This creamy Tuscan chicken is an easy one-pan dinner made with tender chicken breasts, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and a rich garlic parmesan cream sauce. It's ready in just 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights when you want something quick but still feels like a restaurant-quality meal.
I make this when I want a cozy, creamy one pan chicken dinner without a lot of effort. The sauce is rich, flavorful, and perfect for serving over pasta, rice, bulgur or mashed potatoes.
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Tuscan Chicken Skillet Video
Readers Feedback
My family went crazy of this! It's now going to be a weekly meal. The best part is it's Keto friendly!
- Angela, our reader
What Is Tuscan Chicken?
Tuscan chicken is a creamy chicken dish made with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan cheese. It's inspired by Italian flavors and typically cooked in a rich cream-based sauce.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken 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.
📋 You can find the full ingredient list in the Recipe Card below the article.
How To Make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Step By Step
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Substitute For Heavy Cream
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 Thicken Creamy Tuscan Chicken Sauce
- Let it simmer (don't rush it).
- Add parmesan (natural thickener).
- Avoid boiling cream.
- Use heavy cream for best texture.
What to Serve With Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- pasta (most popular pairing)
- mashed potatoes
- rice or quinoa
- crusty bread
- roasted vegetables
Tips For The Best Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- 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's The Best Way To Ensure The Sauce Doesn't Separate?
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.
Julia's Tip
Smaller, thinner chicken breasts cut in half work best, but you can use chicken cutlets or thighs.
If you have thicker chicken breasts, you can flatten them with a meat mallet.
Storing Leftovers
- To Store. Store cooled leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. I use these glass meal prep containers to store leftovers - they keep everything fresh for 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 Card
Easy Creamy Tuscan Chicken Recipe (One Pan, 30 Minutes)
Ingredients
Method
- Chop bacon into small pieces and cook in a dry pan (no oil) until slightly crispy. Set aside.6 slices bacon
- 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.1 pound boneless skinless chicken, salt and black pepper, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 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.4-5 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 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.4-5 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon garlic, ½ cup brown onion
- 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 salty then you might skip the seasoning for now or adjust it later.4 cup fresh spinach, 1 cup heavy cream, salt and black pepper, ½ cup chicken broth
- 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.¼ cup parmesan cheese
- Sprinkle with salty crispy bacon and garnish with parsley. Serve warm with your favorite sides!
- If you like this recipe, please leave a 5-star review! Thanks!
Nutrition
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.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
If you like easy chicken dinner recipes try my Chicken Bacon Pasta.
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!!!
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!
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.