Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken

This recipe features sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Both ingredients are popular in Italy and in the Mediterranean region.
The most prominent flavor in this recipe is the homemade sun-dried tomato sauce. The sauce is made from scratch by combining cream with shredded Mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes.
Cooked chicken and penne pasta are then smothered in this delicious creamy Mozzarella pasta sauce. There is enough sauce to coat every single bite.

Ingredients for sun-dried tomato sauce

3 garlic cloves
4 oz sun-dried tomatoes
olive oil
salt
paprika
basil
1 cup half-and-half (or ½ cup heavy cream + ½ cup milk)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes.

How to make sun-dried tomato sauce?

In a large skillet, cook 3 cloves of minced garlic and 4 oz of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high-medium heat for about 1 minute.
Add ½ cup of heavy cream + ½ cup of milk (or 1 cup of half-and-half) to the same skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
Add 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Simmer and stir until the cheese melts and forms a creamy pasta sauce.
Add 1 tablespoon of dried basil, paprika, and at least ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
Season with about ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Cooking Tips

Use either sun-dried tomatoes without oil or sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar). Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them.
Sprinkle a small amount of paprika over the chicken before cooking – it adds flavor as well as the color to the dish.
Make sure to reserve some pasta water as you will DEFINITELY need it to thin out the cream sauce.
Feel free to increase the amount of spices for this recipe: basil, red pepper flakes, paprika. This will make the sun-dried tomato sauce even more flavorful!
Make sure to season the chicken mozzarella pasta with just the right amount of salt. That means you might have to add more salt. Salt will enhance the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

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