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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.
Is half and half a kind of low fat milk? I am in New Zealand and we don't know it as that and I just want to make sure I am on the right track.
Many thanks Rachelle.
I made it as is and it was perfect and very flavorful. I don't ever add a bunch of everything just so unnecessary to me. I may try adding some mushrooms and then add fresh spinach at the end just to add more color and nutrition
I made this tonight. Don't get me wrong, it was good. But I think it could have been better. Not sure how. Maybe I should have let it meld longer. And/or put more of the tomatoes in it. It was bland. I even added ricotta cheese and smoked sausage to the mix. Overall, good. Possible improvement, very much so.
Does anyone have nutritional information on this recipe?
Made this tonight and love it!
I made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly, and it was so yummy!! Definitely will make it again. Thank you for sharing!
I made this dish last night to bring to a neighborhood NYE party and it was a big hit. The aroma in my house after making this lingered and smelled wonderful. I'm making it again tonight for a different set of friends. Thanks!
For people who liked the dish but felt it too bland. One word:
Anchovies.
I halved the recipe since I didn't need to serve a lot, and added a can of anchovies that I chopped up with the garlic. Wow, what a difference. Very flavorful. Didn't even end up using any salt (except in the pasta water -- which like many here I ended up not needing to add to the sauce at all). For those who've never cooked with anchovies: they don't make the dish taste fishy. They just add a lot of saltiness plus umami goodness.
I also used smoked paprika (a lot of it!) on the chicken, which I was dubious about but turned out really nice.
Made this tonight for the third time. It turns out perfect every time!!! Love it! The red pepper flakes add so much flavor.
Love, love, love!!
Hi Julia,
While Im not the greatest cook in the world (obviously with what Im about to ask you) - but I was wondering something. Your recipe is only for 4 servings. I need a recipe for at least 8-10 servings. If I use your recipe do you recommend me doubling all of the ingredients? Silly question, I know - but sometimes when you double a recipe its a disaster. I was wondering if you have ever made more than just the 4 servings? And if so, did you double everything?
Hi Alice,
I just made this tonight and doubled everything. Worked great. Only difference is that I cooked the chicken tenders in two batches. After the first batch cooked I put them aside on a plate and added more of the oil from the tomato jar. (Or you could have two pans of chicken going. But with the pasta boiling at the same time, it would have been too much going on for me, what with turning the chicken pieces over, etc.) Then continued with the directions. My family and I thought the amount of basil and red pepper was enough, definitely would not add more. Also, I did not add any more salt other than the initial salting of the chicken. I am surprised at the "bland" comments from some other readers/cooks. This is a meal I would be happy to pay for at a restaurant, which is a huge compliment from someone who does not flinch at serving a frozen pizza and calling it dinner!
Followed directions without modifications and it turned out great! I doubled the recipe and it's a good thing I did. Several went back for seconds and thirds! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight and loved it! My husband said it was restaurant quality. We do like things on the plain side though!
i made this recipe tonight for my fiancé and my sister and it turned out SO good! I read all the posts beforehand and I will just give my comments. First, I used more garlic, about twice as much as in the recipe, and I used lots of fresh basil and red pepper flakes! I cooked the pasta first and set it to the side.. If you prep everything first the actual cooking goes pretty fast so I went ahead and got it out of the way.. As suggested I also cooked the half and half in a separate pan, and when it boiled I added the mozzarella and some Parmesan.. Then I put the creamy mixture in the pan with chicken and sun dried tomatoes... Also, I used the tomatoes in olive oil.. I put aside two tablespoons of the oil and then drained and rinsed the tomatoes and dried them off with a paper towel... It was not greasy at all!
Great dish! Everyone love it.. Thank you for the recipe! Happy holidays! Terry