30 mins

Lemon Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach and a Side Salad

So delicious!! And a little out of the box when it comes to a pasta dish; which is nice. The combination of tangy sundried tomatoes, rich and creamy mascarpone cheese, fresh spinach, and savory browned chicken is divine. Mascarpone is most often associated with the Italian dessert Tiramisu, but when melted in a pasta sauce, it adds a great rich creamy flavor. It is a little pricier than cream cheese, which would make a good substitute.
Print Recipe
4.5/5 - (11 votes)

Lemon Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

SERVINGS : 4 PEOPLE PREP TIME : MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces Orecchiette pasta
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
  • kosher salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
  • 8 ounces baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
    •
Servings:

Directions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Once it begins to shimmer, add chicken.
  • Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned and almost cooked through. Transfer to a plate and reserve.
  • Add garlic to the skillet and cook for just a minute.
  • Stir in the mascarpone and juice of half the lemon.
  • Fold in pasta, sundried tomatoes, and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.
  • Adjust seasoning with additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
  • Add pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary.
  • Plate and garnish with parsley.

Nutrition per serving

Per Serving: Calories 708 Fat 36 Sat Fat 15 Sodium 407 Carbs 49 Sugars 4 Fiber 4 Protein 48.

Simple Side Salad

SERVINGS : 4 PEOPLE PREP TIME : MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 3 cups baby mixed greens
  • 1 roma tomato, quartered
  • Vinaigrette (makes a double batch)
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 clove garlic, pressed or minced
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
    •
Servings:

Directions

  • Combine vinaigrette and drizzle over greens.

Nutrition per serving

Serving Size 222g Calories 192 Fat 11 Carbs 25 Fiber 7 Protein 4.5.

NOTES

KID NOTE: This was a huge hit! They even ate the spinach without complaining.

VEGETARIAN TIP: Saute mushrooms instead of chicken.

GLUTEN MODIFICATIONS: Use a gluten free pasta such as brown rice.

2 Comments

  1. Elise says:
    July 24, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    We weren’t impressed with the sauce, which is really what makes or breaks this. We used the cream cheese substitute and unfortunately it had no flavor. We reheated the leftovers with alfredo sauce which improved the recipe a LOT. We’ll probably make it again, but just use alfredo instead.

    Reply
  2. Virginia says:
    July 6, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    Once again, Miss Stacey, this was eyes-roll-back-in-the-head good! I used goat cheese and feta (only 4 oz. of each, so what the heck?). It was a HUGE upgrade for the last quarter bag of kale that was bristling at me on the counter. Preparation was not lengthy, and somewhat pleasant when lubricated with a glass of cabernet. Thanks for introducing me to goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes- I’m NEVER without them now!

    The Cheerio Chef

    Reply

Leave a Reply