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One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta with Chicken is an easy to make dinner the whole family will love! You won’t believe there isn’t a drop of cream in this flavorful, healthy pasta dish!
Hi friends! Danae from Recipe Runner here today. The last time I was sharing a recipe with you it was the beginning or summer and now here we are nearing the end. As much as I love fall, I really hate to see summer go.
Summer is so much easier when it comes to deciding what to wear. Shorts, tank top and sandals. Fall however, can get a little iffy. Shorts, pants, jacket, you never know here in Colorado. Heck, the first year we lived here the first snow came mid October. I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen this year. Over the last 4 years I’ve learned that layering is the way to go.
As the end of summer draws near, it means school is starting again. The kids around here started back a couple weeks ago, it seems so early compared to when I was in school.
With school back in session, that means busy schedules and less time to spend in the kitchen making dinner. That’s no excuse though to go through the drive-thru on the way home from work or succumb to buying a frozen family meal. I mean have you seen the 10,000 ingredients that are in those frozen dinners? I don’t even know what 3/4 of them are!
In order to save you from the drive-thru and frozen dinner aisle, I’m sharing a wonderful, family friendly one pot meal: One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta with Chicken. And guess what? There’s not a drop of cream in it!
Creamy pasta is such a treat, but with all that butter, cream and cheese it’s not something my thighs can afford to be eating very often. My trick to making creamy pasta is to swap out the cream for Greek yogurt. You still get that wonderful creamy texture and flavor, but without an ounce of guilt.
Along with the guilt-free creaminess is the ease that comes with making this pasta dish. Everything is literally cooked in the same pot. No cooking the pasta separately and dirtying more dishes. I’m actually thinking of getting rid of my huge colander for pasta.
This wholesome family dinner can easily be made gluten-free just by subbing the whole wheat pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta. One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta with Chicken can be on the table in 30 minutes and it’s sure to be a family favorite!
One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and excess oil blotted off with paper towels
- 8 ounces whole wheat or gluten-free pasta, (I used bowties)
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons of water, (see note)
- 2 cups packed baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat add the olive oil and chicken. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Add in the garlic and sun dried tomatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken broth and pasta and stir until combined. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
- Add in the dissolved arrowroot/water slurry and stir until the liquid starts to thicken, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the mozzarella, parmesan cheese, spinach and stir until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Stir in the Greek yogurt until everything is combined. Taste for seasoning then serve immediately.
Notes
- If you don’t have arrowroot powder cornstarch may also be used.
- Flour may be used as well if gluten-free is not an issue. If you use flour use 1 tablespoon and sprinkle it in and stir to combine in step #2. Then add in the chicken broth and stir until it’s dissolved and add in the pasta. Continue from there with the remaining directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More One Pot Pasta Recipes
One Pot Creamy Lemon Goat Cheese Pasta with Chickpeas and Asparagus
I’ve made this recipe a few times so far and everyone loves it! Definitely in the regular dinner rotation now!
This was a really great dish! Really tasty and everybody liked it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed. Thank you so much for your feedback!
I love this meal and have made it many, many times – it’s a winner every time! I was wondering if there might be a way to substitute quinoa for the paste. Perhaps within the thickener? I love so many pasta recipes you’ve posted and would love to make them a little more flexible in my weekly menu by using quinoa instead, but am not sure if it would work!
Hi Brianna! You can substitute the pasta for quinoa, but you may need to adjust the amount of liquid and cook time to ensure the quinoa cooks. I would cook for 20 minutes and then check for doneness as quinoa might need to be cooked longer. I would use 2 (maybe 2 1/2) cups broth for one cup of uncooked quinoa. This will result in liquid remaining to make the sauce.
If you are using cooked quinoa, then you can add it before step 4. For cooked quinoa, I would reduce the broth to 2 cups. I haven’t tested this, but it should work fine. If you try it, let me know.
Love this was so easy to make!! Very yummy and not as heavy as pasta with cream, I noticed the recipe on Pinterest looked so yummy I had to try it!
This was delicious. I added an onion and browned it with the chicken and used bruschetta seasoning instead of the Italian seasoning, otherwise followed the directions as is. I used the thickener, but will try without next time since I didn’t feel like it was actually needed once the cheese was added in. Great, easy, one pan recipe.
Thanks for your feedback, Kim! I am so glad that you liked this recipe.
This was great – even my picky husband liked it.
I’m so glad to hear you loved this! Thanks so much for your feedback.