It’s been a long time since the last time I made a white sauce-based pasta dish.
When was the last time? I can’t remember.
I’ve been seeing a lot of pasta dishes in my Instagram feed and the photos always make my mouth water. I suddenly remembered that I pinned a recipe from Julia that needs to be cooked very soon. Yay! Good timing – a jar of sun-dried tomatoes was waiting for its turn to disappear from the kitchen shelf.
Please click here to see the recipe video.
I was feeling very excited until I found out I didn’t have basil, not even the dried one. ‘Shall I proceed or not?’, I asked myself. The craving tummy answered with a big fat YES!
This pasta dish is mainly made up of pasta (of course, silly!), chicken tenders, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy white sauce and spinach. There are also added seasoning like salt, paprika, garlic powder, ground black pepper and red pepper flakes. I added parmesan cheese as well. You would want to add basil when you make this as it will add more flavor.
The best thing about this pasta is the mozzarella cream sauce – a mixture of heavy cream, whole milk, reserved pasta water and a generous amount of mozzarella cheese. Can you imagine how creamy is that??
Despite the lack of basil, this dish turned out amazing. This didn’t last long – it was super delicious! I’ll definitely make this again and try adding more ingredients like mushrooms and bell peppers. Hmmm, sounds yummy as well. 😀
Also one of the best things about this dish is this is super easy to make and doesn’t take a lot of your time. If you have leftovers, this dish can be kept in the fridge for 4 days and can be reheated beautifully in the microwave oven – it will be as yummy as the first day.
I am taking this at Fiesta Friday #218 with our lovely co-hosts, Ginger and Chef Juliana. 😀 Thanks as well to Angie. x
Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta with Mozzarella Sauce
A white sauce-based pasta with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach with lots of mozzarella cheese which makes the dish so creamy.
Ingredients
- 200 g penne pasta cooked according to package instruction
- 125 ml reserved pasta water (see notes)
- 2 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 3 fat cloves garlic minced
- 60 g sun-dried tomatoes drained from the jar (see notes)
- 300 g cut up chicken tenders
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp paprika smoked or regular will work fine
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 200 ml whole milk
- 300 g shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1-2 tsp garlic powder optional
- Handful or two baby spinach
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Grated parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
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In a skillet over high heat, add 2 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes in oil.
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Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from the jar). Cook for a few minutes and then remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the pan and transfer to a plate. (Make sure to remove the skillet from the heat when doing this or lower the heat to avoid the garlic from burning.) Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into smaller pieces and set aside.
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To the same skillet over medium heat, add in chicken tenders, salt and paprika. Cook chicken for about 3 minutes per side. Remove the cooked chicken and transfer to a plate.
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Again on the same skillet over low-medium heat, add heavy cream and milk. Simmer until you see bubbles on the edges.
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Add mozzarella cheese and mix until cheese is melted.
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Add reserved pasta water and stir until combined and thick. If using garlic powder, add at this point. Stir again to mix.
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Put back the chicken and sun-dried tomatoes along with the cooked pasta on the pan and mix until combined. (Do a taste test at this point and adjust accordingly.)
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Mix until everything is incorporated.
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Remove the skillet from the heat and add a handful or two of baby spinach.
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Serve with red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Reserved pasta water is the water you used in boiling your pasta - use the drinking water. You might need more or less than 125 ml. See what works for you.
I just used a portion of (drained) sun-dried tomatoes from a 280 g container sun-dried tomatoes in oil coz I reserved the rest for another recipe. I will definitely use the whole thing when I make this pasta again.
You can cut up the chicken tenders in smaller pieces.
The total time includes the cooking of pasta and will vary from cook to cook.
Not all measuring cups/spoons are created equal. Please take time to check my notes regarding the measurements I use.
I was inspired by Julia's recipe, Creamy Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella Sauce, to make this superb dish.
I am also sharing this at
Happiness is Homemade | What’s for Dinner? | What’d You Do This Weekend? | Melt in your Mouth Monday | Mix it up Monday | Recipe of the Week | Totally Terrific Tuesday | Cook Blog Share | The Recipe Round-Up | Cook Once Eat Twice |
Featured at What’s for Dinner Sunday Link Up #144 | #CookBlogShare 2018: Week 16: plus Great Chicken Dishes
