Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella in Creamy Tomato Sauce.

You’ll Love This Dish! This pasta with chicken and mozzarella is truly delicious, plus it’s quick and easy to prepare. An ideal dinner idea for someone who wants to enjoy something tasty without much effort 🙂 Pasta and chicken are a very common combination, but it’s the delicious tomato sauce with interesting additions and mozzarella balls that make this simple dish extraordinary.

I love it when the sauces for my dishes are full of flavor. Tomato sauces can be wonderfully seasoned because a variety of spices and herbs go well with tomatoes, so I added both thyme and sweet and hot paprika powder, not to mention pepper and salt, of course. You can, of course, add your own spices and other dried herbs, such as Italian Herbs or oregano, but don’t skip them!

FIRST, WATCH THIS VIDEO WITH THE RECIPE FOR PASTA WITH CHICKEN AND MOZZARELLA IN TOMATO SAUCE:

INGREDIENTS:

CHICKEN BREASTS – I usually make this dish with chicken breasts because this meat cooks quickly and efficiently, and it’s easy to cut the breasts into equal pieces. Plus, they have a lot of protein, which I highly value 🙂 You can also try making this dish with turkey breasts.

PASTA – In general, you can use any pasta you like. However, I recommend using short-shaped wheat pasta, such as penne, fusilli, or, in my case (in the photo), rigatoni.

CANNED TOMATOES – You can choose any canned tomatoes, but I recommend diced tomatoes, for example, very good diced tomatoes from the Mutti brand.

HEAVY CREAM – Adding heavy cream to the sauce will make it creamier and thicken appropriately.

MOZZARELLA – For this dish, I used mozzarella balls.

Mozzarella in balls: It’s a soft, moist, and smooth variety of mozzarella. It has a delicate consistency that is more wet and creamy.

Hard mozzarella: It has a denser consistency, sometimes referred to as ‘slicing mozzarella.’ It’s harder, drier, and more solid compared to mozzarella in balls. Mozzarella balls melt more easily, giving a nice stretch, while hard mozzarella holds its shape better.

OTHER ADDITIONS (equally important 😉): green onions (whole), butter plus olive oil, pepper and salt, sweet and hot paprika powder, dried thyme, soy sauce (optional), parsley.

Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella in Tomato Sauce.

STEP 1.

Cook the pasta in salted water, drain, and set aside. It’s best to cook the pasta al dente. In a skillet, melt butter and add a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil. Once the butter is melted, add diced chicken breasts, season the meat with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with a teaspoon of sweet paprika powder (you can add a bit more paprika if desired). Stir to ensure the seasoning evenly coats everything.

Al dente” is an Italian term that refers to the degree of cooking pasta, where it is cooked in such a way that it retains a slight firmness when bitten. Al dente pasta is cooked enough to be soft but still has some resilience in the center.

Often, the cooking time is provided on the pasta packaging for both “normal” and “al dente.” Stick to this time as a guideline. However, if there is no specified time for “al dente,” regularly test the pasta while cooking. Start checking the doneness roughly 2-3 minutes before the recommended cooking time ends. The pasta should be soft on the outside but still slightly firm in the center.

STEP 2.

Sauté the chicken for about 5 minutes, then add a bunch of spring onions (both the white and green parts) and finely chopped garlic to the pan. Mix everything and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Next, pour in canned tomatoes and heavy cream onto the pan. Mix everything together.

STEP 3.

To the sauce, add dried thyme, soy sauce (optional, but I recommend using it for better flavor), and hot paprika powder. I used half a teaspoon of hot paprika powder, but if you want the sauce to be spicier, you can use a bit more. However, if you don’t want the sauce to be spicy at all, do not add hot paprika powder; instead, use sweet paprika. Mix everything well and cook the sauce for about 10 minutes over low heat until it thickens appropriately. Then, add the cooked pasta and mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce.

STEP 4.

Now add mozzarella balls (drained from the brine) and cover the pan with a lid. Keep it on the heat for a few more minutes, around 3-4 minutes, until the balls melt. Then, add chopped parsley and gently mix everything. The dish is ready. Enjoy! ♥

PASTA WITH CHICKEN AND FRESH MOZZARELLA: