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date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese is the perfect easy pasta dinner recipe! made with chicken, spinach, goat cheese, and a homemade roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce, this pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese is on your table in 25 minutes or less, tastes totally fresh, & is perfect for date night! #playswellwithbutter #easypastarecipe #pastapomodoro #pastadinner #italianrecipe

date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

Description

date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese is the perfect easy pasta dinner recipe! made with chicken, spinach, goat cheese, and a homemade roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce, this pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese is on your table in 25 minutes or less, tastes totally fresh, & is perfect for date night!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 ounces dry pasta (I love a short, spiraly noodle, such as trotolle!)
  • 2 cups roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce (or other pasta sauce of choice)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
  • 8 ounces baby spinach
  • 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
  • Kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
  • optional, to garnish as desired: thinly sliced basil, crushed red chili flakes

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta & cook to al dente according to package directions. Carefully drain & set aside.
  2. Burst the tomatoes: Preheat the broiler in your oven to its highest setting and arrange an oven rack in the highest position, right under the broiler. Place the cherry tomatoes on a small sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt. Toss to combine. Broil the tomatoes for 5-7 minutes, carefully shaking the sheet pan every so often, until the tomatoes are charred and burst. Remove from the oven and set aside. 
  3. Make the roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce according to recipe directions. If you’re using a store-bought sauce you can skip this step, but making one from scratch literally takes 5 ingredients & 10 minutes. It’s so worth it!
  4. Cook the chicken: Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken generously with 1 teaspoon each salt & ground black pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet, cooking it for 4-5 minutes per side, until the chicken is golden brown & cooked all the way through.
  5. Assemble the pasta! Add the spinach, pasta, & roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce to the skillet along with the chicken. Toss until everything is combined, the pasta is coated in the sauce & the spinach is wilted down. Once everything is combined, add in the burst tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese, gently stirring once more to combine.
  6. Serve the pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese in individual bowls, topped with a sprinkling of thinly sliced basil & crushed red pepper flakes as desired. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Homemade pomodoro vs. store-bought sauce. Honestly, either will work just fine in this recipe! It takes 5 ingredients & 10 minutes to whip up a batch of my roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce, which will be enough to make date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese 2 times.
  • Make it your own! I think the combination of the slightly sweet roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce, chicken, spinach, and tangy goat cheese is perfection, but feel free to add & swap things to make it your own! Chicken sausage would be fantastic, & so would some shredded kale. You could use mini mozzarella balls in place of goat cheese, too! This dish is so versatile, which makes it so fun to cook.
  • Pair it with some great wine. A nice, medium-bodied red will pair perfectly. Find a good bottle of Chianti (yum!), or if you want to make date night extra special, go for a nice Super Tuscan (double yum!).
  • Leftovers reheat well. This recipe serves 4, so invite some friends over or simply reheat the leftovers in the microwave for a few minutes.