Creamy Tuscan Chicken
363 Comments
Updated Jun 01, 2023
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Win over dinner guests with this simple Tuscan chicken recipe! Juicy chicken breasts are seasoned with Italian spices and seared until golden, then simmered in the most luxurious cream sauce filled with parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, onions and plenty of spinach.
What is Tuscan Chicken?
I’ll admit, I had to do a bit of research on where “Tuscan chicken” actually originated from. But it seems like there’s no one strict answer. My two cents is that it’s a spin on a classic Italian Florentine sauce, which is made from white wine, cream, and spinach. Then it was given a Tuscan twist by adding garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the warm cream and spinach base.
But what really popularized this dish (at least in America) was Olive Garden’s Tuscan Garlic Chicken, a dish with a similar flavor profile, served over fettuccine.
Either way, I’m glad this Tuscan chicken became a trend because it’s literally the best thing ever. Especially when you’re craving something rich and cheesy, with an Italian flair.
Tuscan Chicken Ingredients
There’s a few ways you can go about making the Tuscan sauce – with fresh cherry tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes and with dairy or dairy-free. For this version, I’m using sun-dried tomatoes since it has a deeper, bolder flavor that just makes this dish pop. And going classic using dairy. But you tweak to your liking! Here’s the ingredients, plus a few substitution ideas:
- Chicken: This dish is typically made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. But you could also use chicken thighs as well if that’s more your thing.
- Italian Seasoning: You can usually find Italian seasoning at the market. If not, just use a mix of mix of individual spices such as oregano, thyme, basil, and rosemary.
- Garlic and Onion: Lots of garlic is always welcome. And for onions, you can use white, yellow, or even shallots.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: After trying several jars from different brands, I came across this jar of sun-dried tomatoes that tasted so fresh and delicious. Plus, it’s the perfect amount for this recipe!
- Spinach: Feel free to go heavy on the baby spinach (I really pack it in the measuring cup) since it wilts down to teeny bits as it cooks!
- Heavy Cream: While dairy-based heavy cream is traditionally used, you have dairy free options as well. You can use a can of coconut cream (not to be confused with coconut milk) or you can make cashew cream at home.
- Cheese: Freshly grated parmesan is the way to go here. For a dairy-free option, nutritional yeast mimics a similar cheesy, nutty flavor.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How to Make The Best Tuscan Chicken Recipe
Season and cook the chicken. Season both sides of each chicken breast in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Then warm up a large skillet with some olive oil. Add the chicken, sear for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, and transfer the chicken to a plate. If your chicken breasts are on the thicker side, you might need an additional minute.
Helpful tip: You can swap olive oil with the sun-dried tomato oil from the jar to give your chicken extra flavor!
Start the tuscan sauce. In the same skillet, add another tablespoon of oil with the onion, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, and saute for another minute, or until it smells incredibly delicious and fragrant.
Helpful tip: If you want to deglaze the pan a bit more, feel free to pour in a bit of white wine as you’re cooking the onions.
Add the spinach. Pile the spinach in the pan and saute for another minute, until it just starts to wilt down.
Finish the Tuscan sauce. Add the heavy cream and cheese, and stir everything together. Go ahead and let this simmer so all the flavors can meld together.
Tuck the chicken back into the skillet. Using tongs, add the chicken breasts back to the pan. Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes on the stovetop, or until warmed through, then remove from heat. Just be aware that the sauce will also thicken as it cools!
Ways to Serve Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Make this a full, hearty meal by adding the chicken (and of course large spoonfuls of sauce) on top of rice, lentils, polenta, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower. Any of these options will soak up the sauce beautifully!
Want a side salad? You can whip up this massaged kale salad really quickly, or continue the Mediterranean theme with my Mediterranean Chickpea salad.
Storage Tips
Not gonna lie, you’ll be hard-pressed to have leftovers of this recipe. Because if there’s a chicken breast left in the pan someone is going back for seconds! But here’s how you can store leftovers:
- To store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- To freeze: Freezing is also a smart idea if you want to enjoy this again in the near future. You can store leftovers (or a second batch) in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Tuscan Chicken Recipe Video
Trust me, you’re going to want to see a visual of this recipe with how satisfying it looks on screen. I mean, that creamy drizzle is everything! Follow along with the video when you make it yourself! Click below to watch.
More Favorite Easy Chicken Recipes
If a pack of unused chicken is staring at you – here’s some easy dinner ideas I guarantee you’ll love. And if you need more inspiration, check out my roundups of the best chicken breast recipes or chicken thigh recipes.
- Chicken Piccata
- Butter Chicken
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Chicken Stir-Fry
- White Chicken Chili
I can’t wait for you to make this Tuscan chicken. I guarantee you’ll have it on repeat when you need something super delicious and impressive. Once you cook this up, let me know your thoughts in a comment below!
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 4 (6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or a mix of individual spices such as oregano, thyme, basil, and rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream, *see note above for dairy-free options
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Prep the chicken. Season both sides of each chicken breast in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Sear the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and set aside.
- Cook the onions. In the same skillet, add another tablespoon of oil and the onion. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion has softened.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and saute another minute, until fragrant.
- Add the spinach, and saute another minute, until just starting to wilt.
- Add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stir together, and bring to a simmer.
- Let it simmer. Place the chicken back in the skillet and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Lisa’s Tips
- If you need some help choosing out a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, I’ve been loving this Alessi brand!
- For dairy-free folks swapping in nutritional yeast, I’d recommend 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- If you have extra large or super thick chicken breasts, you may need to sear them longer in step 2. You could also pound them evenly flat or butterfly each chicken breast for a faster cook time.
Nutrition
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Very tasteful dish!! Will be making it again.
Happy you loved it!
Easy recipe to follow to make gourmet food 🤤🤤I’ve used it several times and the people I made it for all are shocked by the restaurant quality of it. Thanks for the recipe
You’re more than welcome. I’m happy you loved it!
I’ve made many of Lisa’s recipes and have been super happy with all of them. This is by far one of my top 3! My husband Loves it and always says it’s RESTAURANT QUALITY! I recommend you often to friends/family and clients (I’m a Health & Wellness RN) A few have even bought your book, like I did! Thank you for sharing such amazing recipes and teaching us!
Thanks so much, Judy! I’m thrilled you and your husband both love it! And thank you for spreading the Downshiftology love. I sincerely appreciate it!
Very easy to make and a household win!! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m happy you loved it!
Have made this recipe a couple times and it is delicious. Would highly recommend it to anyone.
That’s great to hear you’re loving this Tuscan chicken, Pamela!
I’ve made this several times now using chicken breast and chicken thighs. Which ever one you use the result will be the same DELICIOUS. Whenever I do make it at least one of the family takes a portion away with them.
Yay, I’m happy the entire family loves this recipe!
Delicious way to spice up a mid-week meal! I may try this with coconut cream next time to cut back on the dairy.
Glad you enjoyed this Tuscan chicken, Leah!
Turned out amazing! My husband doesn’t like to eat vegetables so I made it without the tomatoes and spinach and still turned out great. It’s also very quick, easy and MESS FREE. Just one dirty skillet!
Oh yay! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed this Tuscan chicken (with a few tweaks).
This was the first time I had tried tomatoes this way! So delicious! Thank you for this recipe, my spouse really loved it! Also, another thing, I used chicken thighs instead, and were they tender! Thank you again
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this Tuscan chicken, Lise!
Once again, you knocked it out of the park! This was so full of flavor and simple. I added zucchini while the onions cooked to give it more veg factor and it was a great compliment to the dish. Thank you!
Love the idea of adding zucchini and onions to this Tuscan chicken dish!
We make this dish every month and it just gets better every time. We now incorporate cauliflower rice into the chicken so that the rice is fully coated in that rich flavorful sauce. Highly recommend this recipe.
That sounds amazing with cauliflower rice! Happy to hear you enjoy this Tuscan chicken, Karen.
Very easy recipe, with great results. Got a thumbs up from my husband so I’ll definitely be making it again :)
Delicious and very easy big hit ! Will defiantly make again
Wonderful! Hope you continue to enjoy this Tuscan chicken to come.
I made this last night and it was a HUGE hit with everyone from 2 to 50!! It definitely found its place on our menu!!
I’m happy to hear this Tuscan chicken was a hit, Jennifer!
Great ! Thank you for my new chicken go to.
I’m happy to hear this has become your new go-to chicken recipe, Maggie!
It’s an easy recipe that tastes really good. I served it with garlic hassleback potatoes and steamed cauliflower. My husband enjoyed it all.
Love the idea of serving this Tuscan chicken with hassleback potatoes and cauliflower!
What are you serving this over in the video?
I’m serving it over black lentils. It’s delicious that way!
Awesome recipe! Absolutely love it, I add mushrooms and I pair it with protein pasta and a side Caesar salad. Great dinner recipe.
Mushrooms are a great addition to this recipe. Enjoy!
I made this & everyone LOVED it!!
Thanks for leaving a review, Kathy! I’m happy to hear everyone enjoyed this Tuscan chicken.
This has been added to our go-to chicken recipes! Perfect with some potatoes and your roasted broccoli! Have made this twice already and were great both times, hubby approved! Love sundried tomatoes!
I’m happy to hear you and your hubby are loving this Tuscan chicken, Eulah!
Absolutely delicious! The sun dried tomatoes were a perfect addition.
Can’t forget about the sundried tomatoes in this Tuscan chicken!
Delicious!!
I served this with tagliatelli. It was delicious
I have made your recipe before and it’s delicious. Tonight I’m being lazy so I’m substituting jarred Alfredo Sauce for the cream and parmesan. Everything else will be the same as yours. Probably won’t be as good but it will do for this tired woman.
We all have those days. ;) Enjoy!
Made this dish last night. It was delicious and easy to prepare due to your amazing videos.
Lisa, your videos are stellar. You have literally brought the cook back out in me. :)
I’m glad the videos are so helpful, especially for this Tuscan chicken recipe, Sallianne!
Loved this dish. It was exactly what we needed to spruce up some new flavors at the dinner table. I added two handfuls of fresh grape tomatoes and about half a bunch of asparagus (chopped into about 2 inches in length). We didn’t have heavy cream, so I subbed 1 cup of half and half and 1/4 cup of butter. It came out great. We’ll definitely enjoy this one again. Thank you!
Love the idea of adding asparagus into the mix for this Tuscan chicken, Sherrice!
This will forever be on my menu rotation. Easy, delicious, leftovers keep well, and it’s a lovely dish to serve to guests, too. Thank you, Lisa!
Yes, it definitely ticks all those boxes, haha! So thrilled you love it too, Linda!
This was incredible paired with your colcannon! Chicken was really tender.
Sounds like a delicious pairing! Glad you enjoyed this Tuscan chicken, Cat.
Great recipe . Easy and delicious just like I like it !
Thanks Melissa!
This was very fast and easy to make. Also a short list of simple, staple ingredients.
A deceptively nice meal for such simplicity!
We will definitely make it again. And again.
And again. :)
Your videos in general consistently prove to be excellent tutorials.
Thanks Lisa!
Thrilled to hear you’re enjoying all my videos, Andy!
This is going to be a weekly recipe from now on! It has all of my favorite flavors. I have made it with chicken breast and thighs and with leftover roasted chicken. I love fresh mushrooms, so add those too when I have them. Perfect with a kale salad.
It’s such a great recipe to have in regular rotation. Happy you love it, Stacy! And sounds delish with the added mushrooms.
Amazing recipe! I didn’t have sundried tomatoes so I used fresh baby tomatoes which were great. Thank you, Lisa, for all of your hard work to post great recipes for us to make for our family..
Glad this recipe turned out great with fresh baby tomatoes instead, Sandy!
Love this recipes. I’ve been putting adobo seasoning on and it’s so darn good. Thank you
I’m sure that adds a great punch of flavor! Happy you love the recipe.
The sauce was really soupy. Any suggestions for thickening?
The sauce should be pretty thick all on it’s own, due to the cheese and simmering on the stove. Did you make any alterations to the recipe?
The only thing different was I didn’t use fresh grated parmesan.
Amazing flavours !!! Served it with some Paccheri pasta 🤪. Big hit easy to make on week night fancy enough for a Saturday. Must try!!!
So happy you loved it!
Love it!!!!
I tried this for the first time, and I did substitute for heavy, whipping cream for nondairy, heavy whipping cream. It turned out amazing. It didn’t take long at all to cook. Yummy 🤤
Wonderful! I’m happy you loved the recipe, Crystal, and were able to tweak it to your liking!
Have made this and is fantastic. I love it. How do we swap nutritional yeast as a replacement for the heavy cream? The heavy cream is liquid and the nutritional yeast is a powder. How will there be liquid? Trying to make it a little healthier.
You don’t swap it for the cream, you swap it for the cheese. :) For the cream, you can use coconut milk.
sundried tomato and chicken….what could be better!!!
It truly is the best combo ever!
I made this for a dinner party and it was absolutely amazing. I love the creamy sauce and the sun dried tomatoes added just the right amount of sweetness. Everyone in my family loved it. Simple to follow recipe and nice and filling! I used it once with white rice and once with noodles. Both work great! Highly recommend.
Glad this Tuscan chicken worked out with both white rice and noodles, Naomi!
Love your recipes and thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thanks Doris! Hope you continue to enjoy Downshiftology recipes to come.
Very delicious! Easy to make
Glad you enjoyed this!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have sun dried tomatoes so I used fresh, but even with this change this was an amazing recipe. My husband and son both gave it a thumbs up.
I’m so happy the whole family loved the recipe, Gail!
This is the family’s favorite chicken dish. We serve it over mashed potatoes most of the time with a small salad. My 92 year old father in law who hates spinach loves it and asks for it nearly every day. He does ask each time we eat it what the green stuff is, but eats it! The sun roasted tomatoes really make it flavorful. We also do the tip for nutritional yeast and no one can tell it is in there.
We love all your recipes but this one is our favorite chicken dish so far. Got your cookbook so there are lots of other good things waiting to try. Thank you so much. You gotta try this!
Thanks so much, Madglyn! And your father-in-law sounds like my dad, who never much enjoyed “rabbit food.” Haha. But the more you can sneak it in there the better! ;)
This Tuscan chicken is so flavorful. My family really enjoyed it. Thank you!
You’re more than welcome! Happy to hear it.
Love this simple recipe, which was very tasty. Whole family loved it. Will definitely be making this again.
Wonderful! Happy to hear you’ll have the recipe on repeat. :)
Delicious and easy to follow. This recipe is my go-to for company and never fails to impress!
This is one of my go-to recipes for guests as well. Happy you love it, Gina!
I’ve tried your 10+ recipes, and this is one of my favorites. I made this recipe couple times, and every time the result was WOW!
Thank you Lisa.
Yay, I’m so thrilled to hear it!
Excelentes y fáciles recetas, gracias!!!
Was delicious, served it over spaghetti , completed the whole meal.
I’m happy you loved the recipe, Linda!
What are your thoughts on serving this dish in bulk (50 servings) from a chaffing dish, would it serve ok? I also considered adding Cheese Ravioli.
Hi Dawn – yes, that should be fine. Enjoy!
This recipe is easy and so flavorful! It comes together quickly with basically pantry ingredients.
So glad you loved this Tuscan chicken, Diane!
Love this easy, quick, and healthy recipe! I also used the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and I ended up adding extra spinach! Delicious.
Great idea on using the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, Carla!