This tomato spinach chicken pasta recipe is delicious with tender pan-fried chicken nestled in a creamy tomato spinach sauce. It's quick and easy for busy weeknights!
This dish is perfect for when you want something delicious and comforting but also fairly healthy.
I use both tomato paste and tomato sauce in this recipe so the creamy tomato sauce shines and the tomato flavor really pops!
How to make chicken spinach tomato pasta (overview):
For this recipe, you start by pan-frying the chicken in a skillet. Cook it for about 5-6 minutes/side or until it's cooked through and golden. You then take it out of the pan and make the sauce. While the sauce is simmering, you cut the chicken into strips. The dish is then finished by adding some fresh spinach and the chicken to the sauce, letting it warm through, and tossing it with the pasta. (Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below)
Recipe notes & tips:
- It can sometimes be hard to tell when chicken is done, and in a recipe like this, chicken can go from underdone to overdone very quickly. I use an instant read thermometer to easily tell when chicken is done. Chicken is safe to eat at 165F (keep in mind that the temperature will rise for a bit even after you stop cooking it).
- Can I sub the cream for something else? There's a good chance that the acidity of the tomatoes will curdle the sauce if you use something with a lower fat content than heavy cream, so I recommend sticking with it if you do give this recipe a try.
- Use whatever shape of pasta you prefer/you've got on hand.
More tasty recipes to try:
- Tomato Spinach White Wine Chicken
- Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken
- Spicy Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Chicken Feta Spinach Pasta
- Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
- Creamy Tomato Chicken
Will you give this chicken spinach tomato pasta try? Questions about this recipe? Give me a shout in the comments below!

Tomato Chicken Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 2 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (14 fluid ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you've got 4 thinner pieces. Season both sides of each piece with the garlic powder and salt & pepper.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes, then cook the chicken for about 5 minutes/side or until it's cooked through, then transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, cream, and Italian seasoning. Stir until it's nice and smooth. Reduce the heat to medium. Let the sauce cook for about 3-5 minutes (let it gently bubble and it will thicken up a bit).
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken up into strips.
- Season the sauce with some salt & pepper, then add in the chicken and spinach and let it warm through for a minute or two.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add in a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining it. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce (I add the pasta back to the pot it was cooked in and then pour the skillet contents into the pot). Serve immediately with parmesan cheese over top.
Notes
- I don't recommend subbing the cream for something else like half-and-half because the tomatoes are likely to curdle the sauce.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Elissa Krul says
My family loves when I make this for dinner! I had a lot more garlic so the sauce is good and garlicky. When I have fresh oregano in the house I chop that up too, and throw it in. So delicious!!
Natasha says
Love that!!
Denise says
Delish and easy to make ahead of time and bake later!
Natasha says
Glad you enjoyed it, Denise!
Cindy says
Could I make this with ground beef?
Natasha says
Sure, I don't see why not!
Cindy says
Just made it with ground beef and it came out delicious! Thank you for the recipe, super easy!
Natasha says
That's awesome!! You're welcome!
Liz says
I’ll definitely make this again! I spruced mine up a little bit for some richness with onion, extra Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and basil then topped with ricotta because why not. Your recipes are great thank you!
Natasha says
You're very welcome!! 😀
Cindy says
Thank you for sharing your recipe! My family loved it. you all that share on the website are Angles!!! Thank you again
Natasha says
You're very welcome!! 🙂
Kirsten M. says
I added some freshly diced tomatoes, bell peppers, red pepper flakes, and a little extra cream to my recipe to cut the acidity. The recipe came out great 🙂
Natasha says
Excellent!!
Ellen Fellows says
We LOVED this! I didn’t have any tomato sauce on hand so I slightly drained a can of diced tomatoes and put in extra tomato paste and it was delicious. Even my picky eaters loved it! Thank you for sharing!
Natasha says
I'm so happy you guys all enjoyed it! 😀 Thanks for your review, Ellen!
Christine says
What can of tomato sauce do you use? I mistook it for saying soup so I used a can of Heinz tomato soup and it was delicious! Tried it with pasata - tomato pasta sauce and it is not that great.
Natasha says
I'm glad it worked out! 🙂 So it's literally a can that says "tomato sauce". Many different brands make it. Yes, it's pretty much the North American equivalent to passata. It's generally a bit thinner in consistency than crushed tomatoes.
Joanne says
I had my eye on this recipe and was thinking about using it for a dinner party for friends this month. But I wanted to try it out first. It is a hit!
Natasha says
That's great to hear, Joanne!
Debbie says
Very nice I've made this recipe twice now and have used fettuccine pasta and spiral pasta. It is one of my favourite pasta dishes..Love reading your recipe blog 😀 😋
Natasha says
Thanks so much, Debbie! 😀 I'm so glad it's a hit for you. I appreciate you taking the time to drop me a review.
Cecily Rouser says
Literally the best pasta sauce I have ever made. Thank you.
I added grape tomatoes broiled with a little olive oil and himalyan salt. It was perfect.
Natasha says
Aww that's so nice to hear!! You're very welcome!
Bethany says
I substituted evaporated milk for the cream since it's all I had on hand, and this still turned out thick and delicious! I was careful to not get the sauce too hot so it did not curdle 😊 Can't wait to try it again with cream to see how rich it is!
Natasha says
I'm so glad it worked out!! 🙂
Hpop says
Is there a substitute for heavy cream you can recommend? Thank you
Natasha says
Not that I've tested - sorry. Some readers have luck using Silk brand dairy-free whipping cream, but I have not personally tried it.
Eric says
I made a vegetarian version using pan-seared tofu and vegan chicken pieces, it was so delicious!!
Natasha says
That's awesome! Love it!
Zau says
My daughter made sounds while eating (lol) so I knew it would be a keeper. I doubled the recipe and added some pepper flakes. Thanks for sharing Natasha!
Natasha says
Hahaha I love it!! You're very welcome, Zau! 🙂
Maru morales says
Hi!
What can I use instead of tomatoe paste?
Natasha says
Hi! You could probably leave it out and it'll have a slightly less thick sauce and less concentrated tomato flavor. You could possibly use a can of crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce if you're leaving out the tomato paste.
Carla says
Delicious! The whole family loved it. Was simple to make as well
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's great to hear, Carla! Thanks for trying it 🙂
Ann says
Made this last night for dinner. Easy and delicious- a definite keeper
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Excellent! Thanks for trying it, Ann!
Rini says
Made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious and really easy to make. My family were impressed and really enjoyed it. Thank you
Natasha says
That's great!! Thank you, Rini!
Cat says
What does tomato sauce mean can I used chopped tomatoes? So excited to try
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Hi Cat! Tomato sauce is similar to what's called passata internationally. It's a kind of puréed and strained tomato sauce that normally comes in a can and is fairly thick. Chopped tomatoes don't have a saucy consistency and may be watery. Enjoy the recipe 🙂
Rini says
I personally used chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and it was still delicous and not too watery as the cream thickened it as well. Next time i will specifically get the sauce and try it.
Sandra says
Another winner for me 😋😍
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's great! 🙂
Meg says
Made this tonight and it was so simple, but amazing tasting!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Love to hear that, Meg!!
Lori St.Onge says
I made this tonight and it was really delicious. Just a couple of changes. I added some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat and Parmesan cheese. I will definitely
Make it again. Very quick and easy but very delicious.
Natasha says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it!!
Louise says
Absolutely delicious recipe. I personally added a full 1tsp of Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of mild chilli powder. This will be a recurrent recipe at home!
Natasha says
Wonderful!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it and tweaked it to your tastes, Louise. 🙂
Abbie says
Hi, just wondering the approx serving size? For example how many grams for each serve 😊
Natasha says
Hi Abbie! Honestly, I have no idea - sorry! I include nutrition info as a courtesy (it's just an estimate generated by a calculator that pulls from a database to give readers a general idea). I am not a trained nutritionist (nor great at math lol), and I would not feel comfortable guessing as it'll be off anyway since ingredients vary so much by brand, size of chicken breasts you happen to purchase, etc. If you need precise info for health reasons, you may want to weigh each ingredient out and enter it into something like My Fitness Pal.
Iliana says
Just made this for my husband and two year old son and they both LOVED it! Hubby said it was even better than a restaurant's so thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it will be my go-to sauce for pasta now!
I did it without chicken since I'm pregnant and its one of the aversions I've had the last few months but still with only the spinach and cheese it was pitch perfect! 10/10 🙂
Natasha says
That's wonderful!! I'm so happy you all enjoyed it, Illiana!
Lina Kessaissia says
Ahhh in love. My mouth was watering at the sight of this dish. Thank you🙏🙏
Natasha says
You're welcome!
Emma says
I also added 4 or 5 thin sliced mushrooms, half a small onion thinly sliced and a little extra spinach. Other wise I followed this recipe to a T and my family ADORED it. Extremely customizable veggie wise. Super easy and super good!!
Natasha says
Fantastic!! I'm so happy it was enjoyed, Emma!! 😀
Jane says
I love this recipe, it was easy to make and the taste was delicious. I love it so much that I would like to make this as a side dish for a party , probably about three pounds can I make this ahead of time and reheat tithe day of the party any ideas?????? Thank you so much for an excellent recipe
Natasha says
Hi Jane!! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm a little concerned the sauce won't be as nice reheated (creamy sauces are notoriously finicky and can separate when reheating), but if you still want to try, I would probably wait until the very end (like just before serving) to add the spinach in so it doesn't go an unappealing color/very limp texture. I'd keep the chicken and the sauce separate and reheat both SLOWLY on a low heat so the chicken doesn't get overcooked and the sauce doesn't separate. Perhaps warm the chicken in the oven covered by foil?
Chris Holen says
Delicious inspiration!
I substituted fire-roasted tomatoes instead of sauce and doubled up on the tomato paste.
Also added burnt butter to pasta so l could top it with the chicken and sauce (for aesthetics)
Thank you
Natasha says
Sounds good to me, Chris!!
Todd says
Delicious. We also added mushrooms to ours for an earthy tone. Loved it.
Natasha says
Wonderful!! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Kiley Baile says
This dish is AMAZING! My kids ask for it at least once a week. Delicious!
Natasha says
That's great to hear!! Thanks for letting me know!
Molly Shackelford in Va says
I had a single, lonely yellow squash in my fridge that I couldn’t decide what I wanted to use it in...guess what? Deslish! Your recipe is amazing and allows for little tweaks and I love that so much! I sautéed the squash with the garlic and it was incredible! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Natasha says
That's great!! I love that idea. 🙂
Emily says
delicious!!! Such an easy and exquisite recipe! My whole family loved it 🙂
Natasha says
Fantastic! Thank you!!
Simran Rao says
So excited to try something like this with so much flavour! Mouth watering just looking at the recipe! ❤️
Natasha says
Enjoy!! 🙂
Dina says
Great flavor, I loved this meal, I added extra spinach. I could eat this every night!
Natasha says
So happy to hear that! 🙂 I'm big on extra spinach myself... just had half a box of it in my lunch today haha.
Allie Smith says
This turned out SO delicious. Perfect cozy Sunday night meal. Will be making this again!
Natasha says
Great! Thank you! 😀
Kristin Oliveri says
Such an amazing dish ! Really full of flavor and so easy to make . I highly recommend trying it and you’ll see for yourself how delicious it was ! Felt like restaurant quality flavors . Will be my new go to dish for sure !
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that!! 😀
Roberta Forney says
I made this for the first time and it was quite simple and tasty.
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that, Roberta! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Anna says
For a short cut, could I use jarred marinara sauce like Rao’s tomato basil pasta sauce?
Natasha says
Sure!