Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta with Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

Make the sauce ahead of time and other meal components, such as pasta, to serve with dinner and other meals. Freeze leftovers of this dish for later use. Creamy tomato chicken rotini includes rotini pasta and chicken in a lightly spicy tomato cream sauce topped with melted mozzarella cheese. This recipe can be used for school lunch planning and other purposes.

Rotini pasta has a spiral shape that helps it retain sauce, as noted by the same source, which recommends other short, thick pasta shapes. Add spices such as chili powder, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to chicken breasts, then cook in butter. Sauce ingredients include chopped tomatoes, green onions, fresh parsley, heavy or half-and-half cream, and low-sodium chicken broth. Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese melts more easily than packaged mozzarella.

Cook pasta al dente and skip rinsing to help the pasta soak up the sauce without getting mushy. Cook the chicken in the skillet until no longer pink and browned, then add other vegetables. Bring the cream and broth to a boil and add the pasta to prevent overcooking, the other main texture issue to watch out for, as noted by the recipe author.

Serve hot with suggested side items, including salad and garlic or specialty bread and cucumber salad. Preparing leftovers in advance includes cooling and portioning cooked pasta. Leftover pasta absorbs sauce when stored in the refrigerator. Add broth or cream when reheating pasta leftovers on the stovetop to restore the coating without watering down the sauce.