Description
Creamy Tuscan chicken and pasta is a simple and delicious meal featuring pan-seared chicken, Gamelli pasta, and a fresh creamy sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 10-ounce chicken breasts, halved into 4 thinner uniform slices
- 8–10 ounces Gemelli pasta
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 shallots, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Minced Italian parsley for garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta al dente. Strain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, use a rolling pin to hammer slices of chicken into 1/2 inch thick slices. Season all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken undisturbed for 3-4 minutes per side or until no longer pink and fully cooked through. Depending on the thickness of your chicken, the more or less time it will take. Remove chicken from heat and place on a plate.
- Add butter to the skillet and let melt. Add garlic and shallot, cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
- Stir in cream, wine, and Parmesan cheese and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 3 minutes or until sauce begins to reduce and thicken. Add pasta and mix until fully coated in the sauce. Return chicken to the pasta and nestle in the sauce. Flip to coat in the sauce and let heat through. Sprinkle all over with parsley.
- Serve chicken sliced over pasta with extra parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.
Notes
As I mentioned above, this recipe works with both chicken breast or chicken thighs. Regardless, I would stress the importance of flattening your chicken before cooking. Whenever I use chicken breast, I typically cut it in half horizontally to form two thinner uniform slices. This helps speed up the cooking process greatly.
You can also use a rolling pin to hammer the chicken into thinner pieces. I’ve found this both tenderizes and also renders thinner pieces. The simplest option is to buy thinly sliced chicken breast.
See the section in the written post for variations!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Chicken and 1/4 pasta
- Calories: 752
- Sugar: 3.5g
- Sodium: 472mg
- Fat: 35.8g
- Saturated Fat: 14.7g
- Carbohydrates: 49.1g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 54.4g
- Cholesterol: 182mg
Keywords: tuscan pasta, creamy tuscan chicken
