Ready in 30 minutes, this Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta is a simple but delicious weeknight dinner that the whole family will love. Rich, flavorful, and easy, this creamy chicken pasta comes together so quickly!
Packed with sweet fragrant basil, juicy tomatoes, and flavorful chicken, this creamy chicken pasta is going to be a family favorite! You cannot go wrong with the classic flavors of a tomato basil pasta so pairing it up with a creamy sauce is just a dream combination!
If you’re looking for other delicious pasta recipes, why not also try my Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta or my Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta! Both pasta recipes are uncomplicated and made in 35 minutes or less, making them absolutely perfect for a busy weeknight.
Why You’ll Love this Tomato Basil Pasta
- A delicious homemade pasta sauce. Creamy, rich, packed with tomatoes, garlic, and a host of other flavorful ingredients making it utterly mouthwatering!
- A super easy pasta recipe. Less than 30 mins pantry to table, with only a few staple ingredients – this creamy chicken pasta will become an easy weeknight favorite.
- Easily adaptable! Don’t have chicken tenders? Use thighs? Don’t have fresh basil? Try dried. It’s easy to adapt this recipe to use whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Garlic Cloves — Freshly minced is best.
- Canola Oil
- Heavy Cream
- Tomatoes: Diced
- Flour
- Water
- Chicken Broth
- Fresh Basil — roughly chopped
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Fettuccine
- Salt and Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese — Freshly grated
How to make this Basil Tomato Pasta
- Cook the pasta: In a large pot of boiling water, cook fettuccine according to the instructions on the package.
- Prepare the chicken: Julienne the chicken and then salt and pepper to taste with ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of black pepper and coat the chicken with 2 tbsps. of flour.
- Sear the chicken: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Once hot, sauté the chicken until golden brown. Once the chicken is golden brown, remove and set aside.
- Add in the tomatoes: In the same skillet, add in the butter and sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes and continue to sauté until the tomatoes are soft and tender.
- Make the sauce: Add in the heavy cream, chicken broth, onion powder, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens up. Then add in the fresh chopped basil and parmesan cheese. Cook for another couple of minutes.
- Combine everything: Add the pasta and cooked chicken back into the skillet and toss to coat well. Continue to cook on low heat for 2-3 more minutes so that the pasta absorbs the sauce well.
- Enjoy: Serve immediately and garnish with freshly chopped basil and parmesan cheese.
Recipe Variations
- You can use whatever pasta you’d like! Try penne pasta or even a whole grain pasta.
- If you don’t have fresh basil, you can substitute with dried. For every 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, you can swap for 1 teaspoon of dried.
- Chicken tenders can be swapped for chicken thighs or breasts. You can even cut your chicken breasts into tenders.
- Want to try a different protein? Try shrimp!
Tips and Notes
- Make sure to cut your chicken in equal bite size pieces, so the pieces will be cooked evenly.
- Use enough cold water so when the pasta begins to cook and expand, there will still be plenty of room for the noodles to move freely.
- Make sure your pot is boiling before adding the pasta. Noodles that are added too soon will be soggy and not properly cooked. It’s best to set a timer so you don’t forget about it.
- As soon as you put your pasta in the water make sure to stir it. This stops the pasta from sticking together.
- Make sure to toss well, until your pasta is coated in the sauce.
- Serve with a garnish of additional freshly chopped basil and Parmesan cheese.
- To store, keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
FAQs
By all means add more vegetables to your pasta. Spinach, bell peppers, or asparagus would be great in this dish.
This recipe is not gluten free, but with a few swaps it can be! Just swap, the flour, pasta and broth for gluten free versions and you’re good to go!
This easy tomato basil pasta recipe is super filling on its own but you can certainly add a nice salad or some crusty bread for mopping up that delicious creamy sauce!
You can store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Make sure to refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Be aware the pasta will soak up a lot of the sauce.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes To Try
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Pesto Shrimp Scampi
- Beef Taco Pasta Recipe
- Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
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Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. fettuccine pasta uncooked
- Shaved parmesan cheese for garnishing, or grated
- Fresh chopped basil for garnishing
Chicken
- 1.5 lb. chicken tenders julienned
- 2 tbsps. all purpose flour for coating chicken
- 2 tbsps. olive oil light tasting
- ½ tsp. black pepper for chicken
- ½ tsp. salt for chicken
Creamy Sauce
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsps. butter
- 2 cups grape tomatoes diced, or vine tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. chili flakes
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped, packed
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ tsp. salt or more to taste
- ¾ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook fettuccine according to the instructions on the package.
- Julienne the chicken and then salt and pepper to taste with ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of black pepper and coat the chicken with 2 tbsps. of flour.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Once hot, sauté the chicken until golden brown. Once the chicken is golden brown, remove and set aside. Cover with foil wrap to preserve the heat.
- In the same skillet, add in the butter and sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes and continue to sauté until the tomatoes are soft and tender.
- Add in the heavy cream, chicken broth, onion powder, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens up. Then add in the fresh chopped basil and parmesan cheese. Cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the pasta and cooked chicken back into the skillet and toss to coat well. Continue to cook on low heat for 2-3 more minutes so that the pasta absorbs the sauce well.
- Serve immediately and garnish with freshly chopped basil and parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to cut your chicken in equal bite size pieces, so the pieces will be cooked evenly.
- Use enough cold water so when the pasta begins to cook and expand, there will still be plenty of room for the noodles to move freely.
- Make sure your pot is boiling before adding the pasta. Noodles that are added too soon will be soggy and not properly cooked. It’s best to set a timer so you don’t forget about it.
- As soon as you put your pasta in the water make sure to stir it. This stops the pasta from sticking together.
- Make sure to toss well, until your pasta is coated in the sauce.
- Serve with a garnish of additional freshly chopped basil and Parmesan cheese.
- To store, keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This is a great recipe. I used mushrooms instead of chicken and substituted cashew paste for heavy cream.I was pleasantly surprised by how creamy and tasty the sauce was. My kids liked it too. Will definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing a great recipe
Very good!!! The chili flakes add a little zing.
Thanks Lisa, glad you enjoyed it.
So good!
Thanks for the review Meg!Glad you enjoyed it.
This was so good. The reason I chose this recipe was I had fresh basil (my daughter had gotten me a window sill herb garden). And some heavy cream to use up. I used canned diced tomatoes & chicken powder, since that what I had. I will be making this again. But I will adjust my time. It took me an hour.
Hi Deb!
Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review.
I have been making this once a week for the last few months. It is amazing.
Glad you are enjoying it Michael. Thanks for leaving a review.
Was looking for a fresh tomato and chicken recipe, saw this and it was over!! And that it used my fresh basil too, oh what a bonus!!! I used big tomatoes as what I had, will let them drain a bit maybe next time. Next time will taste different since our broth was a mix of smoked duck and chicken homemade broth…I can definitely imagine how well this would be with shrimp and mussels!!! Thanks for the great dinner!!❤️
Hi Misti,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! My followers will find your comment on the adaptations very helpful. Thanks for the review!
This is an amazing dish. Will definitely be making it again.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Diane! Thanks for leaving a review.
Delicious! I used my fresh basil I’m growing on the patio. Loved this recipe.
Hi Kathleen,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Our basil plants always come so handy when needed! Fresh and delicious. Thanks for the review.