This Cherry Tomato Chicken Pasta is ready in less than 30 minutes with minimal prep AND it cooks in one pot – even the pasta cooks right in the sauce! A creamy garlic herb sauce coats bite-sized chicken, juicy cherry tomatoes and perfectly cooked spaghetti for the easiest weeknight dinner in my rotation.
Such a delicious late-summer chicken pasta!
I just love a good one pot pasta – they are SO easy to put together, and the entire meal cooks together in one pan. I first shared my Tomato Basil Pasta about 8 years ago, and I often make oven baked chicken breast with it – so I thought, why not combine the two? It works well in viral recipes like the Chicken Orzo Bake and that baked Boursin chicken pasta everyone made a while ago. And, it also works great in this recipe here!
We start with well-seasoned chicken breast – I like to cut it into bite sized pieces. If you want a good distribution throughout the pasta, make sure you don’t cut it into large chunks!
After a very quick sear, we add dry spaghetti, whole cherry or grape tomatoes and some basil to the pan. Top it off with chicken broth, simmer, finish with a Boursin-type cheese and parmesan – and dinner basically cooked itself!
Ingredients I use and some notes
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
- Chicken: I use chicken breast here, but boneless/skinless chicken thighs also work really well.
- Cherry/grape tomatoes: Sorry for mislabeling the tomatoes in the photo above 🙈 Either cherry or grape tomatoes work, and the best part is that they go in whole! If you have a bunch of large garden tomatoes to use up, 4 cups diced will work, too.
- Pasta: We like this best with spaghetti, or linguine but technically, any pasta shape will work. Depending on the pasta brand/type you use, you will need a little more or less liquid and cooking time.
How to make Cherry Tomato Chicken Pasta – in one pot!
A note about the chicken
Before we start – a note on the chicken: I really don’t enjoy large chunks of chicken in a pasta dish. That’s why I cut the chicken into smaller bite-sized pieces.
I’ll be honest, it can end up quite well-done. We don’t mind this at all, but if you want your chicken to stay VERY juicy, you need to remove it from the pan after searing and only add it back for the last 5 minutes to finish cooking and to heat through.
Alternatively, use chicken thighs – they will stay perfectly juicy!
Step 1: Sear the chicken
We start by seasoning our chicken well, so it doesn’t end up tasting bland. Then sear it in some oil – just 1-2 minutes, to get it a little opaque on the outside, and to make the seasoning stick – and to lightly sauté the garlic, too. The chicken doesn’t have to cook through yet!
Step 2: Add dry spaghetti and tomatoes
Once the chicken is ready, just add the dry spaghetti, the whole tomatoes and the basil to the pan and pour over the chicken broth. That’s basically it!
Now we bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to a good simmer and cover to cook for 7-10 minutes, depending on your brand of spaghetti. It should be about ¾ of the way cooked after this. You can loosen the spaghetti 1-2 times during the cooking time so they cook more evenly.
Step 3: Add creamy cheese
Once your pasta is almost done, wiggle the spaghetti around a little to loosen them up, and nestle your creamy garlic herb cheese in the middle. Cover again and finish simmering for 3-6 minutes, until the pasta is done to your preference.
Step 4: Stir and finish
All that’s left to do is to stir the pasta well, breaking up the cheese and the tomatoes into a creamy sauce. If it’s still liquidy, simmer it uncovered for 2-3 more minutes, tossing the pasta around. If it’s too thick, add a little more broth to smooth it out.
Stir in the parmesan cheese and serve with extra basil and parmesan, and some cracked black pepper!
Tips from my kitchen
- Chicken searing: Make sure to not cook through the chicken in the initial searing step – it will cook with the pasta.
- Pasta type/broth amount and cooking time: Depending on the brand and shape of the pasta you use, you will need more or less broth, and more or less cooking time. Thicker pastas, like bronze cut or expensive types, will need more liquid and more time than a thinner brand. Likewise, the shape dictates how long you need to cook the dish for. If you are unsure, start with 3 cups of broth and adjust as you go.
- Serve immediately: The pasta keeps soaking up the sauce as it sits and cools, so this is best served quickly when it’s done!
Side dishes we enjoy
This really is a meal in one pan, but we like to add a few things on the side – especially if it’s a hungry night! These are some of our favorites:
- Salad greens with homemade Italian dressing or white balsamic vinaigrette
- Crusty bread to mop up the sauce! Our house bread if there is time, or else a crisp loaf from the store.
- Sautéed green beans or sautéed zucchini are also perfect, if you have more summer produce to use up!
Cherry Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper (to taste)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 12 oz dry spaghetti pasta
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes (that's ~4 cups)
- 1 handful fresh basil (plus more for serving)
- 3-4 cups chicken broth (see notes)
- 1 (5.3-oz) block garlic herb cream cheese (such as Boursin)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Sear chicken: In a braiser or large skillet (mine is ~3.5 quart), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and season to taste. Sear for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the garlic.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 pound chicken breast, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper, 3 cloves garlic
- Add pasta, tomatoes and broth: Toss in the dry pasta, cherry tomatoes, and basil. Pour over the chicken broth and nestle everything down so it's in the liquid. Bring to a boil.12 oz dry spaghetti pasta, 2 pints cherry tomatoes, 1 handful fresh basil, 3-4 cups chicken broth
- Simmer: Reduce the heat to a vigorous simmer. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, until the pasta is about ¾ done. You can loosen the spaghetti 1-2 times for more even cooking.
- Add cheese: Uncover and wiggle the spaghetti to loosen them from each other. Place the garlic herb cheese in the middle of the pan, cover and finish cooking for another 3-5 minutes.1 (5.3-oz) block garlic herb cream cheese
- Finish: Uncover, remove the cooked basil, stir the melted cheese and burst tomatoes into a creamy sauce (the tomatoes will almost fully break up – that's what we want!), stir in the parmesan. Adjust broth as needed to create a silky sauce, and serve immediately with additional basil!¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Notes
More tomato recipes to try
- Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken
- Garlic Roasted Tomato Soup
- Cherry Tomato Salad
- Tomato Pie
- Chicken Orzo Bake
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