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This tomato spinach chicken pasta recipe is delicious with tender pan-fried chicken nestled in a creamy tomato spinach sauce. It’s quick and easy for busy weeknights!
You may also enjoy my Tomato Spinach White Wine Chicken and Ranch Chicken Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Spinach.
Why you’ll love it
This 30-minute dish is perfect for when you want something tasty and comforting but also not heavy. I enjoy making it when I have late-night pasta cravings, too! You’ll also like how this tomato pasta with chicken is one of those recipes that tastes fancier than it is.
I use both tomato paste and tomato sauce in this recipe so that the creamy tomato sauce shines and the tomato flavor really pops. It comes out silky and goes so well with the strips of juicy chicken and fresh spinach. One kind reader said it’s “literally the best pasta sauce”!
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I like how the sauce coats penne
- Chicken – we’re pan-frying chicken breasts
- Garlic powder – in addition to salt & pepper, this infuses flavor right into the chicken cutlets
- Olive oil and butter – for pan frying
- Garlic – pasta sauce always benefits from plenty of garlic!
- Tomatoes – we’re using two pantry staples, tomato paste and tomato sauce (passata for my UK readers)
- Heavy cream – a hint to make the sauce luxurious
- Italian seasoning – my favorite blend of dried herbs that comes in a single jar
- Spinach – for a pop of freshness
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- It can sometimes be hard to tell when chicken is done, and in a recipe like this, chicken can go from underdone to overdone very quickly. I use an instant read thermometer to easily tell when chicken is done. Chicken is safe to eat at 165F (keep in mind that the temperature will rise for a bit even after you stop cooking it).
- I like using this Le Creuset skillet for this recipe.
How to make chicken spinach tomato pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta al dente. Meanwhile, cut the chicken to make four thinner cutlets. Season with garlic powder and salt & pepper. In a skillet, heat up the butter and oil, then pan-fry the chicken until cooked through and transfer to a plate. Stir in the garlic, then add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, cream, and Italian seasoning.
Stir until smooth, then let the sauce simmer and thicken. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into strips. Season the sauce with salt & pepper, and return the chicken to the skillet. Add in the spinach. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce, and top with freshly grated parm if desired.
Substitutions and variations
- Use whatever shape of pasta you prefer/you’ve got on hand.
- There’s a good chance that the acidity of the tomatoes will curdle the sauce if you use something with a lower fat content than heavy cream, so I recommend sticking with it if you do give this recipe a try.
- For a little kick, readers have added in crushed red pepper flakes or even Calabrian chilies.
What to serve with tomato chicken pasta
- All it needs is a slice of fresh crusty bread or a dinner roll to round it out! Cheesy Garlic Bread is always a good idea, too.
- For a salad, try spring mix with my Homemade Italian Dressing, or make a Caesar salad with my ridiculously good Easy Caesar Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers of this pasta in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat over a low heat until warmed through.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers of this pasta.
If you gave this chicken spinach tomato pasta try, please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! You can also tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you've got 4 thinner pieces. Season both sides of each piece with the garlic powder and salt & pepper.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes, then cook the chicken for about 5 minutes/side or until it's cooked through, then transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, cream, and Italian seasoning. Stir until it's nice and smooth. Reduce the heat to medium. Let the sauce cook for about 3-5 minutes (let it gently bubble and it will thicken up a bit).
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken up into strips.
- Season the sauce with some salt & pepper, then add in the chicken and spinach and let it warm through for a minute or two.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add in a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining it. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce (I add the pasta back to the pot it was cooked in and then pour the skillet contents into the pot). Serve immediately with parmesan cheese over top.
Notes
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for something else like half-and-half because the tomatoes are likely to curdle the sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Another winner for me 😋😍
That’s great! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was so simple, but amazing tasting!
Love to hear that, Meg!!
I made this tonight and it was really delicious. Just a couple of changes. I added some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat and Parmesan cheese. I will definitely
Make it again. Very quick and easy but very delicious.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!!
Absolutely delicious recipe. I personally added a full 1tsp of Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of mild chilli powder. This will be a recurrent recipe at home!
Wonderful!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and tweaked it to your tastes, Louise. 🙂
Hi, just wondering the approx serving size? For example how many grams for each serve 😊
Hi Abbie! Honestly, I have no idea – sorry! I include nutrition info as a courtesy (it’s just an estimate generated by a calculator that pulls from a database to give readers a general idea). I am not a trained nutritionist (nor great at math lol), and I would not feel comfortable guessing as it’ll be off anyway since ingredients vary so much by brand, size of chicken breasts you happen to purchase, etc. If you need precise info for health reasons, you may want to weigh each ingredient out and enter it into something like My Fitness Pal.
Just made this for my husband and two year old son and they both LOVED it! Hubby said it was even better than a restaurant’s so thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it will be my go-to sauce for pasta now!
I did it without chicken since I’m pregnant and its one of the aversions I’ve had the last few months but still with only the spinach and cheese it was pitch perfect! 10/10 🙂
That’s wonderful!! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it, Illiana!
Ahhh in love. My mouth was watering at the sight of this dish. Thank you🙏🙏
You’re welcome!
I also added 4 or 5 thin sliced mushrooms, half a small onion thinly sliced and a little extra spinach. Other wise I followed this recipe to a T and my family ADORED it. Extremely customizable veggie wise. Super easy and super good!!
Fantastic!! I’m so happy it was enjoyed, Emma!! 😀
I love this recipe, it was easy to make and the taste was delicious. I love it so much that I would like to make this as a side dish for a party , probably about three pounds can I make this ahead of time and reheat tithe day of the party any ideas?????? Thank you so much for an excellent recipe
Hi Jane!! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m a little concerned the sauce won’t be as nice reheated (creamy sauces are notoriously finicky and can separate when reheating), but if you still want to try, I would probably wait until the very end (like just before serving) to add the spinach in so it doesn’t go an unappealing color/very limp texture. I’d keep the chicken and the sauce separate and reheat both SLOWLY on a low heat so the chicken doesn’t get overcooked and the sauce doesn’t separate. Perhaps warm the chicken in the oven covered by foil?
Delicious inspiration!
I substituted fire-roasted tomatoes instead of sauce and doubled up on the tomato paste.
Also added burnt butter to pasta so l could top it with the chicken and sauce (for aesthetics)
Thank you
Sounds good to me, Chris!!