This Skillet Chicken Tomato Sauce with Ricotta is a 6-ingredient, 25-minute, one pan meal. Ground chicken tomato sauce makes it a healthier family dinner!
This Tomato Chicken Ricotta Pasta dish is a delicious and simple one pan meal. Ground chicken is seared until it gets a super browned, flavorful crust. Then garlic, vegetable broth and tomatoes are added. All of this cooks down into a delightful sauce that really lets the tomato shine with a meaty bite from the chicken. Pasta is mixed in, then creamy Ricotta Cheese and fresh basil are added. It’s perfection! Bellissimo!
Seven of the ten ingredients in this recipe likely already live in your pantry! The ground chicken can hang out in the freezer until you’re ready, leaving just ricotta and basil to grab from the store. It’s the perfect “ready-when-you-are” kind of meal! Click here to get more pantry dinner ideas and Pantry Must-Haves for Quick & Easy Dinners!
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Reasons to Love Tomato Chicken Ricotta Pasta
⏱ Fast & Weeknight-Friendly Pasta Dinner
- 30-Minute Dinner: This pasta with Chicken is ready in about half an hour, perfect for hectic evenings.
- Minimal Prep: Just basic chopping and browning—no complicated steps.
- One-Pot Sauce: Cook everything in one pan while the pasta boils, cutting down cleanup.
🛒 Simple Ingredients, Pantry-Friendly
- Pantry Staples: With canned tomatoes, broth, and pasta, most ingredients are likely already on hand.
- Freezer-Friendly Protein: Ground chicken can be kept frozen and thawed quickly.
- Flexible Veggies: Toss in frozen spinach, peas, or whatever’s in the fridge.
🥘 Nutritious & Family-Approved
- Balanced Meal: Lean protein, fiber from pasta and veggies, and creamy ricotta for richness.
- Kid-Friendly: Creamy, cheesy, and mild—no complaints at the dinner table.
- Customizable: Adjust spice, veggies, or protein to fit picky eaters or dietary needs.
❄️ Make-Ahead & Reheats Like a Dream
- Freezer-Friendly: Freeze the sauce for an easy dinner down the road.
- Great for Meal Prep: Make the sauce ahead and cook pasta fresh.
- Reheats Beautifully: Leftovers stay creamy and delicious.
Here’s another amazing recipe – Walnut and Ricotta Sauce with Spinach Pasta Recipe.
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes for this Pasta
- Ground Chicken Breast – I use white meat only, Free Range, No antibiotics used. Any ground chicken or even ground turkey will work fine in this recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – the oil is used in the pan to prevent sticking, so any vegetable oil will work.
- San Marzano Whole peeled tomatoes – These will add the most sweet flavor. Any canned tomatoes, whole or diced will work in this recipe.
- Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth – You can also use stock. Beef broth or stock will work too.
- Garlic – Fresh is best, but you can substitute in garlic powder or garlic flakes.
- Spaghetti – You can use your favorite pasta in this dish, such as penne, fettuccine, rigatoni, fusilli, etc.
- Ricotta Cheese – I used whole milk ricotta cheese, but you can use low fat as well. You can also top this with other cheeses, such as fresh mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese.
- Basil Leaves – Fresh basil really brightens up this dish with a fresh finish. You can also use fresh oregano or even parsley.
Prep-Ahead Steps for Chicken Ricotta Pasta
This recipe is so simple, that there isn’t much to do ahead of time. Mince the garlic and rough chopping the basil leaves. You can also just leave the basil whole for garnish at the end.
The ground chicken tomato sauce can also be made in advance and stored it in the fridge. Then on the night you are ready to eat it, heat it up in the skillet, add the spaghetti (or gluten free pasta as I used) and the ricotta.
Cooking Steps for Tomato Chicken Ricotta Pasta
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water to al dente then set aside until you are ready to add to the sauce.
Talking Tip
Heat the water to boiling before you start the chicken, but do not add the pasta until you add the tomatoes to the chicken. You do not want to over cook the pasta as it will continue to cook in the sauce.
Since this recipe is so simple with just a few ingredients, here is the secret to really bringing out the flavor. BROWN the ground chicken. I’m talking REALLY BROWN it! Sear it to the point where you worry the brown bits on the bottom of the pan may burn. That’s what will give your sauce real depth of flavor with this low fat and calorie meat. BROWNED = FLAVOR 🙂
Cook the chicken in a preheated pan over medium-high heat.
Once the ground chicken is really browned add the garlic and broth.
As you add the broth, scrape the bottom to pick up all of those yummy brown bits stuck to the skillet. Those brown bits will give your sauce great flavor. I used Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base broth in this dish because I love the deep, rich flavors it brings. You can use any other chicken or veggie broth you like.
This is a quick weeknight meal, so I recommend using sweet, full flavored canned San Marzano Whole Peeled tomatoes. You can break them up easily for a textured sauce with pieces of the tomato, which I really love vs. a pureed tomato sauce.
Add the tomatoes and sauce. Mix to combine, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, mix in the pasta.
For the Ricotta, add as much or as little as you want in dollops into the sauce.
Serve it in bowls or dishes and then simply garnish with fresh basil. You can also grate parmesan cheese on top for a nice salty finish too!
That’s it! ENJOY!
😍 Carrie
Chicken Tomato Ricotta Pasta FAQs
Yes! Make the sauce ahead, refrigerate for up to 3 days, and cook pasta fresh when you’re ready to serve.
They’re preferred for their sweetness and low acidity, but any good-quality canned whole tomatoes will work.
Cottage cheese blended until smooth works well, or you can use mascarpone for a richer twist. Adding Parmesan cheese will add a nutty and salty finish.
You can use any other spices or herbs that you love in this recipe. Some of the better ones are oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, or an Italian blend. For spice, you can add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper. For the ricotta cheese, you can also add in herbs or Lemon Zest and lemon juice can take this in a bright lemon ricotta pasta direction.
Tomato Chicken Ricotta Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz Ground Chicken Breast Free Range, No antibiotics used
- 28 oz San Marzano Whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth
- 1 clove Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt increase to 1 teaspoon if your broth is unsalted
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
- 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 oz Spaghetti
- 16 oz Ricotta Cheese
- ¾ cup Basil Leaves, loose
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- Mince the garlic Clove. Rough chop the basil leaves – or just leave them whole for garnish at the end.
Cook
- Make the spaghetti to al dente according to package instructions then set aside until you are ready to add to the sauce. NOTE: you do not want to over cook the pasta as it will continue to cook in the sauce.
- Preheat a large skillet on high heat. Add 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil and spread it around the skillet. Add the ground chicken, break it up and make a single layer of meat so that all of it can get a nice brown sear.
- Let the chicken cook on high heat for at least 5 minutes without touching it, but even longer is better so that it gets REALLY BROWNED! Then flip the chicken over breaking it up again so that it doesn’t form one large patty and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. You want to make sure that all of the pink is gone and preferably all of the white too so that everything is nice and browned. BROWNED = FLAVOR 🙂
- Now add the minced garlic and stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the Broth and stir to get all of those delicious browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the tomatoes and break them up with a spatula. Mix to combine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. TIP: If you do not have a cover for your skillet, you can use a sheet pan or just aluminum foil.
- Now mix in the spaghetti and mix using tongs so that all of the sauce combines with the pasta.
- Finally, add in some hefty dollops of creamy ricotta cheese. You can add in as much or as little as you want, but I like to scoop out 1-2 dollops per serving.
- Serve and garnish with basil.
Chef Mimi says
I don’t need quick and easy recipes, but I don’t ignore them when they’re this good! Very smart recipe.