Creamy Tuscan Chicken
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Creamy Tuscan chicken with fresh garlic, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes is a meal worthy of entertaining or special occasions, yet it can be on your table in under 30 minutes. The luxurious Parmesan cream sauce will be the star of any dinner.
I don’t know about you, but one thing we nearly always have in the freezer, or can easily pick up from the store, is a few chicken breasts. They are endlessly versatile and so easy to make a meal from, even when you’re in a hurry. No wonder I am always on the lookout for new recipes to make full use of this humble staple and keep it interesting.
With a rich, flavorful cream sauce infused with fresh garlic, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning, this recipe is one of my original favorite chicken skillets. I first published this post in February 2018—truly a few eras ago! Now as then, it’s a beloved favorite. The chicken is tender, the sauce is luscious, and colorful spinach and sun-dried tomatoes perk everything up and mix some nutrition into a relatively luxurious meal.
Although you could serve this plain or alongside nearly anything, pasta goes with it so well. Why fight it, I say? The thick ribbons of pappardelle shown here are amazing. Tagliatelle, spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, or little farfalle bowties all are wonderful, too.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Step-by-step instructions to keep your chicken breasts juicy and tender
- Packed with your favorite Italian seasonings and herbs
- Cream sauce makes any meal just a little bit better
- Tastes like a special occasion dinner without a huge amount of work
- On the table in about 30 minutes, prep work included
- One skillet only—no huge volume of pots and pans to wash up
Ingredient Notes
Pro Tip!
Maximize flavor and efficiency by cooking with the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Just open the jar and use a small spoon to skim a bit of oil off the top to drizzle into the pan for cooking the chicken breasts. It’s OK if tiny bits of tomato or herbs come along for the ride.
One Skillet To Carry the Day
Just because a meal cooks in one skillet doesn’t mean it lacks complexity or depth of flavor. On the contrary, this method can build more flavor, because each ingredient layers over the next.
Success starts with preparing the chicken. To get the best results, take your chicken out of the refrigerator 10-15 minutes prior to cooking. Season generously with salt and pepper. If you don’t mind using flour, dredge each piece gently in it to form a deliciously light crust. Skip this or substitute almond flour if you want a gluten-free dish.
Pan-fry to tender perfection. If the chicken has been sliced or pounded thin, it should cook through fully in just 2-4 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer is always the best way to be sure chicken breasts are done but not overdone. They should reach 165°F.
Make the sauce. After removing the chicken, you’ll whip up the Parmesan cream mixture directly in the same skillet. This means all the little browned bits from the chicken end up flavoring the sauce, which is exactly what you want.
Add color and season to taste. After the sauce simmers to thicken up a bit, stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Sample and season to taste, then return the chicken to warm up a bit and soak up that luscious sauce.
Pro Tip
This dish is ideally served right away; if you have a few minutes prior to serving, reduce the heat all the way to its lowest setting as the chicken rests in the sauce. This will keep everything warm but minimize the risk of the sauce separating or thickening too much.
What To Serve with Tuscan Chicken
Keep it simple. For a straightforward but delicious everyday meal, pair Tuscan chicken with pasta, salad greens and Italian dressing, or a quick side of roasted baby carrots. Done and done.
Make it an event. For a special occasion or larger gathering, round out your menu with a Caesar salad, homemade breadsticks or garlic knots, and a more involved vegetable side. Lemon pepper asparagus, pesto green beans, or Ina Garten’s roasted Parmesan broccoli all pair beautifully.
More Tasty Chicken Dinners
- Bruschetta Chicken
- Brown Butter Sage Chicken Skillet
- Quick and Light Lemon Thyme Chicken
- Easy Bourbon Chicken
- Chicken in White Wine Sauce
- Chicken Pasta Marinara
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced or pounded thin
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes see note
- pasta and fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate, then dredge each piece of chicken through it to form a light coating, shaking gently to remove any excess.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, kosher salt and black pepper, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Add olive oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and sauté for 2-4 minutes per side, until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove the chicken to a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- If the skillet is dry, add a tiny bit more olive oil, followed by the garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds, just until fragrant. Add chicken broth, and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.4 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Reduce heat to medium, then stir in the cream, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce visibly thickens.3/4 cup heavy cream , 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Sample and season with more salt and pepper to taste.1-2 cups fresh baby spinach, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- Add chicken back to the skillet, spoon a bit of sauce over each piece, and keep over the lowest heat setting until ready to serve. Garnish with more Parmesan, fresh slivered basil, and fresh-cracked black pepper as desired.pasta and fresh basil
Video
Notes
- Chicken: If possible, take your chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and let them rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before you start cooking. This small step makes a surprising difference to help them cook more evenly, so the inside is done just as the outside gets nice and browned.
- Salt and Pepper: Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper for seasoning the chicken. I aim to use about 2-3 teaspoons of kosher salt total for 4 or 5 chicken breasts, and enough pepper to form a visible sprinkle across both sides of each piece.
- Make it Gluten-Free: If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, skip the flour step entirely. Also, other readers have reported that almond flour works well.
- Garlic: In a pinch, you could substitute 1 teaspoon of garlic powder for the freshly-minced or jarred stuff.
- Cream: I’ve tested this recipe with a lot of different ratios of broth to cream and substitutes, and always come back to this combo. Other options that will work: reduce the cream to ½ cup only, keeping the amount of broth the same; or replace the cream with half-and-half. Either will yield a thinner but still very tasty sauce.
- Parmesan: Freshly-grated Parmesan will always melt into sauce more smoothly than pre-packaged stuff, but I do find that the stuff grated in-store works pretty well, too.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Given the choice, I use oil-packed, julienned sun-dried tomatoes for this dish, and try to drain and blot out some of the excess oil before mixing them into the sauce. Whole oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes work the same, you just need to chop them into bite-sized pieces yourself. Dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes should be rehydrated prior to use, or if you’re in a pinch, add them to the sauce at the same time as the cream, so they can plump up and soften a little as the sauce simmers.
- Sauce Yield: This is a very rich and flavorful sauce, so even if serving with pasta, we find a little goes a long way. If you want to fully coat servings of pasta in the sauce, consider doubling it.
- Storage: Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days. I always recommend microwaving chicken at 50% power, if that’s how you reheat it, to avoid drying it out.
Nutrition Estimate
This post was originally published on February 28, 2018. It has been updated to remove extraneous content and replace it with more concrete suggestions on what to serve with the dish and how to ensure your chicken stays as tender and flavorful as possible. The photos are original!
Flavorless and lacking depth. It looked great on the photos but don’t let that fool you
Harsh, Stephanie! 😉 I’m truly sorry it was not to your liking. Most people find dishes with this amount of garlic, cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and seasoning to be quite flavorful, so you must have a very unique palate. I wish you well!
I’m going to make this soon.
Can I use Orecchiette pasta?
Yes, any type of pasta is fine!
Made this for dinner tonight! Hubby was blown away by how good it tasted. said it tastes kind of like pizza. Took 30 minutes start to finish. I used fettuccini noodles and definitely will be making again!
So glad to hear that, Cindy – thank you for taking the time to leave this review!
Delicious. May not be an every week meal, but, it is well worth the calories serving the chicken with pasta. Comfort food at it’s best. ….Yum!
This recipe is wonderful. I did increase sauce ingredients only because of Hubby who likes a lot of sauce. Will definitely make again.
Yum, more sauce is always a good idea! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you for leaving this helpful review!
I don’t know why, may be someone else knows. What was posted was not my comment. It was someone else’s that I had read. . However, I made this as is and we found it delicious, perfect comfort food. Well worth the calories!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! This is going to be a once a week dinner. 😁
Hello! I have made this recipe once, and loved it! I had to ask, though, have you ever tried this recipe with Tuscan seasoning instead of Italian seasoning ?
Hi Suzan, so glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried it with Tuscan seasoning but am sure it would be really delicious!
Delicious!
Fabulous!! I added mushrooms.
That sounds like a delicious addition! Thank you so much for the 5 stars, so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi Monica! his was so easy to make and was excellent!
OMG! Delicious! My whole house smelled amazing as it was cooking. I’m sure it was the garlic! My picky 12 year old loved it as well. I doubled the sauce! We like sauce in our family. I paired it with orzo that was cooked in chicken broth! I’ll be making this for company for sure!
Could you make this in a crockpot?
Hi Jamie, I’m sure you could make something similar but would probably want to search for a recipe specifically designed for a crockpot. I’m not sure how the cream would handle being cooked for a long time, sometimes that can cause the sauce to separate!
Over the TOP amazing… a definite keeper… I look forward to making it again. Thank You
Yay, thank you for sharing that, Jane! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and really appreciate your time in coming back and leaving a review!
I just made this. Oh my god it was fantastic. It came out like something you would be served in a restaurant. You would think more fancy intricate work went into making it. I made it with brocolli for lower carbs for the diet part of the house and pasta for non diet part. Everyone was happy. I am so impressed. Well done and thank you.
This is so good. One of the best recipes. My whole family loved it. My family has asked me to make it again. Definitely will be making it again. Taste like a dish that would be expensive if you ordered it in a restaurant
That’s so wonderful to hear, and thank you so much, I really appreciate the 5 star review!
As a student, I always look for inspiration online. A wonderful recipe I’ve stumbled upon. It’s quick, cheap, and homemade! ?
What type of pasta did you use for the pictures?
Pappardelle!
I have made this several times for my family and they are pickest group you ever want to meet. And, they just love it. Making it again tonight. Thanl uou so much for this recipe.
That is so wonderful to hear, Gail! I’m so glad this has helped you feed the family, and thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know – it means the world to me!
I want to use almond flour instead of regular flour. Is there a way to calculate the nutrition facts with almond flour?
Hi Sarah, that’s a great idea and should work well! I don’t personally know how the nutrition facts would compare, but I know the calculator over at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ is well regarded and should be able to help you out! Enjoy!
I am having a dinner at my house and I was having trouble thinking about what I was gonna have to cook, but this recipe not only is easy to do but the results are also AMAZING!
By the way, is the first time I navigate through your blog and it is so cool!
Merry Christmas
Thanks, Dani, that’s so kind of you to say, and I’m so happy you loved the recipe! Merry Christmas to you, too!
Hello,
Can I use chicken stock instead of chicken broth?
Thank you
Can’t wait to try it
Yes, that should be fine!
Tastes pretty good but would omit the parm in the sauce and add it later because it clumps the sauce and makes it look like baby food.
Made this last night and boy was it a hit. Even my picky eater love it. Will definitely make again.
That is so great to hear! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
This. Was. Delicious! Made it last night. Big hit!!
AMAZING dish! The flavors are bold. Went by the recipe and came out perfect! Will definitely make again. Thanks for the helpful tips and sharing your recipe ?
Thanks so much, Ashley, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate you taking the time to let me know! This made my day. 🙂