Spinach artichoke asiago chicken pasta recipe - This quick and creamy spinach artichoke pasta dish brings together the comforting and cheesy flavors from spinach artichoke dip, but as a complete meal! Rigatoni pasta and succulent chicken breast bathed in a creamy, warm, and silky, homemade alfredo sauce.
With the holidays upon us, with all of the hustle and bustle that comes with that, being able to throw together a boldly flavored simple dinner like this one is sure convenient!
We love pasta at the Season Two Taste household, like our shrimp with pesto cream recipe. Just boil some water, throw everything in a skillet, and voila, a simple and convenient meal!
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What You're Going to Need!
- Spinach - don't skimp on fresh spinach! it looks like sooo much when it's raw, but once it cooks down, you'll wonder where it all went unless you use a lot.
- Chicken - boneless skinless chicken breasts work great in this recipe, but just about any boneless chicken will work, thighs, even left overs or rotisserie chicken from the store.
- Cream - we used heavy cream, but half and half will also make a nice sauce when thickened with a little corn starch slurry, if you're looking to cut the calories and fat.
- Lemon - with the zesty acidic touch of lemon, this cheesy and creamy pasta really pops.
- Garlic - what goes well with fresh spinach, artichokes, and cheese? garlic, of course!
- Pasta - you'll want a large pasta for this dish, to match the large chunks. the cavity in the center, as well as the ridges in this rigatoni really cling to the creamy sauce very well.
- Artichoke hearts - we used the quarters commonly found in the grocery store. many jars and cans are marinated aggressively, so either avoid those, or taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- Cheese - we've been on an Asiago cheese kick lately, for its slightly salty, bold and sharp flavor, but any good quality hard cheese like grated parmesan cheese is great in this. many recipes call for cream cheese in this, but we used cream with a bunch of asiago cheese instead.
- White wine - we used a chenin blanc, but just use any dry white wine, not sweet, for best results.
See recipe card for quantities.
Recipe
Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Fill the stock pot with a gallon of salted water.
- Heat the large pot of water over high heat until rapidly boiling.
- Add rigatoni to pot, stirring briefly to prevent sticking.
- Cook until a little bit below al dente, about 10 minutes (according to package directions).
- Strain pasta through a colander.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add oil to pan, allowing to heat through for 30 seconds.
- Salt and black pepper chicken.
- Add chicken pieces to the large skillet to sear in an even single layer.
- Allow chicken to sear to a golden brown, once the other side is uniformly opaque, turn and sear other side until golden brown.
- Add garlic and stir, sauté briefly, for about 15 seconds.
- Add artichoke hearts, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
- Add fresh spinach, stirring in with tongs to wilt.
- Add dry white wine and lemon to deglaze pan.
- Add cream to pan, stirring to combine all ingredients.
- Allow cream to boil and reduce in order to thicken slightly.
- Taste the sauce for seasoning, adjust with salt and black pepper.
- Add cooked pasta to pan and stir to coat evenly with the cream sauce and combine all ingredients.
- Add Asiago cheese, stirring in, reserving a small amount to garnish with.
- Serve with a small amount of Asiago cheese to garnish.
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!How to Make Spinach & Artichoke Asiago Pasta
- Heat a large skillet over high heat, adding oil and salt and peppered chicken breast. If the chicken doesn't sizzle, the pan isn't hot enough yet.
2. Turn and toss chicken pieces once they have formed a nice golden brown on the bottom and have become mostly opaque. It's important to show patience here, or the flavors developed when the chicken browns won't happen.
3. Add the minced garlic to the pan. Only sauté this very briefly, as burnt garlic is just terrible.
4. Add the artichoke hearts, dry red pepper flakes, and dry herbs at this point.
5. Add the fresh spinach. Notice that it eclipses everything in the pan at first. Stir it in and it will quickly wilt.
6. Add the dry white wine, you'll notice that as you stir, the browned bits on the surface of the pan will pull up and dissolve into the liquid at this point.
7. Squeeze the lemon into the pan, being careful to not add any seeds.
8. Add the cream and simmer to reduce until lightly thickened.
9. Toss the par cooked pasta into the large skillet.
10. Stir or toss together until well incorporated.
11. Here we see my favorite part, adding a copious amount of grated Asiago cheese.
12. Serve it up while it's good and hot, and why not add a little more Asiago cheese?
Chef Tip
The thickness of the sauce needs to be adjusted a bit when adding the pasta. The cream sauce needs to be of sufficient quantity so as to coat everything in the pan, so don't let it reduce too much. The starch from the pasta will change the sauce consistency as it heats, so take care that it is a little thinner than you would like the finished dish to be.
Storage & Helpful Hints
Keeping this creamy spinach artichoke chicken pasta tightly sealed in an airtight container will ensure it to stay fresh in the fridge for about 4 days.
You can reheat in the microwave, covered, for about 2 minutes per serving, or on the stove in a large nostick skillet with a small amount of water, covered over medium heat, for about 5 minutes, until 145 degrees in the center.
We generally don't suggest freezing pasta dishes, as they tend to become very over cooked and mushy.
Cook pasta according to the package directions, but keep in mind that it will be added to the sauce and cooked for a little while longer. If the pasta is perfectly cooked before this step, it will be over cooked after, so leave it just a tiny bit under cooked to account for this.
Newest Recipe!
Leftover Corned Beef, Cabbage, & Potato Hash
Every St. Patrick's Day we cook two corned beef brisket roasts, so we have one leftover to make our favorite corned beef and potato hash.
This is super simple to do, since the pasta itself is the only item here that contains any gluten. Just substitute your favorite gluten free rigatoni or penne, (we prefer the chick pea and corn pasta), and you're good to go!
Of course you can! You'll use the same amount by weight but just squeeze out the excess moisture from the thawed spinach by wringing it out very well with a kitchen towel or through a colander. Frozen spinach has a lot of water and can make the finished dinner sauce quite runny if not removed first.
More Inspiration
- Greek Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Easy Black Bean & Garden Zucchini Quesadilla Recipe
- White Balsamic Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken Breast
- Easy Spicy Turkey Cocktail Meatballs with Sweet Red Pepper Sauce
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