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.
Janet
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Very easy to prepare & so flavourful.
I added fresh basil to the finished dish instead of dry basil during cooking.
It added a very fresh flavour.
Julia
Janet, I am so glad you liked it! Thank you for the 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
Amanda
Delicious and easy! Loved it!!!
Julia
Glad to hear that! Thank you for 5-star review! 🙂
Debra
OMG, this recipe was easy, fast, inexpensive, and DELICIOUS!! I'll definitely make it again soon. My only change was that I doubled it.
Julia
Debra, I am so glad you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for the comment!
Robin
Very good, my husband has was thrilled with the results. I already had grilled chicken so I used that. I double the recipe recipe except I didn’t double the basil or paprika. It was delicious! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipe
Julia
Robin, you are so welcome! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing such positive feedback - I really appreciate it!!
Pam G
Easy and delicious !! My husband and nine year old loved it too!!
Julia
Pam, so happy you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for the comment!
Arthur
So good as is. But the leftovers were EVEN BETTER!!
Julia
Glad the leftovers were tasty, as well!
Mrs Christian
Very good. I did use a bit more pasta so I increased the amount of half and half by quarter cup and added a bit more cheese. Next time I will salt my penne better when boiling. I used the pre-carved roasted chicken that comes in the bag and it was still very good. I also added a bit more garlic and yes more sun-dried tomatoes since my husband loves. I will be making this again for sure.
Julia
Thank you so much for such a helpful and detailed comment! Good to know that pre-carved roasted chicken worked well!
Leanne
Excellent, although I suggest to double the sun dried tomatoes. I will definitely make this again!
Julia
Leanne, I am so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for the comment!
Heather
For the basil does it need to be dried basil or fresh?
Julia
I used dried basil.
Anna
This recipe was a hit with the entire family. We made this with gluten free pasta and dairy free. We used a small amount of dairy free mozzarella, but just subbed pasta water for the half and half. We did add spinach, as we love to see the green amongst the sauce. We will definitely be making this again. Our dairy loving, gluten eating teenager was shocked that it was so good, even minus both of those things.
Julia
Anna, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing such positive feedback - I really appreciate it.
Tracy
I made this tonight for myself!!
Mmmm it was delish. I had a wee bit of spinach so I added it to the sundried tomato and garlic .
Fabulous!
Julia
Tracy, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for the comment!
Babette Hagel
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and even hubby, who is not a big pasta fan, raved about it. Thank you!
Julia
So glad you both enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for the comment!
Babette Hagel
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Even hubby, who is not big on pasta dishes, raved about it. Thank you!
Linda
As I was following the instructions the step-by-step ones I put in 1 tablespoon of paprika as it said then when I got to the end where the recipe i written out I noticed it says 1/4 teaspoon. I’m confused!
Kay
This was amazing. Followed the recipe as written but used chicken breast halves, no tendon to remove. Great flavors and easy to prepare.
Julia
So glad you liked it! 🙂
Emily
Super easy and delicious! My boyfriend’s top requested dish. I usually just use heavy cream as the half and half gave me a weird texture one time, but it was still good! I also sometimes drizzle balsamic glaze on top.
Julia
Emily, thank you so much for such a positive comment! So glad you have been enjoying this recipe!