Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce with Chicken and Spinach

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This creamy tomato pasta sauce is the perfect sauce to bring together seasoned, tender chicken breast, fresh spinach, and perfectly cooked linguine pasta. This creamy, rich, and comforting pasta dish takes just 30 minutes. Serve with fluffy focaccia bread and this dish will become a new family favorite.

Pasta and chicken in a pan covered in creamy tomato sauce and fresh basil.

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Ingredients
Substitutions
Instructions
Tips for making Pasta and Chicken Skillet
What to serve with Chicken and Pasta
Storage
FAQs
Recipe

If you're in need of family dinner ideas, this creamy chicken tomato pasta should move to the top of your list.

This delicious pasta recipe features flavorful chicken, a creamy tomato sauce, and everyone's favorite – swirly long pasta.

Serve this simple pasta and chicken recipe with cheese toast or garlic bread for the ultimate in comfort food.

Pasta and chicken on a plate covered in creamy tomato sauce and fresh basil.

Ingredients

See the recipe card for exact amounts.

pasta: I use linguine for this recipe because it's one of my favorite long noodle shapes. Use your favorite pasta!
chicken: I use one chicken breast per two people served for this recipe. You can use one per person if you prefer.
Italian seasoning: I use my own recipe, try mine or use your favorite.
onion and garlic: fresh onions and garlic give the sauce a savory base flavor.
crushed tomatoes: I love the thick texture of canned crushed tomatoes. You can use tomato sauce or tomato passata instead.
heavy cream: this gives the sauce its rich and creamy taste and texture.
spinach: a few cups of spinach adds some green to this recipe. You can omit it or add more if you prefer.

Substitutions

pasta: you can use any short or long pasta for this recipe. Choose a noodle shape with some texture or width to it, like linguine, that the sauce can stick to. Fettucine would be good. For short shapes, rotini or shells would be great at holding onto the sauce as well.
chicken: Instead of boneless skinless chicken breast, you can try chicken thighs.
seasoning: try a different seasoning mix instead of Italian seasoning. Greek seasoning or Herbes de Provence would be good.
heavy cream: try coconut milk instead, it works really well in tomato sauces and I use it often, like in my Instant Pot Chickpea Curry.
spinach: try chopped kale instead.

Instructions

Prep Tips

Chop the onion and mince the garlic cloves.

A knife is used to slice a chicken breast in half lengthwise.

Start by cutting each chicken breast in half the long way so that you end up with two thin cutlets.

Chicken breast is covered in seasoned flour.

Mix the flour with the spice mix. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Coat each chicken cutlet in the flour mix.

Flour coated chicken cutlets are fried in a pan.

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and add the chicken cutlets.

Cook the chicken for about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente in a large pot of salted water. Before draining the pasta, save 1 cup of the cooking water.

With the skillet still over medium heat add more oil and sauté the onions for 5-6 minutes until they soften and brown. Add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for a minute.

Tomato sauce is stirred into a pan with fried onions.

Add water and crushed tomatoes, stir well, and cook until heated through.

Cream is added to a pan with tomato sauce.

Stir in the heavy cream.

Add the spinach and stir.

Pasta and spinach are added to a pan with tomato sauce.

Add the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce and stir to coat it.

Water is added to a pan with tomato sauce and linguine.

Add some of the reserved pasta water and stir to warm it through.
Tuck the chicken in the pan and coat it in the red sauce.

To serve this chicken and pasta, plate a piece of chicken, followed by some pasta. Ladle any extra sauce over top. You can garnish with some grated Parmesan cheese and some fresh herbs like basil or parsley.

Tips for making Pasta and Chicken Skillet

Salted water: Make sure to season your pasta water with salt when you boil it. It's important to season while you cook and having seasoned pasta will make your whole dish taste better.
Al dente: Cooking the pasta to al dente is best for this recipe because it will keep cooking in it's own residual heat and the heat of tomato sauce.
Chicken: Don't overcook the chicken, cook it until it's just done so it doesn't dry out. *The Government of Canada says chicken pieces are cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
Pasta water: Adding the starchy pasta cooking water at the end helps thin the sauce out a little while keeping it creamy and silky in texture.

What to serve with Chicken and Pasta

For a weeknight dinner, this dish is great served with garlic bread, focaccia bread, or pull apart cheese bread.

For vegetables on the side try adding Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Broccoli and Carrots, or Roasted Green Beans.

Storage

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. To reheat, either microwave or use a skillet on the stovetop. If the noodles have soaked up most of the sauce and the pasta is dry, add some water, milk, or cream while you reheat the noodles.

FAQs

Can I make this chicken and pasta sauce spicy?

Yes, to make this sauce spicy add some red pepper flakes with the sauteing onions.

Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast?

Yes, chicken thighs have a higher fat content and are a flavorful alternative to chicken breast in recipes.

Recipe

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Pasta and chicken in a pan covered in creamy tomato sauce and fresh basil with text for Pinterest.

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