A simple and classic pasta dish made with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and basil. Tomato Garlic pasta may seem too simple to be delicious, but trust me, this dish is full of flavor and gets better with each bite!

Confession! My neighbor made a similar dish and I loved it so much that I had to go home and make it for you guys! It’s just too good not to share. He didn’t serve with breaded chicken but instead made an amazing beef roast which I am definitely going to do next time. 

This Tomato Garlic Pasta with Crusted Chicken is so dang good. We gobbled it up and the kids even liked it. I mean who who doesn’t love a good classic tomato garlic and basil pasta? 

This sauce is legit – the tomatoes cook down and get super sweet. The garlic adds tons of flavor. The key to the sauce is to use good olive oil – don’t be afraid to splurge a little. The butter and basil at the end help add freshness and silkiness to the sauce. 

I decided to add some crusted chicken to the recipe for protein and a crunch. I love cooking some crusty chicken – it’s super easy and it’s so much better than just sautéed chicken breasts.

Another quick note – this can all be made ahead of time. If you’re like me and need to plan dinner during the day and even prep it, you can prep the chicken and the sauce before dinner time. Simply make the sauce and bring to room temp then put in the refrigerator and the chicken can also be prepped by dredging it with he bread crumbs and placing in a container in the fridge for drying later. You could also cook the chicken and reheat but you may not be as crunchy. 

When it’s time for dinner, simple cook the chicken and boil the noodles!

Yield: 4

Tomato Garlic Pasta

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A classis pasta dish made with olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and basil. Cook up some crusted chicken and you have a really delicious meal! You can't go wrong with this simple yet delicious pasta dish!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 10 ounces sweet tomatoes (like cherry or grape), halved and crushed to release some juices
• 3/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional - this helps reduce to the acidity of the tomatoes)
• 5 garlic cloves, finely minced
• handful of basil, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper + more to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 16 ounces pasta
• 2 thick chicken breasts, sliced in half to make 4 thin chicken breasts
• 1 egg
• tablespoon of water
• 3/4 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• pasta water (reserve pasta water for the end)

Instructions

1. Place a large pot of salted water on stove to start boiling - you will want to cook the pasta during the preparation process so it's all done at the same time.
2. In a sauce pan, add 3/4 cup olive oil and place over medium-low heat. Add tomatoes and sugar let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low, add garlic, salt and pepper and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Make sure to watch so garlic doesn't burn otherwise it will taste bitter. After 10 minutes, add basil, salt, pepper, and butter. Remove from heat.
3. While sauce is simmering, prepare chicken. In a shallow bowl, whisk together egg and water. In another shallow bowl, add bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
4. Dip chicken in egg then dip in breadcrumbs.
5. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, fry chicken on both sides for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Check heat to prevent burning - simply turn down heat if the breadcrumbs start to burn. Once cooked, place on paper towel to drain.
6. While your'e cooking the chicken, you can boil the pasta according to package directions - make sure to save abotu 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining the pasta. The pasta water can be used to thin out the sauce if needed.
7. Now that everything is done, pour tomato garlic sauce over noodles. Add a little pasta water if needed to thin out the sauce. Cut up chicken and you're ready to eat! Serve with a salad and glass of wine!

Notes

For the tomatoes, make sure to crush them a little to release some of the juices - I did this in a colander.

You can make this heal ahead of time - make the sauce, let cool then place in refrigerator. Do the same with the chicken - you can either stop the prep before frying or you can fry them, bring to room temp and place in refrigerator and reheat when you're ready to boil the noodles and assemble the dish.