for this dish
1 lb chicken breads tenderloins.
1 lb chicken breast tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken breast.
a simple easy dish that is a real crowd pleaser. My family loved it and wanted it more often. Thanks for the great idea and infusion.
I am glad you liked this recipe! 🙂
Hey I have just made this tonight and me and my partner both love it. Can the be re heated the next day? I wasn't sure as it had cream ect in it?
It can be reheated the next day but yes, you have to be really careful because the cream does not reheat well - it might separate. Reheat on low heat on the stovetop, and add extra milk as you reheat it - because the sauce will be thick after being refrigerated.
Made this with Shrimp first and it was delicious, decided to try the chicken, also delicious. Curious though, the recipe calls for basil, did you intend dried basil or fresh? When I made it with shrimp, I happened to have some fresh basil on hand and used that. It definitely was more flavorful with the fresh basil.
I used dried basil in this recipe. And yes, fresh basil tastes so good!
I just made this recipe and my family enjoyed it greatly! I mistakenly purchased sun-dried tomatoes that were not in oil and was concerned that it would reduce the flavor significantly but I don't think it was a problem. As a matter of preference I deglazed the pan with a bit of the pasta water to make sure I didn't leave behind any flavors. I used just enough to deglaze and the excess steamed off and did not effect the sauce. I also used corn and rice flour pasta (I am celiac) and it worked just as well as brown rice pasta. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Lori, for such a detailed and thoughtful comment! So glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Good to know that con and rice flour pasta worked well in this recipe!
Awesome dish! Added these additional items to the recipe: chicken broth, chopped red pepper, broccoli, shrimp and used angel hair pasta topped with chopped green onion.
Your additions sound delicious! So glad you liked this recipe!
This was amazingly delicious...I invited some family over for dinner and served this and they swore that I I ordered it. Everything came together beautifully, I also added chicken broth and mushrooms yo mine.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Mushrooms work great in this recipe!
Sounds delicious! At what point did you add the chicken broth?
If you want to add chicken broth, you can add it as you are making the sauce, together with half-and-half. You can also use chicken broth to thin out the sauce.
Delicious recipe. Have made this a couple of times. Have used shredded Italian cheese (combo of Mozzerella, Parmesan, Romano & Asiago) when I don’t have enough mozzarella on hand. Thank you for a tasty recipe.
You are very welcome! So glad you like this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a kind comment!
It turned out great! My brother, who normally does not like cream based dishes, even said he liked it, and that it tasted like a dish from Olive Garden!
I am so pleased to hear that! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment!