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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.
This looks delish. If I wanted to make this dish with vodka sauce, how do you suggest I do so? Thank you.
Doreen, I would cook the chicken and the veggies according to this recipe, but make the cream sauce according to this below recipe: https://juliasalbum.com/penne-pasta-in-creamy-vodka-tomato-sauce-with-mushrooms/
I am lactose intolerant can I use lactose free milk for this recipe.
Is there another alternative?
Kat, you can use unsweetened coconut milk in this recipe without making any changes.
Or, make a roux with olive oil and a small amount of flour, and then slowly whisk in the dairy-free milk on simmer until it thickens.
How would shrimp taste in place of chicken?
Amber, this would be AMAZING with shrimp! I actually made this with shrimp - take a look at this recipe:
https://juliasalbum.com/creamy-mozzarella-shrimp-pasta/
Could are use an 8 ounce jar of sun-dried tomato pesto in place of the sun-dried tomatoes?
Yes, you can! I would use only half of the jar - 4 ounces. Enjoy!
I love your recipe s
Thomas, I am happy to hear that! 🙂
Question regarding the chicken. We grilled a lot of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Do you think I can substitute for the chicken tenderloins? I can see the smokiness being a plus. I plan on making it this week if you think it would work. Thank you.
Cindy, grilled chicken with a smoky flavor would be AMAZING in this recipe! I would make the sauce without the chicken and add sliced grilled chicken on top of creamy pasta.
Thank you! I’ll rate the recipe after I make it. 🙂
Cindy, enjoy! I hope you liked it!
Excellent recipe! Added a little extra pepper flakes and Italian seasoning at the end. We have family coming in a few weeks, this will perfect served with some warm crusty bread! Thank you!!
Cathy, I am so happy to hear the recipe was a success! 🙂 This pasta dish definitely benefits from extra heat - red pepper flakes blend well with the creamy sauce.
I made this recipe a long time ago, everyone loved it. The recipe has a great flavor. I did used fresh basil| which made everything come together
Ginny, yes, fresh basil takes this recipe over the top! Glad you've made this before and thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
Excellent recipe. For me as an older person, might cut down on red pepper but loved the flavor. Great for something different with chicken. Thinking I might cook pasta before I start cooking the rest.
Debbie, I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! 🙂 And, yes, you can start cooking the pasta before starting cooking the rest of the recipe! Happy Holidays! 🙂
Hi Julia! I’m getting ready to make this recipe, and I’m excited about it. Is there a vegetarian/vegan version of this recipe? Thanks
Keatra,
I just went through the comments on similar recipes on my website, and here is what people successfully used to make vegetarian/vegan changes:
➡️ 1) Use coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk instead of heavy cream. Unsweetened coconut cream seems to be the most popular choice as it's thick enough for the creamy sauce. If using a thinner alternative, I would make a roux with olive oil and flour to thicken it up before adding cheese.
➡️ 2) Use dairy-free “mozzarella” shreds instead of Parmesan.
➡️ 3) To make it meatless, use veggie-based meat or sausage. People commented Hot Italian Beyond Meat Sausage worked great!
➡️ 4) Use gluten-free pasta if you like. I personally used Tinkyada gluten-free penne pasta here - it holds up really great in recipes. After you boil and drain cooked pasta - rinse it with cold water immediately before adding it to the sauce - which helps the pasta to keep its shape.
Turned out very delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
I am very happy to hear that! 🙂
Turned out great! I added more garlic and spices with additional sauce. Loved it!
Karla, thank you for trying the recipe and so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This dish was a big hit at my house! Great flavor! Even the picky one loved it. I did add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the sauce and thinned it out at the end to our preference.
Amy, I am so glad your family loved this pasta! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share your positive comment! Thinning out the sauce with chicken broth is a great way to keep this dish creamy even after it cools off slightly.
Hi! I was wondering, can we use parsley instead of basil ?
Jo, dried parsley does not have the same intensity of flavor as dried basil does. I would stick with basil. And basil blends really well with sun-dried tomatoes.
Can this be froze
Debby, I do not recommend freezing this because the creamy cheese sauce will lose its texture.
Would you be able to freeze leftovers?
Nanci, I would not recommend freezing this. The cream sauce with cheese doesn't freeze well at all - when reheated, it will separate and will have the wrong consistency.
Great tasting, added spinach and sausage.
Emily, I love your additions - so delicious!
What’s the best way to reheat leftovers? If there are any leftovers!
Christina, the best way would be to slowly reheat it on the stovetop on low heat and add a small amount of heavy cream or milk to thin out the sauce. Enjoy!
Just tried this delightful recipe, only changed a couple things I added fresh mushrooms and some Parmesan cheese and it was so good definitely a keeper! Thanks so much!
Melissa, so glad you loved this recipe! Love the addition of mushrooms! Thank you for your positive comment and the 5-stars! 🙂
Do you use fresh or dried basil?
Patti, I used dried basil.