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This creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe includes crispy chicken in a creamy tuscan sauce, served over your favorite kind of pasta. It's easy to make and will impress any guests.
My family loves this meal, and it's a great meal to bring families. I also recommend Homemade Lasagna, Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken and Rice Enchiladas, or Sloppy Joes.
Why I love this meal:
- Delicious – A creamy and flavorful Italian chicken pasta recipe that will become a family favorite! It is so comforting and delicious.
- Pantry Ingredients – I usually have everything I need on hand for this popular dish, so I often whip it up for a quick dinner when everyone is hungry.
- Fancy – It's easy to make, but fancy enough to serve guests, alongside homemade breadsticks and a wedge salad.
How to make Tuscan Chicken Pasta:
Season Chicken: Add ¾ cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, dried basil, oregano, and onion powder to a large ziplock bag. Add chicken and shake to coat.
Cook Pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Cook Chicken: Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add chicken to the pan. Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side, flipping only once, until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate to rest.
Make Sauce: Add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from cooking the chicken. Add bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Mix in flour. Whisk in chicken broth. Bring sauce to a simmer. Stir in cream, milk, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Simmer until just slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Stir in spinach and parmesan cheese and cook for 2 more minutes.
Serve Tuscan chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta. Garnish with extra fresh parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The creamy tuscan chicken pasta sauce could be made 1-2 days ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator. The chicken can be coated in flour mixture a few hours ahead of time.
To Freeze: The sauce can be made and frozen before adding the milk and cream. I don't recommend freezing the cream sauce because the texture will be a little off.
More Pasta Recipes:
- Pastalaya
- Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
- Pasta Carbonara
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Harissa Pasta
- Truffle Mac and Cheese
- Baked Ziti
- Peanut Noodles
- Chicken Parmesan
- Short Rib Ragu
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1.5 pounds chicken tenders, , or halved chicken breasts
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, , diced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves, , chopped
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, , or more, to taste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb fettuccine noodles
Instructions
- Season Chicken: Add ¾ cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, dried basil, oregano, and onion powder to a large ziplock bag. Add chicken and shake to coat.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Cook Chicken: Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add chicken to the pan. Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side, flipping only once, until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate to rest.
- Make Sauce: Add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from cooking the chicken. Add bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Mix in flour. Whisk in chicken broth. Bring sauce to a simmer. Stir in cream, milk, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Simmer until just slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Stir in spinach and parmesan cheese and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta. Garnish with extra fresh parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe in January 2014. Updated February 2021 and February 2024.
These sound great. I can still make these gluten-free.
I had been drooling over this since I came across it this past week. Let me just say that any time a recipe calls for cheese, I imagine a typo occured where the author forgot to add X 100 right next to amount. That being said, all I did different wad increase the amount of cheese and add more garlic salt, cause garlic is another one of ny weakness. This meal is to die for. So, so good. Thank you for sharing. Love you…it. love IT. Oh who am I kidding, you’ve made the list too.
Hahaha, thanks so much for your comment 🙂 I’m so glad you loved it!!!
So so good!!! Way better than any restaurant. Make sure to season your chicken.
Im from Trinidad and we don’t sell half and half in our grocery stores so I used coconut milk instead…amazinggggg
We live in Grenada, this is a great suggestion! I’m going to try it tonight 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if I use heavy whipping cream would i still need to use corn starch?
and would the milk need to be adjusted?
Hi Priscilla, that should work great to just use heavy whipping cream!
This was VERY good! I was a little confused when it said add red pepper and onion,,, but onion isn’t in the ingredients so I guessed at how much to add. Including prep time, from start to finish, this took me about an hour to make for a family of five.
this recipe was amazing!! I adjusted the dry mix for only 2 chicken breasts, but made the recommended amount of sauce. Next time I might add the whole bag of baby spinach and another bell pepper! YUM! and thank you!!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for your nice comment 🙂
boyfriend is lactose intolerant… I know I can use cream, but what do you think about cheddar with this? Parm is definitely off the table. Also, we have a wheat allergy here too, and I was wondering how the chicken would come out without the flour?
You could use cheddar, it would just taste different, but still be yummy I’m sure. You could leave the flour out but coat the chicken lightly in cornstarch instead! Hope this helps!
Another yummy looking chicken recipe to try out.
We really like our spinach and I’m always looking for new ways to use it in food.
Thanks for this idea! 🙂
That chicken looks great. I love spinach but also have to sneak it into meals for my kids!
Wow! This looks absolutely incredible. I know what I want to make for dinner tonight!
Thanks Debra! It makes a great weeknight meal!