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This healthy Tuscan chicken pasta brings together all Mediterranean flavors in a dish. Creamy and so comforting, this chicken pasta tastes like a restaurant meal. But made at home in under 30 minutes!
An easy-to-make complete meal that combines all the Mediterranean flavors in a dish.
Matteo
Fun fact about me. I hadn’t been a huge fan of pasta until my early twenties – and I’m Italian! Growing up, I only liked two pasta dishes: “Trofie al pesto” from my grandma and “pasta al burro” from my mum”.
But in 2019 I moved to Germany to live on my own. No grandma and no mum around meant no pasta for 2 years. Until I once made chicken pasta salad for my blog and things began to change.
And with this healthy Tuscan chicken dish my interest for pasta has become true love. The BEST and most delicious pasta recipe ever! Sorry mum…
Healthy and flavorsome Tuscan pasta
If you are looking for healthy meals with great taste, go and make this recipe. With tender chicken and a garlicky cream, this healthy Tuscan chicken pasta is a protein-packed complete meal.
This Mediterranean pasta is perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner. Quick and easy to make, this dish comes together in under 30 minutes. Everybody will love this healthy Tuscan chicken pasta, kids included!
Ingredients
Here’s all you need to put together a healthy Tuscan chicken pasta in under 30 minutes.
- Pasta: short pasta (penne), whole-grain and gluten-free if necessary.
- Chicken: boneless chicken breast.
- Vegetables: baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes.
- Olive oil: extra virgin olive oil from the Mediterranean for the best taste.
- Seasonings: garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and chili flakes.
- Sauce ingredients: milk of choice (dairy or dairy-free), cream cheese (low-fat) and Parmesan cheese.
Dairy-free Tuscan chicken pasta
If you are lactose intolerant or can’t consume dairy, keep on reading. Making dairy-free creamy Tuscan pasta is very simple. You only need to make three simple changes:
- Replace dairy milk with plant based alternatives – unsweetened soy milk, almond milk, rice or oat milk are all perfect.
- Substitute cream cheese with dairy-free cream cheese (I like almond cream cheese) or with blended silken tofu.
- Replace Parmesan cheese with plant based shredded cheese or nutritional yeast.
How to make healthy Tuscan chicken pasta
Perfect for busy people, this Tuscan chicken pasta is so quick and easy to make. It comes together in under 30 minutes and requires no special cooking skills. Believe me, anyone can me this Italian dish at home. And here’s how!
Step 1: cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package direction, until al dente. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and set aside – make sure you drizzle the pasta with olive oil so that it won’t stick together.
Step 2: make the chicken. Cut chicken breast into cubes and place in a bowl. Season chicken with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, finely minced garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Heat the remaining 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. When hot, add seasoned chicken cubes and cook though on both sides, until tender.
Step 3: make the sauce. Once the chicken is cooked, add to the skillet chopped sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach and milk. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the spinach is cooked.
Step 4: put all together. Add to the skillet your cooked pasta, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and give it a good stir. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve this healthy tuscan chicken pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and chili flakes, if you desire.
How to store chicken pasta
Let any leftover cool completely before storing. Once cooled, transfer leftover Tuscan pasta to an airtight food container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat prior to serving.
FAQ – frequently asked questions
This healthy Tuscan chicken dish can be prepared with any type of short pasta – penne, ziti, rigatoni, fusilli or orecchiette.
You can also use whole-wheat and/ or gluten-free pasta, if you prefer.
Indeed! This recipe is so versatile that you can replace chicken breast with your favorite type of meat (but cooking times may change).
Although fresh spinach is much much better, this recipe also works with frozen spinach. However, you will need to thaw and cook the spinach before adding it to the chicken. Do not add frozen spinach to the pan with the chicken!
Making this delicious Mediterranean dish for more people is very simple. You only need to increase all ingredients, proportionally to how many servings you want to get!
Tips for the best Tuscan chicken pasta
Here are a couple of simple tips and tricks to make the BEST healthy Tuscan pasta with chicken at home.
- Do not overcook the pasta. Ideally, it should be al dente as it will cook further with the sauce.
- Grill chicken with the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. This will give an incredible flavor to your Tuscan pasta.
- Use fresh garlic. Fresh garlic cloves taste much better than garlic powder.
- Use sun-dried tomatoes in garlic-flavored olive oil. Needless to say, your pasta will come out incredibly delicious… and garlicky!
- Add more cream cheese for a richer pasta sauce.
- Don’t forget a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and some chili flakes on top of your pasta before serving!
More healthy pasta recipes
- High protein pesto pasta with chicken
- High protein pasta salad with chicken
- Protein spinach chicken pasta
- Protein egg pasta salad
Healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 280 grams (10 oz.) short pasta (penne)
- 650 grams (1 1/2 lb) boneless chicken breast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic clove (finely minced)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 60 grams (2.5 oz) sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, drained and chopped)
- 120 grams (3 cups) baby spinach
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk of choice (unsweetened)
- 120 grams (1/2 cup) low-fat cream cheese
- 40 grams (1/3 cup) Parmesan cheese
- chili flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package direction until al dente. Once cooked, drain and set aside (make sure you drizzle with olive oil so that pasta won’t stick together).
- Cut chicken breast into cubes and place in a bowl. Season chicken with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, finely minced garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- Heat the remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. When hot, add seasoned chicken and cook though on both sides, until tender.
- Once chicken is cooked, add to the skillet chopped sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach and milk. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until spinach is cooked.
- Add to the skillet cooked pasta, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and give it a good stir. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve healthy tuscan chicken pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and chili flakes, if you desire.
Really loved this recipe! It was so easy to make too ?
Hey Jade!
Thank you very much for your feedback, I highly appreciate it!! I am incredibly happy you liked.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Matteo☺️