Creamy Sundried Tomato and Chicken Pasta

I'm interrupting my unintentional "Curry Week" here on g&c for yet another delicious (but non-curry) dinner recipe: Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Chicken Pasta.  It's basically what all my pasta dreams are made of.

Even better?  It can be made in less than 30 minutes.  I expected it to take longer because um, hello!  It totally looks like a fancy meal.  But the sauce comes together in a snap with the whirl of a food processor and if you cook the pasta while you are cooking the chicken, the rest is just mixing it all together and dinner is served.  Pour yourself a glass of wine and pat yourself on the back because you, my friend, are the weeknight dinner goddess.

Now let’s talk about this super dreamy creamy sun-dried tomato sauce.  I used GO VEGGIE Vegan Classic Plain Cream Cheese which, if you’ve been paying attention at all around here, you know I am a huge fan of.  It tastes just like regular cream cheese but is dairy-free, has more calcium and is lower in calories and fat and saturated fat than regular cream cheese, and has no cholesterol, making this weeknight meal a healthy choice!  Another reason to give yourself a pat on the back.

All you do for the sauce is combine the cream cheese, a little milk, and some sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor (or a blender) and puree away.  I also saved a little pasta water to thin it out a bit at the end.  That's it.  No really, that's all you do.  I told you it was easy!

One note about the sundried tomatoes: I used the kind that is in a jar in olive oil with some Italian herbs, which I’m sure added more flavor.  If you use the dried kind, you might want to add a teaspoon or two of olive oil to the sauce, along with a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning.

So it really comes down to making the sauce (5 minutes), cook the chicken and pasta (15-ish minutes), and throwing it all together (30 seconds!).  You’ve got yourself a delicious and comforting dinner in less than 30 minutes!

Creamy Sundried Tomato and Chicken Pasta

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Servings: 4

Author: Taylor Ellingson

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 medium chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 shallots diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 cups baby spinach
• ▢ For the creamy sauce:
• ▢ 4 ounces GO VEGGIE Vegan Classic Plain Cream Cheese
• ▢ ½ cup milk
• ▢ ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 8 oz penne pasta or your favorite shape of pasta

Instructions

• First, make the sauce:
• Combine cream cheese, milk, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt in food processor and blend until pureed. Set aside.
• In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.
• Cook chicken until cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.
• Meanwhile, start a pot of water to cook your pasta. You will want you pasta cooking while you are making the sauce.
• Add additional tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
• Add shallots and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook another minute.
• Add diced tomatoes and salt, and cook another 2-3 minutes.
• Return chicken to the skillet.
• Add cream sauce, and stir quickly so it incorporates well in the sauce.
• Let cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
• Drain pasta and reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.
• Add pasta to skillet with the sauce, and stir well to combine.
• Add spinach, stirring well until wilted.
• Add additional water if you feel the sauce needs thinned out. I added just a couple of tablespoons.
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

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