Creamy garlic spinach chicken pasta is not only simple and quick but is packed and loaded with flavour and yummy ingredients!
I love spinach, mushroom and chicken together. To me, this is a rock star line up of ingredient players. It is drenched in such a flavourful and simple sauce. Make sure you serve this dish when warm or the cheese will get crusty and thick.
A simple green salad and warm whole wheat bread would be lovely with this pasta!!
This meal puts a smile on everyone’s faces at the dinner table. So if you are on the hunt for a meal that fits into a rushed schedule without compromising on flavour, this is your recipe! Give it a try! You will be glad you did! Now, over to the recipe…..
Ingredients
- 340 gms. Penne Pasta
- 280 gms. Fresh Spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
- 450 gms. Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- ½ cup Garlic and Herb cream cheese
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tsp. crushed Red pepper flakes (optional)
- Sea salt, to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Method
- Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving one cup of starched cooking water. Drain and return to hot pot, add chopped spinach, cover and set aside to let spinach wilt.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
- Once hot, add onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened and beginning to turn translucent.
- Next add chicken to the skillet and sauté for approximately 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Add cream cheese and reserved cooking water to chicken. Stir to combine and melt cream cheese.
- Add chicken/cream cheese mixture to pot with pasta and spinach. Add parmesan, crushed red pepper (if using), salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Serve with additional parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes (if using) for garnish.