Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a skillet dish of seared chicken, rigatoni, and a cream sauce built on sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. The sauce thickens on the pasta starch, not on flour, so it coats without turning gluey.
Weigh everything first. The dish moves fast once the pan is hot, and there is no time to hunt for the garlic. Use a wide skillet of at least 30 cm (12 in) so the chicken browns instead of steaming.
Total time is 50 minutes: 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes at the stove. Serve it straight from the pan. Weigh, watch, repeat.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
About the Ingredients
680 g (1 1/2 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 2 large
Pat them dry and cut horizontally into 1 cm (1/2 in) cutlets so they cook evenly. Buy cutlets already sliced if your butcher offers them.
300 g (3 cups) rigatoni or penne
Rigatoni holds the sauce inside its tubes. Fusilli works as a substitute and traps sauce in its grooves.
30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
Butter browns faster than oil and adds flavor to the chicken. Use olive oil if you need the dish dairy-free at this stage.
15 g (1 tbsp) olive oil
The oil raises butter's smoke point. Any neutral oil substitutes without changing the taste.
4 cloves garlic, minced, about 12 g
Mince fine so it dissolves into the sauce. Jarred garlic works but tastes flatter; add an extra half clove.
100 g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
Oil-packed tomatoes stay soft and sweet. Dry-packed ones need a 10-minute soak in hot water first.
240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
Cream at 36% fat thickens without flour. Whole milk plus 1 tbsp cornstarch is the lighter substitute.
60 g (2/3 cup) grated Parmesan
Grate it yourself; pre-shredded cheese contains starch and clumps. Pecorino substitutes but is saltier, so taste first.
120 g (4 packed cups) baby spinach
Baby spinach wilts in under 2 minutes. Mature spinach needs stem removal and 1 extra minute.
6 g (1 tsp) salt, plus more for pasta water
Salt the water at 10 g per 4 liters (1 tbsp per 4 qt). Kosher and fine sea salt measure the same here.
2 g (1/2 tsp) black pepper
Fresh-cracked pepper blooms in the butter. Pre-ground pepper is fine but add it with the garlic.
120 ml (1/2 cup) reserved pasta water
This starchy water thins and binds the sauce. Do not skip it; plain water will not emulsify.
Tips & Tricks
Dry the chicken before searing
Moisture steams the meat, so pat the surface dry and the pan stays hot enough to brown.
Undercook the pasta by 2 minutes
The rigatoni finishes in the sauce and absorbs flavor instead of water.
Add cream off the boil
Boiling cream can split, so lower the heat to medium before pouring it in.
Reserve pasta water before draining
Once the pot is empty, the starch is gone and the sauce stays thin.
Pro Tips
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Boil the pasta
Bring 4 liters (4 qt) of water to a rolling boil at high heat and add 10 g (1 tbsp) salt. Cook 300 g (3 cups) rigatoni for 2 minutes less than the package time. The pasta should still show a chalky core when bitten.
2. Dry and season the chicken
Pat 680 g (1 1/2 lb) chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides with 6 g (1 tsp) salt and 2 g (1/2 tsp) pepper. Dry meat browns; wet meat steams.
3. Sear the chicken
Heat 15 g (1 tbsp) olive oil in a 30 cm (12 in) skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 190°C (375°F). Sear the cutlets 5 minutes per side. They are done at 74°C (165°F) internal and golden brown at the edges.
4. Rest and slice
Move the chicken to a board and rest 5 minutes. Slice across the grain into 1 cm (1/2 in) strips. Resting keeps the juices in the meat, not on the board.
5. Build the base
Lower the heat to medium, melt 30 g (2 tbsp) butter in the same pan, and add 4 cloves minced garlic and 100 g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 60 seconds until the garlic smells nutty but has not browned.
6. Add the cream
Pour in 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer at medium heat, about 95°C (200°F). Simmer 3 minutes until the surface bubbles at the edges and the sauce coats a spoon.
7. Wilt the spinach
Add 120 g (4 packed cups) baby spinach in two handfuls and stir 2 minutes. The leaves are done when they collapse and turn dark green.
8. Finish the sauce
Whisk in 60 g (2/3 cup) grated Parmesan off the heat until the sauce is smooth. Add reserved pasta water 2 tbsp at a time if the sauce looks thick.
9. Combine and serve
Add the drained pasta and sliced chicken to the pan and fold for 1 minute over low heat. Serve when the sauce clings to the rigatoni and pools slightly at the pan's edge.
Delicious Variations
Spicy version
Add 1 g (1/2 tsp) red pepper flakes with the garlic for heat that cuts the cream.
Mushroom swap
Replace the chicken with 400 g (14 oz) sliced cremini and brown them 6 minutes before the garlic.
Lighter sauce
Use 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk with 10 g (1 tbsp) cornstarch whisked in, simmered 4 minutes.
How to Store Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Refrigerator
Store in an airtight container up to 3 days. The sauce thickens cold, so loosen it with 2 tbsp water when reheating.
Freezer
Freeze the sauce and chicken without pasta up to 2 months. Cream sauces can separate, so thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheating
Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat with 2 tbsp water for 5 minutes, stirring until the sauce flows again. Avoid the microwave, which toughens chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use milk instead of heavy cream?
Yes, use 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk whisked with 10 g (1 tbsp) cornstarch. Add it off the boil and simmer 4 minutes; the sauce will be thinner but still coat the pasta. Low-fat milk curdles at high heat, so keep the pan at medium.
Q: How do I stop the cream sauce from splitting?
Keep the heat at medium and never boil the cream hard. Add the Parmesan off the heat and stir constantly; a split sauce usually means too much heat or cheese added to a rolling boil.
Q: Can I make Tuscan chicken pasta ahead of time?
You can cook the chicken and sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate them separately. Boil fresh pasta and fold everything together for 1 minute, because pasta stored in sauce turns soft and pasty.
Q: Is this dish gluten-free?
Only if you swap the rigatoni for a gluten-free pasta and check the sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan for additives. Cook gluten-free pasta 1 minute less; it breaks down faster in the sauce.
Q: What internal temperature should the chicken reach?
Pull the chicken at 74°C (165°F) measured in the thickest part. It will rise a few degrees while resting, and slicing it early loses the juices into the pan.
Weigh the chicken and pasta, watch the pan temperature, and repeat the dish until the timing feels automatic. Print the steps and keep them on the counter. Weigh, watch, repeat.
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Tuscan Chicken Pasta delivers seared chicken and rigatoni in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, all in one skillet with a sauce that clings to every bite.
🧂 Ingredients
- 680 g (1 1/2 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 2 large
- 300 g (3 cups) rigatoni or penne
- 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 15 g (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, about 12 g
- 100 g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
- 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 60 g (2/3 cup) grated Parmesan
- 120 g (4 packed cups) baby spinach
- 6 g (1 tsp) salt, plus more for pasta water
- 2 g (1/2 tsp) black pepper
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) reserved pasta water
📋 Instructions
- 1Boil the pasta — Bring 4 liters (4 qt) of water to a rolling boil at high heat and add 10 g (1 tbsp) salt. Cook 300 g (3 cups) rigatoni for 2 minutes less than the package time. The pasta should still show a chalky core when bitten.
- 2Dry and season the chicken — Pat 680 g (1 1/2 lb) chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides with 6 g (1 tsp) salt and 2 g (1/2 tsp) pepper. Dry meat browns; wet meat steams.
- 3Sear the chicken — Heat 15 g (1 tbsp) olive oil in a 30 cm (12 in) skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 190°C (375°F). Sear the cutlets 5 minutes per side. They are done at 74°C (165°F) internal and golden brown at the edges.
- 4Rest and slice — Move the chicken to a board and rest 5 minutes. Slice across the grain into 1 cm (1/2 in) strips. Resting keeps the juices in the meat, not on the board.
- 5Build the base — Lower the heat to medium, melt 30 g (2 tbsp) butter in the same pan, and add 4 cloves minced garlic and 100 g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 60 seconds until the garlic smells nutty but has not browned.
- 6Add the cream — Pour in 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer at medium heat, about 95°C (200°F). Simmer 3 minutes until the surface bubbles at the edges and the sauce coats a spoon.
- 7Wilt the spinach — Add 120 g (4 packed cups) baby spinach in two handfuls and stir 2 minutes. The leaves are done when they collapse and turn dark green.
- 8Finish the sauce — Whisk in 60 g (2/3 cup) grated Parmesan off the heat until the sauce is smooth. Add reserved pasta water 2 tbsp at a time if the sauce looks thick.
- 9Combine and serve — Add the drained pasta and sliced chicken to the pan and fold for 1 minute over low heat. Serve when the sauce clings to the rigatoni and pools slightly at the pan's edge.
Tomasz writes precise, method-first recipes for breads, ferments, and slow braises, drawing on Polish and Central European home cooking. He cares about weights, temperatures, and timing, and explains the reason behind each step so cooks can repeat results. His angle is turning fussy techniques into clear, checkable instructions.
