Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta for Two — Restaurant Plate, Under $8
This is the pasta dish that makes people ask where you ordered from. Pan-seared chicken breast in a creamy sun-dried tomato and parmesan sauce, tossed through pasta until every strand is coated, finished with fresh basil. It comes together entirely in one pan in under thirty minutes and costs less than eight dollars for both plates. The sauce gets its richness from a small amount of cream and parmesan rather than anything complicated, and the sun-dried tomatoes add a depth of flavour that makes the whole dish taste far more involved than it actually is. This is the kind of recipe worth keeping in your back pocket for any night you want dinner to feel like an event.
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, season the sliced chicken cutlets with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the same pan, stirring for 30–60 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the parmesan and let the sauce simmer for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. Add a splash of reserved pasta water if it becomes too thick.
- Slice the cooked chicken into strips and return it to the pan along with the drained pasta. Toss everything together until well coated, adding more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Plate immediately, finishing each plate with torn fresh basil and an extra grating of parmesan.
Notes
Buying chicken breast and slicing it into thin cutlets yourself is significantly cheaper than buying pre-cut chicken cutlets, and it cooks faster as a bonus. Sun-dried tomatoes packed dry in a bag rather than in oil cost noticeably less and rehydrate well once added to the warm cream sauce. A block of parmesan grated at home is both cheaper and more flavourful than pre-grated bags, and a small block lasts across many recipes.
