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This healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a popular menu item at the Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden. It’s a decadent pasta dish loaded with Italian flavors. My copycat recipe adds a healthy twist to this classic meal.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta has all the flavors of the restaurant version, without all the calories, sodium, and fat. I love making this recipe in one pot using my Instant Pot, but it can also be made in the Crock Pot or right on the stove.
This is one of my favorite healthy pasta recipes, and it’s great for meal prep because it keeps well in the fridge for the week and it freezes and reheats well.
Where’s the recipe?
To better serve all of my readers here at My Crazy Good Life, I’ve made a commitment to put a ton of helpful information in all of my posts that everyone, regardless of cooking skills, can make these recipes.
If you’d like to skip over the detailed instructions, information about freezing, swapping ingredients, and diet information, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find the easy to print Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe.
Ingredients in Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Sun-dried tomatoes: You can find these sweet gems in your produce section. They are usually in a bag or jar. Be sure and grab the kind that does not contain oil. If you have trouble finding them, you can substitute with fresh grape tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
- Italian Seasoning: This is a space saver for your pantry. A variety of basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, and thyme all combined in one bottle.
- Garlic: Did you know that in Northern Italian cooking they don’t use garlic? Fresh minced garlic is only used in in Southern and Tuscan cuisine.
- Chicken: Cut your chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes or ½ inch thick strips to promote quick and even cooking.
- Chicken Broth: You can make your own or grab some from the store. If buying, make sure to get low sodium.
- Pasta: I use whole wheat noodles, but you can easily swap this for a gluten free noodle but be sure to reduce the cooking time (I use the rule of half the cooking time on the package minus 2 minutes). If using regular pasta, drain the extra water after
- Cottage Cheese: Be sure and grab 2% cottage cheese. It will help lower the saturated fat and calories without over-processing, like in the fat-free varieties.
- Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt is a great source of protein, probiotics, and calcium. It works well as a substitute for sour cream and cream cheese in pasta dishes.
- Spinach: An excellent source of Vitamins A, C, and K, and full of fiber, calcium, and iron.
- Basil: Popular in cuisine worldwide for its sweet aromatic flavor. You can also use dried in this recipe, if you don’t have fresh handy. Just reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon.
- Parmesan Cheese: I love grabbing a wedge of fresh parmesan and grating it myself. The light nuttiness ties this recipe together perfectly.
How to make Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Set your Instant Pot to Sauté and lightly spray the pot with olive oil spray. Once your pot is hot add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasonings. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add your cubed chicken to the pot, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often. This will prevent your chicken from clumping together while it’s under pressure. Once your chicken is browned on all sides, add your chicken broth.
- Add the pasta to the pot and stir well, ensuring that all noodles are below the liquid.
- Close and lock the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the time for 3 minutes.
- While your chicken is cooking, blend the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese together until smooth, then set aside.
- When the cook time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. Stir the contents of the pot. Drain any excess liquid from the pot, keeping aside 1/4 cup. Add the 1/4 cup liquid to the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt mixture and stir well.
- While your noodles are still hot, stir in spinach and basil. Once the leaves have wilted, stir in your blended cottage cheese mixture. Serve immediately. Garnish with additional parmesan and fresh basil.
How to make Crockpot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Lightly spray a large skillet with cooking oil, then add tomatoes, garlic, Italian herbs, and pepper. Sauté over high heat for 30 seconds or so until it becomes fragrant.
- Add your cubed chicken to the pan and brown for 1-2 minutes until the chicken no longer sticks together.
- Transfer chicken and sun dried tomatoes (all of the contents of the pan) to your crockpot and top with chicken broth.
- Cook on high heat for 2-3 hours, or low heat for 4-5 hours.
- About 20 minutes before you’d like to eat, boil the pasta in a separate pot according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and add to the Crockpot.
- Drain any excess liquid (set aside 1/4 cup) and add spinach and basil. Stir until spinach is wilted.
- Blend cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese in a blender until smooth, and add the mixture to the Crockpot.
- Stir the cottage cheese mixture and 1/4 cup pasta water into the contents of the slow cooker.
- Stir one last time and serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese and fresh basil, as desired.
How to make Stovetop Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Spray a deep skillet or large pot with cooking oil and then add the tomatoes, garlic, Italian herbs, and black pepper. Sauté over high heat for 30 seconds.
- Add the cubed chicken and sauté until browned on all sides, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pasta and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir and make sure all the noodles are just covered. Set aside ay extra broth. Once the broth begins to boil, cover your skillet and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the pasta is cooked, add spinach and basil. Stir until spinach is wilted, then drain any excess liquid from the pan, setting aside about 1/4 cup of the pasta water in case you need it later.
- Blend the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, and reserved pasta water in a blender or food processor until smooth, then stir the mixture into your noodles.
- Stir one last time and serve immediately with extra parmesan and fresh basil, as desired.
Recipe Tips
- In a pinch, you can substitute fresh, halved grape tomatoes in place of sun-dried tomatoes. Reduce your cooking liquid by ½ cup when using fresh tomatoes.
- While this recipe tastes best when followed exactly, you can add double the Greek yogurt or cottage cheese if you don’t have one of them on hand.
- Cut your chicken into equal-sized pieces to make sure they are cooked evenly.
- Add more spinach to increase your vegetables per serving, or add a salad as a side dish.
- I don’t typically add salt to my recipes so that you can add salt and pepper to your taste and dietary needs.
- If using the crockpot or stovetop cooking method, start with 1 cup of water and slowly add more if needed to keep the recipe from becoming watery. *This amount will change if not using whole wheat pasta*
- If using gluten free pasta, reduce Instant Pot cook time to 2 minutes.
Healthy Eating Plans
- 21 Day Fix: For the entire 21 Day Fix Tuscan Chicken pasta recipe: 2 ½ Green Containers, 10 Red Containers, 12 Yellow Containers, and 2 Blue Containers. I give you the count for the entire recipe so its easier to re-calculate the containers if you change something.
- For each 1 ½ cup serving: 1/3 Green Container, 1 2/3 Red Containers, 2 Yellow Containers, and 1/3 Blue Containers.
- 2B Mindset: I would eat this as a healthy lunch with extra vegetables.
- Weight Watchers: For WW recipe and points information see this post: https://mycrazygoodlife.com/weight-watchers-tuscan-chicken-pasta/
More healthy Instant Pot recipes
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
- Cajun Chicken Alfredo
- Philly Cheesesteak Pasta with Chicken
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Instant Pot Pad Thai with Tofu
- Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
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Healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta Recipe
Approximate Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
Servings 6
This healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe will satisfy your craving for creamy pasta without the calories! It's an easy healthy chicken recipe that your family will love, and you can cook it in your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on the stove.
Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Sealing Rings
- Vitamix Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes sun dried with no oil or grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 lbs chicken breast (about 2 large breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes)
- 3 cups chicken broth 1 cup only for Crockpot method. See article above for details.
- 3 cups whole wheat pasta I used one 12 oz. box
- ¾ cup cottage cheese 2%
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt 2%
- 2 cups spinach baby
- 2 tbsp basil fresh, or 1 tsp dried basil
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to Sauté and lightly spray the pot with cooking spray. Once your pot is hot, add the sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes 3 tbsp Italian seasoning 2 tbsp garlic
- Add your cubed chicken to the pot and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Once your chicken is browned on all sides, add your chicken broth. 2 lbs chicken breast 3 cups chicken broth
- Add your pasta to the pot and stir well, ensuring that all noodles are below the liquid. 3 cups whole wheat pasta
- Close and lock the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- While your chicken is cooking, blend the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and grated parmesan together until smooth (in a blender or food processor), then set aside. ¾ cup cottage cheese ¾ cup Greek yogurt ⅔ cup parmesan cheese
- When the cook time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. Stir. Drain any excess liquid from the pot, keeping aside 1/4 cup. Add the 1/4 cup liquid to the cottage cheese mixture and stir well.
- While your noodles are still hot, stir in spinach and basil. Once the leaves have wilted, stir in your blended cottage cheese mixture. Serve immediately. Garnish with additional parmesan and fresh basil. 2 cups spinach 2 tbsp basil
Video
Notes
*For stovetop/crockpot directions, please see original post
Recipe Tips:
- You can substitute fresh, halved grape tomatoes in place of sun-dried tomatoes. Reduce your cooking liquid by ½ cup when using fresh tomatoes.
- While this recipe tastes best when followed exactly, you can add more Greek yogurt or more cottage cheese if you don’t have one of them.
- Cut your chicken into equal-sized pieces to make sure they are cooked evenly.
- Add more spinach and tomatoes to increase your vegetables per serving, or add a salad as a side dish.
- I don’t typically add salt to my recipes so that you can add salt and pepper to your taste and dietary needs.
- If using crockpot or stovetop cooking method, start with 1 cup of water and slowly add more if needed to keep the recipe from becoming watery. *This amount will change if not using whole wheat pasta*
- If using gluten free pasta, reduce Instant Pot cook time to 2 minutes.
- 21 Day Fix: For the entire recipe: 2 ½ Green Containers, 10 Red Containers, 12 Yellow Containers, and 2 Blue Containers. For each 1 ½ cup serving: 1/3 Green Container, 1 2/3 Red Containers, 2 Yellow Containers, and 1/3 Blue Containers.
- 2B Mindset: I would eat this as a healthy lunch with extra vegetables.
Nutrition
Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 318mg | Potassium: 673mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1371IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 3mg
Make This Recipe?
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Excited to try this recipe. Just to clarify, if using a slow cooker, do you cook 2-3 hrs on high AND then turn to low for an additional 4-5 hours? Or is it meant to cook either a total of 2-3 on high OR total of 4-5 on low? Thank you!
OR!! Thank you for pointing this out, I’ve just fixed it :)
Made this in the IP and it was amazing! Paired it with a side salad and the husband said to add it to the menu in the future. Thank you for helping my family eat healthy without knowing it.
Yay! I’m so excited that you enjoyed it. Your comment made my day–thank you for taking the time to leave it! <3
Turned out really good my husband even enjoyed it!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I was beyond excited for this recipe, however the crock pot version is a flop. My noodles were mush by the 3hr mark. Please adjust your recipe – Pretty bummed 😔
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. Did you cook the recipe on high or low?
I followed the recipe completely – to answer your question I cooked it on low in my crock pot. I should’ve known not to put the noodles in 1st. On a positive note…even though my noodles were mush it still tasted awesome. I will try it again, however I will not add the noodles until the end.
Trying this tonight! I do have a question about the sun dried tomatoes. The only kind I could find is in the oil? Is that right or will it not work?
I’d drain the oil!
Delicious! A keeper, I can’t wait to try the leftovers 😊
I made this tonight and it was absolutely the best Italian dish I’ve ever eaten!! I used brown rice elbow macaroni to stay gluten free. I also added artichoke hearts which are always a welcome addition to my meals. I used the Instant Pot so only one pot to clean. The gluten free pasta was a bit soft and it stuck onto the bottom of the pot. It was difficult to stick to only one portion!!! Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it Nancy! Thanks for sharing your alterations so others might be able to try them too if they are looking to stay gluten free!
For the crockpot, should I cook the noodles first before putting them in or uncooked?
Uncooked!
Do u cook the noodles first before adding to IP? I’m new to it!
Nope! Put them in raw!
Can you tell me the brand of the green container that you show in this post please?
Hi Nancy! I believe it’s 1st Green Lab and you can see it here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/beccaludlum?listId=1QH2XHCQ6AX6Z
Made this tonight and it was so yummy! The store was out of whole wheat pasta so I used veggie pasta instead. I’m curious about the difference that might make in the containers/count for 21 day fix.
The veggie pasta probably still counts as a yellow since all of the ones I’ve seen have flour in them. Unless you used actual veggies as pasta?
So good!!!! Can you confirm that the nutrition information (calories, etc…) is based on one serving of 1 1/2 cups?
So glad you liked it!
The most accurate way to measure for serving sizes (to ensure nutrition info is correct) is to divide the recipe into 6 servings. Because you might weigh your pasta instead of measure it, or because your large chicken breasts are different than my large chicken breasts, serving sizes might vary. I checked the nutrition info for that post and it is correct–the highest calories coming from the pasta and chicken.
Made this last night. Mine came out soupy. Too much broth at the bottom of the Instant Pot. :-(
So sorry this didn’t work out for you! Did you use whole wheat noodles?
The electricity went out just when pressure started at 4 minutes. I separated the noodles to try to later. Needless to say, the noodles were a little mushy on the second try. It still had good flavor & husband approval. I diffinitely will make this again.
Oh no!! How annoying! Your husband probably won’t buy you a generator for your Instant Pot, so this doesn’t happen again? ;)
This was so yummy and so easy!! I may use a little less chicken broth next time since it was pretty wet after it cooked. Wasn’t sure if I should drain it before adding the white sauce but I didn’t. May do that next time. Very healthy option and very filling! Made this for my meal prep. Thank you!!
This recipe sounds amazing. How could we make this without pasta? Would love to substitute zoodles for the pasta.
Hi Lauren! I haven’t made it without pasta, but I can help you figure out how if you tell me how you’d like to cook it!
I’m not Lauren, but I wanna try this recipe with zoodles via instant pot!
Have you frozen this and reheated? Does it freeze well? I made it and love it but I won’t be able to eat it all and didn’t want to throw it out.
Hi Heather! Yes, I’ve done it and it’s easy–I prefer to freeze it in single serve containers :)
Made this in the instant pot. So easy and delicious. Great macros!
Always looking for healthy options for my instant pot and this definitely is a winner! Loved it and found it hard to stick to one serving. Because my noodles weren’t “covered” I added more broth so it was a little soupy but honestly it just had more of an “Alfredo” feel. Definitely added to the rotation. Thanks so much!
Love your to go container where can I find it
Thanks, Laurie! I have all my favorites at amazon.com/shop/beccaludlum under meal prep!