Tuscan Chicken Pasta

This Tuscan Chicken Pasta recipe combines a variety of fresh vegetables with chicken, pasta, and a creamy dairy-free sauce. Garlic and oregano work together to add a bright flavor to this dish. In only thirty minutes, you can have a healthy, tasty meal ready for dinner that your whole family is sure to enjoy!

Bored of the food in our college cafeteria and looking to exercise our creativity, two of my friends and I decided to turn normal cafeteria food into a more exciting meal. We snuck out our ingredients in coffee cups and started cooking in one of the dorm kitchens. Our escapade ended with a satisfying, flavorful dinner and lots of new memories. (You can see a video of us making this meal on Instagram, courtesy of Christina Lewis.)

Hopefully, you don’t need to source your ingredients from a college cafeteria, but even if that is the case, this Tuscan Chicken Pasta will still turn out delicious! Garlic, oregano, tomatoes, and onions in a creamy sauce is a combination designed to make your taste buds dance. 🙂

This recipe is also easy to customize for allergies. It’s already dairy-free, but if you need it to be gluten-free too, just use gluten-free noodles for the pasta. Because of this adaptability, this recipe is great for when you’re entertaining guests or preparing a meal for a friend.

What is Tuscan Chicken sauce made of?

Traditionally, Tuscan Chicken sauce is made with heavy cream and parmesan. However, you can make a delicious dairy-free tuscan chicken sauce by using coconut milk and nutritional yeast instead. Coconut milk is naturally rich and creamy, and paired with garlic and oregano, it makes the perfect sauce for this dish.

What to pair with Tuscan Chicken?

You can serve this Tuscan Chicken over pasta, rice, or with baked potatoes. If you’re gluten free, you can use gluten-free pasta or vegetable noodles (such as zucchini, carrot, or hearts of palm).

Serve with some yummy tomato bruschetta or a light Caesar salad. And of course don’t forget to include a plate of fresh sourdough bread – it tastes incredible dipped in the Tuscan sauce!

Tips for making Tuscan Chicken Pasta:

• You can use pasta cooked beforehand, or you can cook the pasta at the same time as you’re preparing the chicken. Start boiling the water for the pasta before cooking the peppers and onions, and your pasta will be ready just in time to mix with the chicken.
• You can use any type of pasta you like, whatever you have on hand. Gluten-free pasta or vegetable noodles will work just as well. I actually used hearts of palm pasta for this recipe because it’s what I had at the time. 🙂
• To make this recipe dairy-free, I used coconut milk. If you’re allergic to coconut though, you could use almond milk instead.

Tools you will need

All you need is a knife, cutting board, spatula, and large skillet with a lid.

Ingredients you will need

To make this Tuscan Chicken Pasta, you only need a few basic ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded chicken – If you get a rotisserie chicken, you can just use meat from this.
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk – Full fat coconut milk will make this super creamy!
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers – This is about 1 large bell pepper or 4-5 small ones.
• 1/2 cup chopped onion – About 1/2 an onion
• 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes – These make this dish so bright!
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast – This adds a cheesy flavor without parmesan. You can skip this ingredient if you don’t have it though.
• 1 tbsp olive oil – Or other neutral oil like avocado oil.
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic power – Or you can use 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic if you have it.
• 4 cups cooked pasta of choice for serving

How to make Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Heat up a skillet to medium heat. Once it’s hot, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Put the chopped bell peppers, onions, and spices into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until slightly soft.

At this point, add in the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more.

Add the chopped chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is heated through. After this, pour in the coconut milk.

Cover the pan with a lid and let cook for 5-7 minutes. This will help the coconut milk thicken a bit.

Remove the lid from the pan. Stir in the pasta to incorporate and let heat for a few minutes. Serve with your favorite sourdough bread and enjoy!

Hungry for more dairy-free recipes?

Check out more yummy dinner ideas at the Kitchen Counter! Some favorites include:

• Easy Mediterranean Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Creamy Chicken and Chickpea Soup
• Quick Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Focaccia Sandwiches

If you make these this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.

Let me know how yours turned out in the comments!