Cheesy Chicken Pasta Recipe (Easy One Pot) + Video
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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. Make chicken pasta with cheese for an easy and tasty dinner! The tender chicken paired with the cheesy noodles creates a delicious recipe that any picky eater will love!
This simple one pot creamy chicken pasta features a rich sundried tomato sauce that soaks into the pasta. Just toss everything together in a pot and let it cook!
Your taste buds will love this one-pot meal. (It’s enough to feed the whole family – and easy to clean up!)
The recipe card gives all the simple steps to make this easy meal – it’s perfect for busy weeknights!
When it comes to delicious pasta recipes, this cheesy delight is a must-make! The pasta noodles pair perfectly with the tender chicken and fresh basil!
Cheesy Chicken Pasta
In just 20 minutes, you’ll be ready to dig into a bowl of chicken and linguine coated in cheesy goodness and dotted with fresh baby spinach, onions, and tangy sun-dried tomatoes.
A cheesy chicken pasta recipe that practically makes itself — now that’s my kind of meal!
I also have another incredible garlic chicken pasta recipe made with tortellini and a creamy homemade sauce.
For south-of-the-border flavor, make some Mexican spaghetti.
Your favorite salsa ingredients come together with pasta and sausage to create another knock-your-sock-off, easy pasta dish!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Dried Italian Seasoning:
This is a fabulous convenience ingredient that’s common in Italian recipes.
If you don’t keep it on hand, combine 1 teaspoon each of dried basil and rosemary with ½ teaspoon each of oregano and dried thyme. - Red Pepper Flakes:
If you’re sensitive to spicy flavors, reduce this ingredient to ½ teaspoon. The chicken cheese pasta sauce will be milder, but there will still be a little heat. - Chardonnay:
The wine adds a rich, buttery flavor to the sauce, as well as a hint of citrusy brightness. If you can use the chardonnay, I highly recommend it.
Otherwise, you can use chicken stock, white grape juice, or equal parts lemon juice and water if needed. - Sun Dried Tomatoes:
Use halved grape tomatoes instead if you’re not a fan of these. Also, reduce the liquid by ½ cup and add extra salt to taste at the end.
Tips to make this Cheesy Chicken Pasta Dish
- You can save time by using leftover chicken cooked or rotisserie chicken! This is a great option if you don’t have time to cook raw chicken breasts.
- Pay attention to the cooked pasta timing as you don’t want to overcook it!
What to Serve with Chicken Cheese Pasta
No Italian meal would be complete without a side of garlic bread or homemade breadsticks!
Make a big bowl of salad using this Olive Garden salad recipe, or roast some veggies to make your table complete.
That said, you could easily enjoy this cheesy chicken pasta all on its own. With pasta, meat, veggies, and cheese, it’s enough to keep you feeling full!
One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta FAQ
You can use any pasta for your chicken pasta with cheese. As a substitute for linguine, use another long, thin pasta like fettuccine or angel hair pasta.
Even shorter pasta like penne pasta, rotini, or rigatoni will work great. Whole-wheat penne pasta is a great option, too! And let’s not overlook the fact that eating cheesy chicken spaghetti would be super fun for the hungry recipe testers in your house!
Just be sure to use enough liquid to cover the noodles, and then cook until al dente.
I use Entwine Chardonnay. You can find it at Kroger brand grocery stores, and it runs about $10 a bottle.
No need for anything too expensive. As long as you’d enjoy a glass of it by itself, it’ll taste great when used for cooking!
I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, but I don’t think the linguine will hold up very well under the long cook time.
If you want to try it, cook the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot first, then add the noodles during the last hour or so of cook time.
Or, cook them separately on the stove and mix together your cheesy chicken pasta just before serving. Just know that the flavor won’t be as rich since it isn’t cooked together with everything else.
The biggest thing to remember is that you want the recipe to cool down all the way, before storing it in an airtight container. Then the next time that you’re ready to eat it, you can add it to a skillet on the stove and reheat over medium heat.
To add some different flavors to this easy pasta recipe, you can top with a little bit of white cheddar cheese or different types of cheese as well. Pre-shredded cheese is a fast and simple way to get that gooey melted cheese flavor back on top of the juicy chicken and noodles.
Since I consider this recipe to be the ultimate comfort food, you can add all types of good options to the leftovers to give it a new flavor! Dicing a few bell peppers and adding them along with a little bit of garlic powder can make a leftover dish taste new and unique as well. One pot meals give a great variety on how to enjoy and eat them the next day!
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other One Pot Pasta Recipes
Cheesy Chicken Pasta Recipe (Easy One Pot) + Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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!
Video
Donna’s Notes
- 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).
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published October 2016, updated and republished November 2024
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Love this recipe! Have been making it for quite awhile & everyone always loves it.
I’m a little shocked that throwing raw chopped chicken, pasta & everything else in the pot at the same time comes out perfectly. I added my spinach at the end. Wow, what a time saver & this meal is delicious! Hubby doesn’t like the tomatoes but a remake without them is just as tasty. I left the red pepper flakes & cheese to add at the end for individual preference. It was an awesome meal!
I recently found this recipe on Facebook. Made it tonight for the first time!! OMG! It is delish and easy! Will definitely be on my rotation list.
This is by far the easiest and most popular dish that I serve my friends!
I add a can of Rotelle, because I like hot and spicy.
Other than that I stick to the recipe.
This is the best recipe! We love it. Very easy to make. I don’t like cheese sauce Italian, my husband doesn’t like red sauce Italian. This is perfect! It’s our new favorite!
can you make it with beef
so easy and delicious
Delicious!!!! And so easy!
Delicious!!!!
DH and I both enjoyed this meal. Once all the prep was done, it went together quickly, but, truly, can anyone do that amount of prep in 10 minutes? Not me, even if you don’t include clean-up. It makes a lot. I hope it freezes well.
Just made this. So quick and easy. Turned out great! Left out the red peppers because wife can’t handle even mildly spicy. Still, think it needed something… Maybe if I used fresh herbs, the flavor would be a bit more bold and make up for lack of red peppers. I’m definitely gonna make it again!
Can you make this in a regular pot? Want to make at a timeshare and don’t want to lug the dutch oven with us.
I love this recipe! The only thing I found to be a challenge is when adding the chicken at the beginning, sometimes it would taste a bit dry now I just wait until the liquid is almost at a boil before adding it to the pot. Comes out perfect every time! I’ve also used many different types of pasta. It all works!
Hi Linda!
We’re so glad it turns out good.
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
So glad I found your site! I’m normally a timid, marinara-on-some-pasta, kind of cook. I got the nerve to try this recipe, and my family and I couldn’t be happier! What a wonderful, easy change of pace. Thank you so much for your work, and I can’t wait to try more recipes!
Hi Rebecca!
We’re so glad that you enjoyed the recipe!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
I’ve been making this as a vegetarian dish by omitting the chicken,and the cheese, substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth and adding in fresh mushrooms, artichoke hearts and zucchini – I add the artichoke hearts, and zucchini in right at the end, so it doesn’t overcook…
Absolutely delicious !!!
Hi Brenda!
Those are awesome substitutions. It sounds delicious!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
Absolutely love this recipe. It’s quick, easy and doesn’t create a bunch of dirty dishes. I never have leftovers of this dish in my house. I changed up the recipe a bit with the tomatoes bc the sun dried tomatoes are tough and we’re just not a fan of them. So I substituted the sun dried tomatoes with fresh grape tomatoes and it is so darn good!!!
Hi Krystle!
We’re so glad you enjoyed!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn