Creamy Tuscan Chicken

By Lena AbrahamUpdated: Jun 24, 2024

preview for This Creamy Sauce Elevates Your Boring Chicken Breast Dinners

Yields:: 4 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 5 mins
Total Time:: 40 mins
Cal/Serv:: 593

Year after year, this creamy Tuscan chicken is at the top of the list of our most-beloved recipes (and it isn’t hard to see why). This chicken dinner comes together in under an hour with minimal effort, but tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. The sauce is simple but flavorful and creamy—there’s a reason why we’ve added it to countless recipes, and why I turn to this chicken again and again.. Serve it when you’re looking for an extra special weeknight dinner, or date night star. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Ingredients

1 Tbsp.
extra-virgin olive oil
4
boneless skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp.
dried oregano
3 Tbsp.
butter
3
cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c.
cherry tomatoes, halved
3 c.
baby spinach
1/2 c.
heavy cream
1/4 c.
freshly grated Parmesan
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Step 1In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
2. Step 2In the same skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes are beginning to burst then add spinach and cook until spinach is beginning to wilt.
3. Step 3Stir in heavy cream and parmesan and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and cook until heated through, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Step 4Serve with lemon wedges.

EMILY HLAVAC GREEN

How To Make Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Ingredients

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe, but you can use chicken thighs if you prefer. Chicken breasts are leaner than thighs, and tend to be thicker as well, which works very well in this recipe. Not feeling chicken? Try our Tuscan salmon or Tuscan shrimp instead.
Oregano: Oregano has an aromatic, earthy flavor that helps to round out the flavor profile of a dish while also adding a slight hint of pleasant bitterness.
Butter: There is a reason everyone loves butter. I am using it here to add an extra layer of creaminess to the sauce. It is also going to help deglaze the pan of some of those stuck-on brown bits from your chicken, which is great because they hold so much flavor.
Garlic: Punchy, aromatic, and slightly spicy, garlic adds so much flavor to every dish, and is a classic Tuscan ingredient.
Cherry Tomatoes & Baby Spinach: I added cherry tomatoes and spinach to my skillet (like I do in most of my Tuscan-inspired recipes), but you can add even more additions if you have them on hand, or swap out the cherry tomatoes for sun-dried tomatoes. Either way, using bright, fresh veg is important to achieving a convincing Tuscan flavor.
Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is really what carries this simple sauce, creating a rich, silky base for your chicken.
Parmesan: Rich and nutty, Parmesan carries double weight in this recipe, lending flavor and texture to the sauce. Here it acts as a thickener that will help the sauce hold to the chicken.
Lemon Wedges: This will add some acidity to the dish that really balances well, but feel free to leave it out if lemon isn’t your thing!

Step-By-Step Instructions

I start this recipe off by heating olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, until the oil looks slick and begins to glide across the face of the pan. Once the oil is ready, I add my chicken breast, spacing properly to fit all four in the skillet at once, and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. We can season the chicken beforehand, but seasoning in the skillet allows for any extra seasoning that doesn’t immediately stick to be mixed back into the chicken and sauce. Cook the chicken for about 8 minutes on each side. A golden crust on both sides is a good indicator that your chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside, covered, until ready to reintroduce.

Chelsea Lupkin

Next, I add my butter to the same skillet and stir it as it melts, making sure to scrape any stuck-on chicken and seasoning bits back into the mix. Then I stir in my garlic and cook it until fragrant, about 1 minute, before adding cherry tomatoes and seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook the tomatoes until the skin begins to burst, then add in the spinach and cook until it begins to wilt.

Chelsea Lupkin

Once the spinach wilts, I add in the heavy cream and parmesan and stir the mixture to combine, until it reaches a simmer. Then I reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to continue to simmer until it is slightly reduced and thickened. This should take about 3 minutes. When the sauce has reached our desired consistency, return the cooked chicken to the skillet and allow it to cook in the sauce until heated through completely, about another 5 to 7 minutes.

Chelsea Lupkin

Plate, serve with lemon wedges, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Chelsea Lupkin

What To Serve With Creamy Tuscan Chicken

I love this dish served with bread, but you can also serve it over rice or pasta, or with creamy mashed potatoes. Whatever you do, I highly recommend serving this alongside something to sop up all of that incredible Tuscan sauce—let’s be honest, it’s the real star of the show here.

Storage

Feel free to store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The Tuscan sauce can also be batched ahead of time and frozen in the freezer for up to 3 months before use.