Chicken Caprese Pasta

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Chicken caprese pasta is the ultimate garden pasta recipe made with chicken breast, fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella!

caprese chicken pasta in bowl with fork.

Caprese Chicken Pasta is an irresistible garden summer pasta that comes together quickly and with ingredients straight from your garden!

Favorite Caprese Pasta with Chicken

We’re huge fans of Caprese here at Fit Foodie Finds. We love Caprese stuffed chicken, Caprese quinoa salad, and Caprese breakfast bake.

It’s something about using up ingredients from your very own garden that makes us happy. This chicken caprese pasta is a fun way to add caprese to your dinner while packing in the protein from chicken breast.

This meal is easily customizable with other veggies, plus it’s a foolproof dinner that anyone can make.

cooking chicken and tomatoes in large pot.

What You Need

This Caprese pasta recipe calls for simple, yet fresh ingredients. Here’s what you need.

Pasta: any kind of pasta works. We’re using penne.
Garlic: we recommend fresh garlic, but jarred works too.
Salt and pepper: always to taste.
Tomatoes: while we’re using cherry tomatoes, you can use any kind of tomato you want!
Fresh basil: make sure to use fresh basil and not dried.
Mozzarella: feel free to use mini mozzarella balls or cut up your own.
Balsamic vinegar: balsamic is a classic caprese ingredient.
White wine: white wine elevates the sauce.
Butter: butter adds that finishing touch of flavor.

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Quick Tips for Perfect Caprese Pasta

While we’re sharing the full recipe below, here are some top tips to get perfectly cooked, delicious chicken caprese pasta!

In order to not overcook the chicken, you’ll need to work quickly. Only partially cook the chicken pieces at the beginning because they will simmer in the sauce later on.

The delicious balsamic sauce is made primarily from balsamic vinegar and white wine. Make sure to let that sauce simmer so that it reduces by half. This will increase the flavors and thicken things quite nicely.

It’s important os serve its chicken caprese pasta recipe with FRESH basil and mozzarella. Dried basil is not the way to go.

caprese chicken pasta in bowl with crostini on the side.

Pick your pasta: love regular pasta, pappardelle, or angel hair? Use your favorite pasta!
Add more veggies: pack in your garden veggies and add your favorite. We recommend summer squash, zucchini, or onion.
Skip the chicken: make this pasta vegetarian by skipping the chicken all together.
Use chicken thighs: a dark meat kind of person? Use chicken thighs instead.

This pasta will keep for up to 5 days when stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

8 oz. penne pasta
2.5 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped into 1-1.5 inch chunks
4 cloves garlic smashed and minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt separated
1/4 teaspoon pepper separated
12 oz. cherry tomatoes halved
1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 oz. mozzarella balls halved
1 cup fresh basil chopped

First, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add penne pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Strain the pasta and set it aside until later.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium/high heat.
When olive oil is fragrant, add the chicken, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Next, when the chicken is partially cooked, add cherry tomatoes to the pot and cook the tomatoes, chicken, and garlic together until the tomatoes begin to stew (about 5 minutes).
Add the balsamic vinegar, white wine, butter, and the rest of the salt and pepper to the pot, mix well, and let the liquid reduce by half (about 10 minutes).
Remove the sauce from the heat and toss the noodles and mozzarella balls with the sauce.
Add basil to the pasta right before serving, toss, and enjoy.

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be substituted instead of chicken breasts.
This recipe was slightly updated on May 30, 2023.

Calories: 735kcal Carbohydrates: 48g Protein: 57g Fat: 32g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g

Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.

About Emily Richter

Emily spent the first 10 years of her career in marketing and advertising roles and started side-hustling with Fit Foodie Finds in Fall of 2015. Em lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son, and manages FFF editorial operations as well as all things sponsorships and brand collaborations.

Chicken Caprese Pasta originally appeared on FitFoodieFinds.com