Creamy sun-dried tomato chicken pasta. Crisp-tender chicken in a most amazing creamy sauce with black peppercorn cream cheese. It’s garlicky, super hearty and will totally rock your world. This 30-minute pasta dish is easy enough to throw together on any busy weeknight, yet impressive enough to wow your guests and become a go-to dish for special occasions.
Cream cheese pasta with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes
The chicken is super juicy and tender, it gets a spicy kick from the cayenne and is cooked in the oil that we reserve from the sun-dried tomatoes. But this recipe is all about the sauce, it’s a combo of buttery garlic, peppery cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes tossed with pasta. It’s rich and creamy, with luscious sun-dried tomatoes, and lots of garlic.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
The sun-dried tomatoes transform this pasta sauce into something exciting for dinner. If you haven’t had sun dried tomatoes before…they’re really incredible. Here, they’re cut into thin strips and I highly recommend to buy sun-dried tomatoes that are olive oil-packed because the oil preserves their bold flavor. And you can use the oil afterwards in dressings or for cooking, this way you’ll totally lift up the flavors.
Helpful tips
- Try to buy sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil and herbs, and don’t forget to drain the oil, otherwise you’ll end up with an oily sauce if you don’t. However, if you buy sun-dried tomatoes without oil, you can hydrate the tomatoes first, to prevent them from being tough and chewy. Just put the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl, add some hot water and let them stand for about 20 minutes, then drain and you’re ready to go.
- You can add some extra’s to the sauce, like pine nuts, spinach or a squeeze of lemon.
- Swap chicken for bacon or make a vegetarian version.
- Use any of your favorite pasta shapes.
- Serve with a big side salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Storage
- Fridge: Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: To reheat, gently warm the pasta in a nonstick skillet with a splash of water or milk, over low heat.
- Freezer: Unfortunately, this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
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Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 9 ounces pasta
- 1 tbsp oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 pound chicken fillets
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes - drained
- 1 cup half-and-half - or 20% fat cream
- 5 ounces cream cheese with black peppercorns - I used Boursin
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley - for serving
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes - for serving
spices
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper - less or more to taste
Instructions
- Get all the prep done before you start cooking: cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, mince the garlic and chop the sun-dried tomatoes into strips.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of cooking water.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, cook until it starts to brown. Stir in spices, cook until crispy and golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium low and add garlic, cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in chicken broth, stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet, simmer for 2 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in cream, bring to a boil. Stir in cream cheese and simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Toss with pasta, simmer for 1 minute. Adjust salt and add a splash of cooking water to thin out the sauce.
- Finish off with some extra black pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley. Enjoy!
Video
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