This Creamy Tuscan Chicken is an excellent restaurant-quality dish and is a winner of a chicken dinner!
We love easy chicken recipes from our mushroom chicken thighs, teriyaki chicken to butter chicken.
Quick and delicious comfort food meals are our favorite meals.
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Why It's Yummy
- Irresistible flavors. Perfectly seasoned and tender chicken.
- Easy and fast weeknight meal. Ready in a little over 30 minutes!
- No more dry chicken!
Readers Feedback
What The Yummy Bowl fans are saying across different platforms:
My family went crazy of this! It’s now going to be a weekly meal. The best part is it’s Keto friendly! Angela, Pinterest
Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts - boneless skinless chicken breasts are halved and then cut again in half lengthwise.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes add a tangy sweetness to the sauce. As a quick substitute, you could use canned diced tomatoes or roasted fresh cherry tomatoes.
- Heavy Cream is preferred over half and half.
- Fresh Garlic - freshly minced.
- Parmesan Cheese - substitute with Pecorino Romano or Asiago. Grate it yourself from a block so it blends in smoothly in the sauce.
- Smoked paprika - regular will work but smoked is so much better!
- Fresh Spinach - I don’t recommend using frozen spinach in this sauce because the small spinach bits will be scattered inside and all over the sauce. Save it for frittata or baked spinach dip.
- Optional Seasonings - to enhance this dish even more add 1 or ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning to your sauce.
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
📋 JULIA'S TIP: The heavy cream imparts richness and a velvety texture to the dish; for a lighter version, substitute with half-and-half and simmer the sauce longer for thickening.
How To Make Tuscan Chicken
Cook bacon. Dice bacon, cook in a dry pan until slightly crispy, and set aside.
Butterfly the chicken. Halve chicken breast lengthwise, then season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add and stir in butter until melted.
Smaller, thinner chicken breasts cut in half work best, but you can also use chicken cutlets or thighs. If you have thicker chicken breasts, you can flatten them with a meat mallet.
Cook chicken for 3 minutes on high heat (both sides) until nicely charred and golden brown. Set aside.
Saute aromatics. In the same pan, sauté onions in chicken juices over medium-low heat, adding more oil if needed.
Add sundried tomatoes and garlic.
Cook for 30 seconds until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add spinach. Saute for a minute or until spinach reduces in size, pour in the chicken broth.
Add cream. Bring it to a boil, then add cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.
If your chicken stock is already seasoned, you can skip the seasoning or adjust later.
Simmer the sauce on lower heat until it thickens. Don’t boil the cream!
Return the chicken to the pan, coat it with the sauce and cook for about 2-3 minutes on low heat.
- Related: Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
Add Parmesan. Finally, stir in parmesan cheese until melted and fully incorporated in the sauce.
At this point, your sauce will start thickening.
Serve! Sprinkle with salty crispy bacon and garnish with parsley. Serve hot with your favorite sides!
Tips
- Thickening the sauce - The sauce won't thicken immediately after adding cream; it thickens when you incorporate Parmesan cheese and return the chicken to the pan, eliminating the need for additional thickeners like cornstarch.
- Grate the parmesan block yourself, from my experience store-bought option might not melt 100% when added to the sauce.
- Brown the chicken in a hot skillet - When browning the chicken, ensure the skillet is hot before adding it to achieve a crispy exterior and prevent sticking.
- Spicy kick - you can add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the sauce. Start with a small amount and adjust to taste.
For the Juicy chicken: Brown the chicken over medium-high heat, this will help the chicken exterior to brown and crisp up nicely while the chicken remains juicy and tender on the inside.
What To Serve With Tuscan Chicken
Pasta is the traditional serving style but your options are endless.
This dish pairs well with a variety of sides, such as roasted vegetables, garlic bread, or a simple green salad.
Serve with:
- Grains: Steamed brown or white rice or quinoa, lentils.
- Potatoes: mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, smashed potatoes.
- Salad: for more Mediterranean cuisine inspiration make my Chickpea salad, Cucumber Salad or for a lighter meal serve it with Cabbage Cucumber Salad.
- Veggies: Roasted Beet Salad, Halloumi Salad, or Brussels Sprouts.
- Crusty bread: don’t waste a small bit of the sauce and serve this with your favorite bread.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- To Store. Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze. You can store leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. I don't recommend freezing it as with any heavy cream-based sauce, it may separate once thawed and reheated.
- To Make Ahead. Follow the recipe instructions until the step where you need to add cheese. Keep everything refrigerated and add the cheese when reheating.
- To Reheat. To reheat leftovers, place the chicken in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. If preparing the chicken as a meal prep ahead of time, avoid adding Parmesan cheese when freezing. Make the sauce as instructed and only add the Parmesan when reheating, simmering until the sauce thickens and the chicken is warmed through.
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Recipe
Easy Creamy Tuscan Chicken Skillet Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, breast or thighs
- 4 cup fresh spinach, washed and dried
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 4-5 tablespoon sundried tomatoes, drained from oil, sliced
- 1 cup heavy cream, or plant based cream, coconut cream
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup chicken broth, or more if you want more runny sauce
- ½ cup brown onion, or shallot diced fine
- 1 teaspoon garlic, freshly minced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chop bacon into small pieces and cook in a dry pan (no oil) until slightly crispy. Set aside.
- Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Season with salt and black pepper, smoked paprika (I used 3 large chicken breast halves and slices them in half). For even cooking, I recommend pounding meat with tenderizer first.
- Heat up a large skillet (or use the same but clean it from the bacon bits for less fat in your food) with olive oil over medium high heat, add butter stirring until melted. Cook seasoned chicken for 3 minutes on high heat (both sides) until nicely charred and golden brown. Set aside.
- In the same pan add onion and saute in the chicken juices over medium-low heat. Add more oil if needed. Follow with sundried tomatoes and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until garlic becomes fragrant. Add
- Add spinach. Saute for a minute or until spinach reduces in size, pour in the chicken broth. Take it to a boil and then add heavy cream. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. TIP: If you have chicken broth that is already seasoned with salt and pepper then you might skip the seasoning for now or adjust it later. Simmer
- Simmer the sauce on lower heat until it thickens. Don’t boil the cream!
- Return the chicken to the pan, coat it with the sauce and cook for about 2-3 minutes on low heat.
- Finally, stir in parmesan cheese until melted and fully incorporated in the sauce. Allow some time for the sauce to thicken.
- Sprinkle with salty crispy bacon and garnish with parsley. Serve warm with your favorite sides!
VIDEO
NOTES
- You can use heavy cream or plant-based soy cream or a can of full fat coconut milk instead.
- Chicken breast: smaller and thinner ones or large ones (halves) cut into half lengthwise. Or use chicken tenders, chicken cutlets, or boneless chicken thighs. If you have thicker chicken breasts, you can pound them with a meat mallet to flatten them out.
- Optional Seasonings: to enhance this dish even more add 1 or ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning to your sauce.
- To store: For best flavor, consume right away or the next day. Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To freeze: You can store leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. I dont recommend freezing it as with any heavy cream based auce, it may separate once thawed and reheated.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
FAQs
To prevent sauce separation, add heavy cream at the end of cooking, letting it simmer for just a minute or two. Stir it in gently over medium-low heat to avoid separation in the sauce.
Choose chicken breasts that are pale pink with minimal visible fat, or trim any excess fat later. Opt for breasts of similar size to ensure even cooking.
Opt for fresh baby spinach with small leaves for quick wilting and a mild flavor, making it suitable even for picky eaters. Avoid frozen spinach, as it may result in dispersed green bits throughout the sauce.
More Favorite Chicken Recipes
For more easy delicious recipes check out my Chicken recipe index.
I would appreciate it so much if you left a comment about this recipe below! Subscribe to join the TYB newsletter and receive free recipes straight to your inbox! Let's connect via Facebook, IG & Pinterest!
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Colleen
How much chicken stock?
Julia
About 1/2 cup, add more in the end (after cream & cheese) if you feel more sauce needed.
Kim
Delicious!! I've made this twice and had many compliments on how good it tastes. Thank you.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you so much, glad you liked it.
Susan C
This was very delicious! I had all the ingredients but only had frozen spinach. I rinsed and drained the spinach in a colander. It worked just fine. Reading the recipe made my mouth water so I doubled it. Good thing I did because my husband and I both had seconds. We recommend garlic bread to soak up the creamy, delicious sauce.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
garlic bread is excellent for this! Thank you for sharing Susan!
Wendy Slopsema
So good! Definitely will be on repeat! Thank you!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you so much!
Cailin
Wow, this was so delicious! My husband and I were sad when dinner was over! I used coconut milk and vegan parm to make it dairy free. 5 stars!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
coconut milk sounds delicious here, I have to try this out!!!