One Pan Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta (30-Minute Skillet Dinner)

Penne simmered in one skillet with a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, seared chicken, spinach and parmesan — a creamy Tuscan chicken pasta that comes together in a single pan and about half an hour. No separate pot of boiling water, no draining, just one skillet doing everything.

It’s one of the 20 recipes inside our One Pan Cookbook, and we’re sharing this one in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. Weeknight-friendly, deeply savoury, and built for minimal cleanup.

Why this recipe works

The pasta cooks directly in the broth and cream instead of a separate pot, so the starch it releases stays in the pan and thickens the sauce into a natural, silky emulsion. Searing the chicken first and scraping up the browned bits builds a savoury base that the penne then soaks up as it simmers.

Ingredients

Chicken & pasta

• 250g chicken breast, cubed
• 200g penne pasta
• 500ml chicken broth
• 120ml heavy cream

Tuscan elements

• 60g sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 80g baby spinach
• 40g grated parmesan
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Optional garnish

• Fresh basil chiffonade

Serves 2 · Prep 10 min · Cook 22 min · 685 kcal per serving

Instructions

1. Sear chicken. Heat 1 tbsp oil from the tomato jar in a 30cm skillet over medium-high. Season the chicken and sear 5 minutes until a golden crust forms, then push it to the pan’s edge without removing.
2. Build base. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the centre, stirring 60 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the broth and cream, scraping the browned bits from the bottom to infuse the sauce deeply.
3. Cook pasta in. Add the dry penne, stirring to submerge. Bring to an active simmer, cover and cook 11 minutes, stirring twice to prevent sticking — the pasta releases starch that thickens the cream sauce naturally.
4. Finish. Uncover, then fold in the spinach and parmesan. Stir 2 minutes until the spinach wilts and the sauce clings to the pasta. Rest off the heat 3 minutes so the sauce tightens before plating.

Chef’s tip

Dry pasta cooked in starchy liquid means built-in silkiness. Skip the separate pot — the released starch is the emulsifier that makes the cream cling.

Get the full One Pan Cookbook

Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a 20-strong collection of one-pan dinners built the same way — clear ingredients, exact timings, one pan to wash. Grab the full One Pan Cookbook below.