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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 Marry Me Chicken 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 No Knead Artisan 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
- Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Pasta a la Puttanesca
- Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
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 was a great recipe! I cut the cream down to 1 cup to lighten it up and it was fantastic.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for leaving a review.
This was so so good!! The flavor is phenomenal! It’s creamy but fresh. I didn’t really do anything different except i didn’t dredge the chicken. I just cut up chicken thighs and cooked it in the cast iron with garlic salt, basil, thyme and pepper. And then I threw in the chicken broth before throwing in the cream so I could scrap up any bits for added flavor and used about a cup of Parmesan to help thicken a bit. This will become a staple dish in my house. Thank you!!!!
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for leaving a review. Glad you enjoyed it and adapted it to your liking.
This recipe is sooo good! I subbed 2% milk for the cream cuz it’s not something I routinely carry. Added a tbsp of flour to thicken the milk up and used orzo instead, added a handful of mozzarella pearls and OMG it’s delicious! This is the first time I’ve ever left a review…. It’s so good… even with my subs! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!