Balsamic Tomato Chicken Pasta
This delicious balsamic tomato chicken pasta is a light, fresh pasta recipe for summer. With an easy cherry tomato pan sauce, this pasta recipe comes together in about 20 minutes. Summer dinner? Done.
Last summer I was on a massive tomato kick. To be fair, I obsess over tomatoes pretty much every summer. Summer tomatoes are just the best. Sweet. So full of flavor. Yum. Way better than sad winter tomatoes in the grocery store. Although I did find these cherry tomatoes in the grocery store called Sweet Bites. They are these super sweet hybrid cherry tomatoes sold on the vine. These are great for when summer tomatoes aren’t in season.
Because I go on serious summer tomato kicks and love Italian food so much, this blog pretty much turns into a 1001 ways to cook pasta with tomatoes this time of year. To switch it up sometimes it includes every take of Caprese salad imaginable. Fried Mozzarella Caprese Salad. Panzanella Caprese Salad. Shrimp Caprese Salad with a Honey Balsamic Reduction. Puff Pastry Caprese Cups. I just can’t help myself.
I’m not even a little sorry. #sorrynotsorry
And you won’t be sorry about it either when you taste this balsamic tomato chicken pasta. It’s a take on this buttered balsamic tomato pasta I ate pretty much daily last summer but with chicken for a bit of variety and also because my weirdo 4 year old doesn’t like pasta but likes chicken.
I don’t even know. Someday she’ll realize that carbs are delicious.
Especially these kind of carbs. The pasta is coated in an addicting syrupy sauce. The balsamic is a little sweet, the lemon is bright, and the garlic…yum. It’s full of flavor, a little rich from the combo of butter and olive oil but still light enough for summer.
Tips for Making Balsamic Tomato Chicken Pasta
- Cut the chicken into thinner sections before cooking. You can cook it whole, but you won’t get the flavor throughout the chicken. Slicing it allows more of the chicken to absorb the flavor.
- If you have the time, you can marinade the chicken in some balsamic vinaigrette and a clove or two or more of pressed fresh garlic. This can give the chicken extra flavor.
- Cook down the the liquid. You want the liquid to reduce by about a third or so. This concentrates the flavor and brings out the sweetness in the balsamic.
- Don’t add the tomatoes too soon or they will burst and create more of a tomato sauce and loss their texture.
Looking for other summer pasta recipes? Try these:
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound pasta of your choice
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes quarter
- 1 breast chicken cut into inch sized chunks
- 3 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1/4 cup of lemon vodka*
- 6 cloves of garlic pressed**
- 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- fresh basil to taste
Instructions
- Cut chicken into thin chunks or slices cutting horizontally across the breast.
- Place chicken, pressed garlic, and balsamic in bowl. Mix to combine and let sit. For richer flavor, marinade for minutes. However, if you are short on time, just marinade it while you heat up your pan.
- Boil water for the pasta according to directions on package. When water is boiling, add pasta and cook according to directions on package.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add butter and olive oil. Let melt. Add in chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Add in vodka or white wine and garlic. Bring to a simmer, stirring consistently. Add in balsamic and lemon juice. Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid mixture reduces by a third to half.
- While waiting for water to the liquid to reduce, quarter cherry tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes, just enough time to let the tomatoes get warm and start to burst.
- Sprinkle on red pepper if desired. Stir in pasta and finish by stirring in Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve hot and top with additional basil and Parmesan if desired.
Notes
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