Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Tuscan-style chicken with fresh garlic, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes in a Parmesan cream sauce is a meal worthy of entertaining or special occasions, yet it can be on your table in under 30 minutes.
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
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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
Calories: 423 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 53 g, Fat: 17 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 169 mg, Sodium: 1580 mg, Potassium: 1397 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 5 g, Vitamin A: 1160 IU, Vitamin C: 11.1 mg, Calcium: 131 mg, Iron: 2.8 mg