Cherry Tomato Chicken Pasta

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This recipe for pasta made with a burst cherry tomato sauce plus buttery herb and garlic roasted chicken breast is quick and simple to throw together, but is packed with flavour! My Cherry Tomato Chicken Pasta is perfect for a busy weeknight, or a lazy weekend when you don’t feel like spending a long time in the kitchen. 

It is packed with the juicy flavour of oven roasted cherry tomatoes, plus plenty of fresh herbs and garlic in a butter sauce. 

Follow along with my step-by-step photos, and you will see how quick and simple this dish is!

How do you make cherry tomato chicken?

Please see recipe below for quantities and cooking temperatures.

• Place cherry tomatoes in a bowl, then add chopped fresh basil & oregano, fresh thyme, fresh garlic, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well to coat – see Image 1.
• Add cherry tomato mixture to a high-sided baking tray – see Image 2.

• Add chicken stock, red wine vinegar and butter to baking tray, then bake for 15 minutes – see Image 3.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken breasts on both sides with garlic powder, and season with salt & pepper – see Image 4.

• Pan fry chicken breasts for 2 minutes on each side – see Image 5.
• Once the 15 minutes is up, remove the tomatoes from the oven – they will look like Image 6.

• Give the tomatoes a bit of a stir, then nestle the chicken breasts in amongst the cherry tomatoes. Tilt the tray slightly and spoon some of the herby liquid over the breasts, then return it to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through – see Image 7.
• Finished! Just add cooked pasta and serve – see Image 8.

My top tips for making cherry tomato pasta with chicken

• You want to use a baking tray that will fit the cherry tomatoes and chicken breasts in a single layer. Keep in mind that by the time you have them all together in the tray, the breasts will be smaller after pan frying.
• Using the flat side of a meat mallet (or something else heavy) give the thicker end of the chicken breasts a bit of a bash to even out the thickness of the breasts. This will help them cook evenly.
• When you add the butter to the tomato mixture in the tray, you can toss it on anywhere you like – it will melt as soon as it hits the heat of the oven.
• The type of pasta you use for this recipe is up to you, but I think long pasta tends to work best. I used linguine, but spaghetti or fettuccine would be great too.
• I use a meat thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked, it should have an internal temperature of 74c (165f) at it’s thickest part. See Cooking temperatures | NSW Food Authority for more info.
• If you want to get really fancy pants, you could add some more fresh basil leaves to the finished dish – totally optional though.

Other recipes you make like

Bruschetta Pasta with Prosciutto – your favourite bruschetta flavours, all in one bowl of pasta!

One Pot Sausage & Pasta Bake – super easy oven baked sausages, with a tomato pasta sauce and topped with cherry tomatoes.

Creamy Pesto Chicken – oven baked chicken breasts, topped with cream cheese and basil pesto. So quick and simple, plus the whole family will love it!

Enjoy!