This chicken pasta with olives is easy and flavorful. The cooked pasta is tossed with sliced chicken breast, black olives, green olives, and sun dried tomatoes in a simple herb garlic sauce.
If you’re searching for a quick and satisfying meal, this one-pot Mediterranean chicken pasta recipe is just what you need for dinner tonight. Bursting with vibrant flavors from juicy chicken breast, tangy green olives, rich black olives and sun dried tomatoes this pasta dish is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The Chicken Olive Pasta is perfect for impressing dinner guests with minimal effort. This dish brings together the best Mediterranean ingredients for a meal that’s as easy as it is irresistible.

Pasta Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add your choice of pasta and cook until al dente, usually about 8-10 minutes, depending on the type of noodles you use. Before draining, reserve about a half cup of the pasta water, this starchy liquid is perfect for adjusting the consistency of your sauce later if necessary. Drain the cooked pasta and set it aside, ready to be tossed with the chicken and other ingredients.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is simple to adjust to your preferences. Here are a few additions or swaps you may prefer or match pantry ingredients on-hand.
- Add the zest of half a lemon or a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to add a bright tart flavor to this chicken pasta.
- Swap oregano or Italian seasoning for the thyme called for in the dish.
- A ¼ cup of finely diced onion can be added with the minced garlic if you like.
- Baby artichokes, baby spinach, sweet bell pepper slices or roasted peppers go well in this Mediterranean pasta dish.
- Yes, you can swap fresh tomatoes for the sun-dried ones if you like. A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes tossed in works well. If using fresh wait until stock is mostly reduced before adding.
- Fresh mozzarella balls (sliced or chopped unless they are pearl size) or crumbled feta cheese can be added to the dish at the end when ingredients are tossed together.
- Diced boneless chicken thigh meat, ground chicken or even shredded rotisserie chicken can be used in the recipe. If using already cooked chicken, it will be added toward end of preparation, rather than at start.
Serve the pasta with fresh chopped basil, lemon zest, grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to drizzle a little olive oil over the olive chicken pasta if you like.
This chicken and olive pasta recipe is a budget friendly meal that any olive lover will devour. Whip a pan of it up with whole grain spaghetti, for dinner tonight!
If you want more chicken pasta dish options, try out my Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe with sausage, Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo Recipe or Chicken Fajita Pasta, All are satisfying easy dinner options.

Chicken Olive Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound dry pasta , cooked al dente (while spaghetti is shown any shape of pasta works)
- ⅔ lb chicken breast
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme if all you have is dried use a couple pinches
- ¼ cup black olives canned or jarred, sliced or whole
- ¼ cup green olives canned or jarred, sliced or whole
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes dry packed*
Instructions
- Slice chicken breast meat into bit sized pieces, and mince the garlic.
- Put oil in non-stick skillet over med-high heat, once hot add garlic, red pepper and thyme.
- Once garlic is soft, add the chicken. Sauté until cooked through.
- Chop and add the olives. Mix, then remove to bowl and set aside.
- Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and put in pan and add stock. Boil rapidly, while stirring until stock is reduced by half.
- Add cooked pasta, toss, then add rest of ingredients back to pan and toss again.
- Serve with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of sliced fresh basil if you like.
Notes
Nutrition





Robin says
It's funny because I've just recently acquired a taste for black olives and this sounds delish!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Oh girl. That looks unreal. Yum
Nichol says
It look yummy minu the olives lol
Penelope says
I love olives in everything, and this sounds awesome