Cheesy Chicken Pasta Recipe (Easy One Pot) + Video

4.92 stars from 12 reviews

Cheesy Chicken Pasta is a rich and hearty Italian meal that is bursting with flavor. It's so easy that it just about cooks itself.

Servings: people

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

8 ounces baby spinach leaves divided
1 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil with Italian herbs drained (about 7 ounces)
1 large yellow onion sliced
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2" bite sized pieces
6 cloves garlic sliced
1 pound dry linguine
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
32 ounces (4 cups) reduced sodium chicken stock
8 ounces (1 cup) chardonnay wine
4 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese shredded

Combine 1/2 of the spinach with the tomatoes, onion, chicken, garlic, pasta, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pour chicken stock and wine over top. Cover and bring to a boil.
Cook 7-9 minutes until pasta is al dente (with a bite to it). Toss pasta with tongs occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You will still have some liquid in the pan when the pasta is done cooking. This is going to make the base for our delicious cheese sauce.
Turn off the heat and add the cheese to the pasta. Toss pasta with tongs until the cheese melts into the pasta. Toss in remaining spinach.
Serve and enjoy!

Dried Italian seasoning is a fabulous convenience ingredient. If you do not keep it on hand, combine 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

This dish is just spicy enough to make your tongue tingle. For a very mild sauce, reduce the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon.

I know some people are sensitive to alcohol. The wine adds a fabulous rich buttery flavor and a bright citrus flavor to the pasta. If you can use the chardonnay, I highly recommend it. However, you can substitute with chicken stock, white grape juice, or lemon water (1/2 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/2 cup water).