Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
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Sun dried tomatoes, spinach and three different cheeses are in this creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta that gets baked to a bubbly, golden brown. This is for cheese lovers and with the savory taste of the sun dried tomatoes blended in the cream sauce, it’s a dream pasta dish.
This is one of those dishes that is great to sneak in tomatoes when you have someone who is not a fan and then they ask for seconds because it’s that good.
Trust me, Dave is not a tomato eater. He is OK with my Slow Cooker Bolognese and my Roasted Tomato Salsa, but raw in salads, or in a sandwich and he is a no go on that. Sometimes even if cooked, so I sneak them in with this one. 🙂
With this Tuscan Chicken Pasta dish I finely dice the sun dried tomatoes and incorporate them into the cream and chicken stock sauce that has parmesan cheese.
Pan fried, seasoned chicken gets browned and then chopped. Fresh spinach works beautifully here, but you could also use thawed, frozen spinach if need be.
I layer half of the cooked pasta that has been mixed with the sun dried tomato sauce, chopped chicken and spinach with deli sliced provolone cheese!
The remaining tuscan chicken pasta mixture is poured on top and then a layer of mozzarella cheese slices go on top.
A sprinkle of parmesan cheese goes next and in the oven it all goes to bake and bubble to a beautiful golden brown. Enjoy!
Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (See Note 1)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- Black pepper
- 16 oz penne pasta
- 1 bunch fresh spinach chopped (See Note 2)
- 4 oz sun dried tomatoes drain and chop
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese plus 2 tbsp
- 6 oz sliced provolone cheese deli slices
- 6 oz sliced mozzarella cheese deli slices
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil and cook pasta per package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper, set aside. Over medium high heat add the olive oil to a large skillet and brown the chicken on both sides for 4-5 minutes total. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for a minute. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, heavy cream, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and stir. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add the parmesan cheese and stir. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach, cooked pasta and chopped cooked chicken to the sauce. Toss to mix and cook for 2 minutes more. Season to taste and turn off the heat.
- In a 13x9" casserole dish coated with oil or cooking spray add half of the chicken pasta mixture. Layer with the provolone cheese, remaining chicken pasta mixture and then layer with mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
- I also use chicken tender strips. Chop either after browning.
- If using frozen, get a 9 oz package, thaw and drain before using.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Can I prep this a few days in advance of baking it?
Definitely Amy, freezes well, too.
Delicious! My whole family loved it!!
So sorry for the late reply as I have been away on a much needed vacation outside the USA. Needless to say, about your comment… So glad you enjoyed this one Kathleen! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know.
I dislike that you have a ad separating the ingredients list.
It’s an unfortunate necessity… and a minor price to pay for something FREE to you. It is surprisingly expensive to maintain a website and can easily cost tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
Unfortunately, I’m not able to pay for that myself and still be able to provide my recipes to you for free. The ads you see are what enable me to provide the content to you for free. The money I make from that helps pay for the website, all of the ingredients it takes to make the recipes, as well as my time. It will still cost me a lot of money, but it does seem like the best solution to keep things free for you.
Thanks for understanding!
Hi Kevin, I found your site when looking for a pasta & chicken casserole while my husband and I are sheltered in place (SF Bay Area). I found your Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe and looked so amazing that I tried it today. We had all of the ingredients and I was so pleased that your recipe did not include the jarred Alfredo which many recipes do. We loved this dish, it was a hit! Like your significant other, I don’t do fresh tomatoes (blech) but sun-dried or in a sauce / salsa, I can eat it. This was wonderful and I wanted to let you know we enjoyed this very much. Also getting to know your website and want to encourage you to keep cooking! Thanks very much for being out there – be well!
Gary & Rowell, SF Bay Area
So happy you found the site and enjoyed the recipe Gary!
I am going to make this delicious recipe this weekend.