This Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe features crispy, seasoned chicken breasts in a rich and creamy Parmesan sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. It’s a decadent recipe that my entire family requests often and is truly a favorite. The creamy sauce is just irresistible!
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What’s in This Tuscan Chicken Recipe?
- Chicken Breasts: Use boneless, skinless breasts and lightly pound them to an even thickness.
- Italian Seasoning: Adds an herbal flavor to both the chicken and the sauce.
- Salt + Pepper: Enhance the overall flavor of the dish.
- All-Purpose Flour: Helps to brown the chicken and thicken the sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adds a salty and umami flavor to the chicken and the sauce.
- Butter: European-style butter contains extra fat. This helps the chicken brown without burning and enriches the sauce.
- Garlic: Minced fresh garlic adds an earthy flavor to the sauce.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Add a wonderfully rich umami flavor to the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: Makes the sauce creamy and rich.
- Chicken Broth: Adds umami flavor to the sauce and helps create the perfect consistency.
- Baby Spinach: Wilts to create the perfect texture and flavor in the sauce.
Notes from the Test Kitchen
- Scraping the bottom of the pan while making the sauce is one of my favorite ways to infuse extra flavor into the sauce with zero extra work. Put some elbow grease into it! This tip is brought to you by my Mom, and it’s one of my favorite kitchen lessons I learned from her.
- If you prefer dark meat, I also tested this recipe using chicken thighs. Watch the internal temperature closely, but it works well and is equally as delicious.
Variations
There are so many ways that I’ve customized this when making it for my family. Kale makes a great replacement for the spinach. It’s much heartier and will add more texture compared to the spinach.
Artichoke hearts make a delicious addition. When making this for my husband, I love to toss them in. Drain and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Mushrooms will have a similar texture to sun-dried tomatoes, so they are a good substitute (though of course, they taste different). I sometimes also add both.
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5-Star Reviews
“This is an amazingly good recipe. We served it to guests and they loved it. The following week we were planning on another recipe for other guests and decided to make this again instead.” – Christiane
“I’ve made this several times and it’s always so good! I double the sauce and serve with linguine. I can’t get over how creamy and cheesy the sauce is. I usually leave out sun-dried tomatoes and use sliced mushrooms. I appreciate the way the instructions have the measurements written into them. So helpful!” – Samantha
“Made this last night, absolutely delicious! My husband and son raved about it! I made it exactly as written except I doubled the sauce, we like lots of sauce, and I served it over rice. This is a keeper, I love your recipes, thank you!” – Debbie
Tuscan Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts lightly pounded to even thickness
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons European-style butter
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup European-style butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 8.5 ounces sun-dried tomatoes drained and rinsed (1 jar)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup baby spinach chopped
- Chopped fresh parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Season each side of each pounded chicken breast with Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- Combine flour and grated parmesan in a shallow bowl. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture, coating both sides.4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons butter and stir/melt.2 tablespoons European-style butter
- Cook the chicken (in batches if necessary) for 4-5 minutes per side or until its fully cooked (165°F in the center and no longer pink) and browned on both sides. Remove from the skillet and place on a plate. Cover with foil.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat, and add the remaining ¼ cup butter. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan as the butter melts. The brown bits hold a lot of flavor, so no need to remove them.¼ cup European-style butter
- Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.4 cloves garlic, 8.5 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
- Whisk in the flour and allow to thicken for approximately 1 minute.1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Whisk in the heavy cream, chicken broth, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Stir to combine.½ cup heavy cream, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Add the spinach and reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook until the sauce slightly thickens and the spinach wilts.1 cup baby spinach
- Add the chicken back into the skillet and turn to coat in the sauce. Allow to continue to simmer until the chicken is heated through, 2-3 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.Chopped fresh parsley
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Cook your chicken in batches if need be, so you don’t overcrowd your pan.
- You can also use chicken thighs. Make sure to check doneness.
- You can check the doneness of your chicken by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken – it should read at least 165°F.
- After cooking the chicken and just before making the sauce, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan as the butter melts. The brown bits hold a lot of flavor, so no need to remove them.
- Heavy cream will make the thickest richest sauce.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition Information
Serving Suggestions
The creamy Parmesan sauce makes this perfect for serving along with pasta. Cook up some penne, spaghetti, or your favorite noodle, and top each plate with a chicken breast and plenty of sauce.
You can also serve it with roasted mushrooms or some roasted garlic. Start with a chicken Caesar salad, or a bowl of Zuppa Toscana, and you’ll have a beautiful restaurant-style meal.
How to Make Tuscan Chicken Step by Step
Season the Chicken: Season each side of 4 large pounded chicken breasts with 1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
Dredge the Chicken: Combine 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture, coating both sides.
Cook the Chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons butter and stir/melt. Cook the chicken (in batches if necessary) for 4-5 minutes per side, or until it is fully cooked (165°F in the center and no longer pink) and browned on both sides. Remove from the skillet and place on a plate. Cover with foil.
Sauté the Tomatoes: Wipe the skillet clean, and return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the remaining ¼ of cup butter. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan as the butter melts. The brown bits hold a lot of flavor, so no need to remove. Add the 4 cloves of minced garlic and 8.5 ounces of drained and rinsed sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and allow to thicken for approximately 1 minute.
Add the Cream: Whisk in ½ cup of heavy cream, 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth, ½ of Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the Spinach: Add 1 cup of baby spinach and reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook until the sauce slightly thickens and the spinach wilts.
Simmer the Chicken: Add the chicken back into the skillet and turn to coat in the sauce. Allow to continue to simmer until the chicken is heated through, 2-3 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Tuscan chicken an airtight container and refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Cooked chicken will be safe in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop for best results. You can mix in some more heavy cream to freshen up the Parmesan sauce.
How to Freeze
Freeze Tuscan chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
This recipe has become a regular at my house and I make it at least once a week. My husband loves it! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out so rich and creamy. I usually serve this over grits and sometimes Polenta but prefer the grits. As with some recipes, I often try them first and then begin tweaking them to my taste but that is not the case with this dish. I continue to make it just as the recipe is written.
Can you make this as a freezer meal?
You can, but the cream may separate when you defrost it. We recommend waiting to add the cream and parmesan until after you defrost it!
I love your recipes!
My only beef is I wish you’d put a jump to recipe icon at the top of each recipe. It’s such a pain to scroll through, especially with the images, as they take much longer to load. I’m looking very forward to making several of your recipes though! Well done!
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I made this last night & it was FANTASTIC!! I would highly recommend making this recipe, I served it over linguine noodles with garlic bread. My husband raved how great this meal was, can’t wait to have leftovers tonight!
So so good
So glad you enjoyed it!
Easy instructions to follow, nothing too complicated and the end result made it all worthwhile. Loved the sun-dried tomatoes that paired well with the sauce. Only had chicken thighs to work with but they ended up great over a bowl of noodles. Thanks for the great recipe!
Looks delish!
Absolutely fantastic!! My alterations were that I used a little oil from the sun dried tomatoes for the sauce, and I added a jar of artichoke hearts about 10 minutes before it was done.
Sounds delicious, Amanda!
Such a good recipe! Could eat this weekly. Thank you for sharing it
Thank you for stopping by and letting us know!
Love this!! So easy to add or leave out stuff you don’t like.
Thanks for sharing!
This dish is amazing!! My husband and grandkids loved it. Will make again and again.
That’s awesome!!