Creamy Tomato Pasta
This sauce is really the whole point of the recipe. Capsicum, onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes roasted until they’re properly caramelised, then blended into something with way more depth than a jar of tomato sauce could ever give you.
Roasting the whole garlic bulb alongside everything else mellows it out completely, so what you’re squeezing out at the end is sweet and soft rather than sharp. Cream, cream cheese and parmesan stirred through at the end turn it from a tomato sauce into something properly rich.
Baby spinach wilted through right at the end, five containers, and a sauce that’s genuinely worth the extra roasting time.
Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta
TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA Ā· CHICKEN Ā· MEAL PREP Ā· EASY
A sauce built on roasted, not raw, vegetables
Roasting the capsicum, onion, garlic and tomatoes first concentrates their flavour and adds a caramelised sweetness that just simmering them in a pan wouldn't get you.
Blending it smooth before it hits the pan means every bite of pasta gets coated evenly, rather than chasing chunks of vegetable around the bowl.
It's a proper from-scratch sauce that still comes together as one pan of pasta and one tray of roasting, not a dozen dishes to clean up after.
Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Chicken
- 800 g Chicken Breast Diced
- 15 ml Olive Oil
- 4 g Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Roasted Pepper Sauce Base
- 2 Red Bell Peppers (Capsicum) Chopped
- 1 Brown (Yellow) Onion Chopped
- 1 Bulb Garlic Top Trimmed
- 200 g Cherry Tomatoes
- 15 ml Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Pasta
- 350 g Penne Pasta
Sauce Finish
- 150 ml Thickened Cream
- 60 g Light Cream Cheese Room Temperature
- 40 g Parmesan Cheese Grated
- 120 ml Chicken Stock
Greens
- 120 g Baby Spinach Washed
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220Ā°C (430Ā°F). Add the capsicum, onion, whole garlic bulb and cherry tomatoes to a tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, and toss well. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once halfway, until very soft, caramelised and slightly charred.
- Cook the penne in heavily salted boiling water for 1 minute less than packet instructions. Drain and reserve a small splash of pasta water.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins and add to a blender with the roasted capsicum, onion and tomatoes. Blend until completely smooth and glossy.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and chicken breast pieces. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden but still slightly undercooked in the centre.
- Pour the blended sauce into the pan. Add the chicken stock, thickened cream, cream cheese and parmesan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked, reaching an internal temperature of 74Ā°C (165Ā°F), and the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the cooked penne and baby spinach. Fold together until the spinach wilts and the pasta is evenly coated. Loosen with reserved pasta water if needed. Divide into five containers and cool before sealing.
Why roast the vegetables instead of just simmering them?ā
Roasting caramelises the natural sugars in the vegetables, giving the sauce a depth and sweetness that simmering alone can't replicate. It's the difference between a flat tomato sauce and one with real character.
Can I use jarred roasted capsicum to save time?ā
You can, though you'll still want to roast the onion, garlic and tomatoes fresh since those bring most of the depth. Using jarred capsicum alone is a reasonable shortcut if you're short on time.
Can I make this without cream cheese?ā
Yes, just increase the thickened cream slightly to make up for the lost richness. The sauce will be a touch thinner but still creamy and well balanced.
Why cook the chicken only partway before adding the sauce?ā
It finishes cooking in the sauce, which keeps it from drying out. Fully cooking it in the pan first and then simmering it again in the sauce risks overcooking it by the time everything comes together.
