Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Florentine Pasta: this stuff is OMG good.
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I followed this recipe as written and it was delicious! Perfect for a cold, snowy night! I’ve already bookmarked it for when we have company.
CMLed
Today’s post is sponsored by DeLallo! They make the most delicious sun dried tomatoes which you’ll see pictured here 👆swimming in a luscious cream sauce. Don’t mind if they do.
GAH! Lover. This stuff is yummy. 💋😍
I have some truths to tell you today. The first truth is that this pasta rocked our world. Like, five times last week. Okay FINE 700 times or something but I wasn’t even counting and neither should you, so just … yeah.
The second truth is that sometimes, when you’re a food blogger and food lover, you want to be creative and fitspo and so you make things like sweet potato noodles with cashew sauce (for the record, also delicious). But then sometimes you still need to make Pasta with a capital P, because under all those fitspo vibes, you’re still mostly a real person who knows in her heart of foodie hearts that real pasta is lyfe.
Like this Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta with Spinach.
Am I being basic here? Maybe. And maybe I like everything about this kind of basic deliciousness.
This pasta = the moment when everyone in your family falls in love with you for cooking something seemingly-fancy 💅 and reminds you of how good a nice big pot-o-comfort-food pasta really is. No unnecessary ingredients. No excessive toppings – HOLD ME BACK. No veggies masquerading as noodles (of which I am a fan, but STILL just give it a rest already).
Just simple, comforting, creamy pasta with sun dried tomato cream sauce that helps people like me win at life.
HOW TO MAKE OUR FLORENTINE PASTA:
As long as we’re on a roll with the truth telling, the third truth of this post is that one little detail about how I might have picked out the bites of chicken in my bowl of pasta. WHAT IS MY DEAL.
I can’t even handle chicken sometimes. I kept the chicken in the written recipe, because a) my family wanted the chicken and your family might, too, and b) the chicken is actually decently good, for chicken, because it gets a little kick of spice from the cayenne, and c) it doesn’t even matter if you make this with chicken or not, because the star of this recipe is so obviously the combo of buttery garlic and spinach and sun dried tomatoes cream sauce on pasta.
And when it comes to such luscious, sun-dried-tomato-y things, I be like 👅👅👅.
HOWEVER if you absolutely do not want chicken, thankfully I have another deliciously creamy sun-dried tomato pasta right here for you.
A few things you should know about finding the right sun dried tomatoes for this recipe. Not all sun dried tomatoes are created equally! Don’t buy the sad, dry ones that come in a package – I mean, you can, I’ll still be friends with you, but I’m just telling you – they taste a lot better when packed in high quality olive oil and herbs and spices like the DeLallo tomatoes I’m using in this recipe. If you’re worried about the oil being too oily, no need to fear. We’re draining almost all of it off for this recipe. You just get the little bit of oil that’s clinging to the tomatoes, and instead of dry little shrivels, you get flavorful tomatoes that are moist and chewy and colorful.
Oh hey PS. All of DeLallo’s sun dried tomatoes are sulfite-free. Because they rock. Winning.
This recipe is going to make you really popular with your people. Are you even ready for that kind of love? Three, two, one…
More Perfect Creamy Pastas
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Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Florentine Pasta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 large servings 1x
Description
Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Florentine Pasta – a 30 minute recipe with a sun dried tomato cream sauce, chicken, ziti, and Mozzarella cheese.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ziti or other pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 lb. chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon all purpose seasoning mix for the chicken
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 7–ounce jar DeLallo sun dried tomatoes, drained
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and sprinkle with the seasoning and the cayenne. Sauté until the chicken is cooked through.
- Drain the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. Chop into smaller pieces if you want. Add them to the pan with the garlic and sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant. You will probably still get some of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes – that’s okay.
- Stir in the heavy cream and let the mixture come to a slow simmer. Add the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and spinach – the spinach will start to cook down almost immediately. If needed, add in the chicken broth, a little at a time, to thin out the sauce. Season with salt to taste.
Notes
Recipe Update: This recipe was updated in June 2020 to make it even better. The previous version used 1/2 cup of half and half and 1 1/2 cups whole milk in place of the heavy cream, as well as 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella instead of the new amounts listed for mozzarella and Parmesan.
Vegetarian Version: If you want a similar version of this pasta without the meat, check out this sun-dried tomato pasta!
I’ve also used DeLallo’s sun dried tomato bruschetta in this recipe as well as DeLallo’s jarred cherry tomatoes (similar to the sun dried tomatoes but a little more plump and round).
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: sun dried tomato pasta, chicken florentine pasta, chicken pasta
Thank you again to DeLallo for sponsoring this post!
And thank you, readers, for supporting the high quality brands that support our little food blog operation. I truly love when you tag me on social media to show me that you’ve found and/or are using DeLallo’s pasta, tomatoes, and sauces in your cooking.
Carry on and eat pasta!
We had one of those “I want to eat this every night all week 700 times” dinner experiences last week, and now I see this pasta taking over for this week. Sundried tomatoes just make the world a yummier place!
Just the word Florentine makes me feel like I won a free trip to Italy!!!!! This is totally what I order when I go out to eat and like, you know finish my whole meal. The waitress/waiter always makes a comment about where my meal went? It’s like, hmmm, what are you really trying to say here?
Agreed! It’s pure happy in a tiny little jar!
Lindsay… Something went crazy wrong! help! I followed your recipe and it was a flop … looked nothing like your picture. Sauce did not thicken up…. so sad
Sorry to hear that Courtney! 🙁
The recipe for chicken florentine pasta calls for 1/2 cup of half and half. Ok I’m just a male but what the …is the half and half?
Half and Half is essentially half cream and half milk. You could find it near heavy whipping cream at pretty much any grocery store. 🙂
This majorly flopped for me too, Courtney. I don’t think it’s possible for this amount of liquid to thicken on its own. I almost turned this into a bechamel, but unfortunately decided to try the recipe as is. It turned out like pasta soup with globs of cheese. Sadly, a wasted amount of food.
My sauce is all seized up too. I think it’s the addition of the broth. 🙁
where can i buy the cherry sun dried tomatoes? i live in napa california, i went to raleys yesterday and didn’t find it so i just went and bought the julienenned cut sun dried tomatoes in an olive oil jar? will this work?
This sounds like the right thing to have for dinner tonight.
Agreed Karen! 🙂
You are so right! Love me some healthy dishes (aka noodles made from vegetables) buuuut also love/need actual pasta meals sometimes! This looks delicious.
Yep – gotta do it!
omg. I can’t even. This.looks.awesome. I’m with you on the chicken though so I will be making this sans chicken. Which, actually, means I can add more butter and cheese, right?! RIGHT! I thought so 😀
Right! My thoughts exactly!
Simple comforting and creamy pasta is the way to go sometimes. 🙂 I love everything about this pasta, yum!
Thanks Ana!
This makes me want to scratch the menu plan I had for the week and make this ASAP! Delicious sounding recipe and beautiful pictures!
Thanks Joanna! Appreciate that!
Love quick and easy recipes! This pasta looks delicious.
Thanks Mary! 😀
Ugh, you made me so hungry for pasta just now and i just barely finished breakfast! These sun dried tomatoes look amazing, the whole dish is mouthwatering!
Thanks Sam! XO
That is yummy, no doubts !
I mean… I’d have to agree 🙂
Sun dried tomatoes are the best! I like to think of them outside sunbathing until they are perfectly toasted. : ) Makes me want to learn how to do my own! With dishes like this do you ever think of opening a restaurant? If so, please add me to the reservation list.
You’re funny 🙂 Too much work to own a restaurant, I think! I’ll stick with cooking for two and the occasional dinner party.
I love veggie noodles as much as the next gal, but Pasta is still a thing. This one looks positively delicious. It’s also a great excuse for me to grab a jar of sun dried tomatoes- yum! Can’t wait to give this a whirl!
xx Sydney
Thanks Sydney! Hope you like it!
Your pasta game is on point these days!! This creamy pasta is KILLER! Yum!!
Thanks Emily! 🙂
Yep, as great as zucchini and sweet potato noodles can be, sometimes you just need to go for some REAL pasta. I love sun dried tomatoes and totally agree that packed in oil is the way to go. I’m going to look for their jarred cherry tomatoes now, too!
I used to fear the oil-packed ones for all the added oil, but ugh, now I can’t handle the dry ones! Have to have to have to get them packed in oil!
This looks delish! Just one question. Do we leave the cooked chicken in the pan as we are building the sauce?
Yes, good question. That’s how I did it!
This sounds wonderful and your photos just make me want to do a swan dive right into all the luscious goodness. Great recipe thank you for sharing!
Good idea Marisa! 🙂 haha
This sounds really yummy! Have you ever tried using rotisserie chicken in place of the raw chicken that you cut up and cook for your recipes? I just buy a Costco chicken, take all the meat off the bone (a little time consuming, but worth it), and put it in 2 cup Ziploc bags in the freezer for when I make a recipe that includes chicken. I usually get 6 or 7 cups from one chicken. It is already seasoned to deliciousness and tastes waaaaay better than some chunks of chicken breast. Can’t wait to try this Sundried Tomato Chicken Florentine Pasta!!
No but I love that idea. I just can’t handle the chicken sometimes… but love the flavor and moisture in rotisserie chicken!
Love how this looks so easy! I’m a sucker for any kind of creamy sun dried tomato sauce. Sometimes you do just need some comforting, simple pasta (though I also love the creative healthier recipes, haha) 🙂
It’s all about the balance! 🙂
GAH!!! I get you! Pasta, the end. This one is getting made soon in our house! Yum!!
Thanks Malia! hope you like it!
I love your Truths today! I sometimes can’t handle chicken either, but the hubs loves meat so I just gulp it down. It is stormy here and a warm, comforting meal sounds divine. I might just have to make this tonight!
Do it! 🙂 Glad to have a fellow chicken rejecter in the group.
Mondays require REAL carbs. I am glad we are on the same page with this one. Zoodles and Swoodles all the other days though 😀 <3
Yes! Swoodles. I can’t get enough.
Those tomatoes look heavenly! Love this dish. 🙂 I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I am always more hungry on Mondays. I agree Brittany: Mondays require REAL carbs!!
Exactly. REAL pasta for the win!
What’s the all purpose seasoning mix?
Could be anything – salt and pepper, a chicken seasoning mix, I like to use Emeril’s Essence sometimes… I usually just grab something that is a pretty generic spice mix from my cabinet and sprinkle it on to give the chicken a little extra flavor. When in doubt, I find that Emeril’s is a good all purpose seasoning mix.
This recipe does sound yummy. I just tried drying my own tomatoes in my dehydrator, so I would try those before buying others. I used ones that are supposed to be very flavorful.
I would leave the chicken in just because I need the protein. But I hear you about not liking chicken. I am in the process of reading a book called “The Dorito Effect”, which talks about flavor and what has been done to our food supply. I’ve been around long enough that I can tell you that today’s chicken does not look or taste like the chicken I ate when I was growing up and through my early adult years. Reading that book will help you to understand why it is you don’t like things like today’s chicken.
What a fun idea with the dehydrator Susan! I’ve never tried that!
I was wondering why you couldn’t try cooking the chicken in a bit of the oil that the tomatoes were in to add some flavor…and like Susan mentioned in the post above, chicken does NOT taste like it used to. Too much processing in the food supply.
You definitely could! I found that the tomato oil didn’t have a ton of flavor – I mean, it had some Italian flavor from being packed with the Italian herbs and stuff, but I still felt like it needed some extra seasoning or spice or something.
Mmmm…I need to make this soon!! We are a big pasta-loving family!! 🙂 Pinned!!
Thanks Jessica! Hope you like it!