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Chicken and Cherry Tomato Pasta with basil and parmesan in a skillet. It's easy and so delicious! #pasta #tomatoes #easydinner #dinner #easyrecipes #healthydinner #chicken

Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil Pasta

This EASY Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil Pasta has a garlic-y backdrop with sweetness from the natural sugars that are released from the cherry tomatoes.  Then you get freshness from the basil, salty and nutty flavors from the Parmesan and a hearty bite from the chicken and pasta!!  #pasta #tomatoes #easydinner #dinner #easyrecipes #healthydinner #chicken

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword cherry tomatoes, chicken recipe, parmesan, pasta, tomatoes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 512 kcal
Author Carrie Tyler

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 16 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper

Sauce

  • 10 ounces Cherry Tomatoes (or grape tomatoes)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup Basil leaves, chiffonade
  • ½ cup Grated parmesan
  • 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pasta

  • 12 ounces Spaghetti Pasta (gluten free or regular)
  • pinch Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

Prep Ahead

  1. Cut chicken into 1 inch by 2 inch pieces (16oz chicken should yield between 20-25 pieces of chicken).  Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. If you are doing this step in advance, store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

  2. Peel and mince 2 cloves of garlic and store in fridge.

  3. Grate parmesan cheese (if needed) and keep in storage container in fridge.

Cook

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and cook pasta to al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain well, but save a cup of the cooking pasta water for later.

  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes on each side.  Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.

  3. While the chicken is cooking, chiffonade the basil, which is just laying all of the leaves on top of each other, rolling the pile, then thinly slicing.

  4. To the same skillet, turn heat to medium and add another teaspoon of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and chicken broth, to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to softened and burst, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the chicken back to the pan and combine with the tomatoes.

  5. Turn off heat and stir in pasta plus ½ cup of the reserved pasta water (add more if needed to loosen up the pasta).  Once combined, add the basil, parmesan and 1 tablespoon olive oil and give it another toss until well combined.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.

  6. Serve immediately, garnished with basil.  Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  1. Can I make this ahead?  You can also make this entire dish in advance and simply reheat it when you are ready to eat it!

  2. Can I use rotisserie or leftover chicken or turkey? To save time, you can use pre-cooked chicken or leftover turkey. Simply skip Cooking step 2, which is cooking the meat. Instead of cooking the meat, in the Prep Steps, you will cut the chicken or turkey into cubes or shred it into about 1 inch pieces. Then season it with a touch of salt, black pepper, and dried oregano, just as the instructions say to do for the raw chicken. Then in Cooking Step 4, add the chicken or turkey to the pan with the tomatoes and let it warm through for about 3-5 minutes. Then follow the normal cooking instructions in the recipe after that.

  3. Can I use chicken thighs instead of breasts?  You can use chicken thighs, but I recommend sticking with boneless skinless thighs for easy prep and cooking. I estimate 16 ounces or 1 pound of chicken for 4 servings. That will likely mean 5-6 boneless skinless thighs, depending on their size. The recipe instructions will be the same for thighs as the breasts.

  4. Can I use other types of tomatoes?  Cherry tomatoes have a fantastically sweet flavor that is different from larger tomatoes. You can swap with grape tomatoes for the same flavor and experience. If you don’t have cherry or grape, you can certainly use other tomatoes, but you will need to cut them to bite-size pieces and will want to cook them for only 2-3 minutes. Any longer, they will start to melt into the sauce and you won’t get that bright burst of flavor. The next best after cherry or grape tomatoes are plum tomatoes.

  5. Can I use canned tomatoes in this Chicken Pasta recipe?
    Canned tomatoes are not a substitute for fresh in this specific recipe. Of course canned are great and you can certainly use them to create your own pasta dish, but this recipe will not work with them. Canned whole peeled tomatoes would be the closest thing, but they also include a sauce, so it would be more of a tomato sauce rather than pasta with tomatoes. My Chicken and Tomato Sauce with Ricotta is a great option for canned tomatoes!