Creamy Tuscan Chicken
657 Comments
Updated Oct 20, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
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
- Chicken Marsala
- 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
Equipment
- Le Creuset Braiser My favorite cast iron enameled braiser pan!
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.
- For those who asked about my black-rimmed dinner plates, they don’t make the exact one anymore, but these dinner plates are very similar!
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
The whole family loved it. Saved the recipe to make it regularly
Easy and tasty! Needed to cook chicken a bit more but Nbd. Next time (and there will be a next time!) I’ll add more garlic, chunkier onions, and sun dried tomatoes, just because I like them! Thanks for a great recipe that made me look like I knew what I was doing in the kitchen 😉
You’re now a pro in the kitchen! Glad this recipe turned out great Lucinda.
Wow! This was really good. It was perfect for just my wife and I eating for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. We had some leftover mashed potatoes with it and some fresh steam zucchini. This went perfect with it.
I am so happy I stumbled onto your page! We are going to try more and more of the recipe’s that you have up here and will check out your cookbook.
Thrilled to hear you and your wife loved this Tuscan chicken recipe James! Excited to see what both of you cook from the new book :)
Hi Lisa, We just had this wonderful food for lunch, it is amazing!!! Extremely tasty! I had only coconut milk at home but I also added ricotta and it was a good thickness of the sauce this way. Thank you for this extra tasty recipe! :)
I’m sure the ricotta made it extra delicious! :)
hello Lisa,
Another fabulous and delicious recipe from you thank you so much !!! The only thing was that mine did not turn out so beautifully golden so I wonder what I could do next time to fix it also felt it was slightly thicker even though I stuck to the exact measurements given would appreciate any tips … inspite of this the taste for fabulous thank you so much will definitely be making it again !!!!
The golden color will come from the temperature of your pan. So you might want to turn it up a bit next time. You just have to be careful that the outside doesn’t cook too fast, before the inside is fully cooked. Especially if it’s a thicker piece. Hope that helps!
I love this recipe!! It’s great on weeknights because it’s fast, it’s great with guesst because it’s soooo good! Thank you!!
I’m so happy you love it Natalie!
Holy cow! That was good. Super tasty and quick and easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
This was so heavenly! I served it over some polenta and it really looked and tasted like a restaurant-worthy dish. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
My husband had this for lunch at work: I received a message later that day: “That chicken is a touchdown. Make it whenever. Very yum. Thank you.” That’s ridiculous praise from him.
Omg! I think for once I made chicken right AND JUICY! It is delicious!!
This is so delicious! Great recipe, thanks Lisa!
Omg. You weren’t kidding about the marry me chicken. I can taste why!
What is the dairy free substitute for the heavy cream?
You can use coconut cream or my homemade cashew cream recipe!
This is an easy and insanely flavorful delicious dish!
This was SO GOOD! We had it on top of zucchini noodles. My husband couldn’t stop gushing about how delicious it was, and my teen barely stopped to breathe while eating it. Thank you for such a delicious recipe.
Love the idea of serving this on top of zucchini noodles!
I’ve made this twice now; it’s so easy and the flavour is so delicious!
My husband is allergic to tomatoes so I just swap them out with roasted capsicums. That works a treat.
Wow! Another delicious recipe! Thank you. I made it using coconut cream.
Glad this turned out great with the coconut cream Malia!
Lisa this is truly a winner! My husband said put it on repeat! Thank you for always making such delicious and colorful recipes! 🙌🏻😊
Glad you’re loving this Tuscan chicken Julie!
I so want to try this recipe that looks divine… can’t do heavy cream.. anyone know of coconut cream? Is that just the thick stuff on top of the coconut milk?
No, you should be able to find a can that specifically says coconut cream. Make sure to not buy coconut milk!
Lisa,
I tried this with coconut cream. It was sweet and ruined the dish. Did I purchase the wrong thing???
You may have accidentally purchased a sweetened version. The garlic, onion, and sun-dried tomatoes should offset any coconut flavor in unsweetened coconut cream. But if coconut cream isn’t your preference, give it a try with cashew cream! See my notes above.
It was delicious. I will definitely make it again.
Excellent- had this for dinner tonight! Will definitely be a staple!
So glad you enjoyed this Tuscan chicken Ginny!
I cooked this 3 days ago and loved it. Delicate and subtle flavors and so easy.
Today I made it again with chicken tenders on a bed of mushrooms. I put the mushrooms in a dish in the oven at 250F for 10mins to dry them a little because they tend to make sauces watery. I added a little extra Italian seasoning to the sauce before putting the chicken back in. It was just as good as your original.
This was really good! I made it with your dairy free instructions and made my cashew cream way too thick (oops!) but I added some chicken broth to the pan after adding the cream and it balanced out. I found that I needed almost double the amount of nutritional yeast to get the flavor I was looking for, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. My chicken breasts were really thick and cutting them in half worked perfectly to cook them through while keeping them nice and tender. I topped my husband’s with parmesan cheese too, since he’s putting up with the dairy free sauce because of me!
Glad this recipe worked out great with the dairy-free alternatives Melissa!
Lisa you have done it again. This was an amazing dish! All I added was mushrooms per the request of my son! This is definitely a keeper and will be in my rotation! Thanks for making such a delicious meal…well simple!
This is so amazing! Who needs to dine out when you can make food taste this good? I paired this with spaghetti squash and it tastes like a cheat meal. Lisa, thanks so much for these delicious healthy recipes!
Love the idea of pairing this with spaghetti squash Megan!
Made Tuscan chicken, it’s was very easy and was happy it was ready before I went to work. My husband and my son loved it. Thank you for this recipe
Glad both you and your husband enjoyed this Tuscan chicken Maria!
This was easy to make and it was so delicious. I cut the chicken breasts into cubes because I wanted to mix this recipe with pasta (I used penne). Everything worked out perfectly. I’m definitely going to be making this often!
New favorite to add to our dinners!! Flavors are absolutely delicious!! We used chicken thighs and it came out amazing 🤤
Chicken thighs are a great alternative for juicier chicken! Glad it turned out Trisha :)
Hi Lisa,
I enjoyed making this dish. It was easy, delicious and pretty on the plates. Thanks again for your hard work and making the rest of us look good cooking your recipes!
Christine
Happy to hear you loved making this dish Christine and for leaving a review!
Hi Lisa:
I made this recipe but my chicken was undercooked. Followed the steps according to your instructions, but I don’t think cooking chicken breast for 4 minutes on each side, then just a few minutes in the pan with the sauce is enough. Unless you are cooking cutlets. The dish is tasty for sure, but any suggestions so the sauce would not dry out next time? I had to place the braiser in the oven to fully cook the chicken, but the sauce dried a bit.
Thanks
If you found that your chicken breasts were undercooked, slice them in half lengthwise next time, or pound them thinner.
This meal was quick, easy and delicious! I will definitely add this into the rotation.
This dish was quick and easy and delicious! My husband said it was better than any restaurant! Thank you Lisa for another delicious recipe…keep them coming!
Amazing to hear that Teresa! Thanks for leaving a review as well :)
This recipe was super easy to make and it only had a few ingredients. It was very tasty and was good leftover as well. I served it over basmati rice and it was a hit.
Happy to hear this Tuscan chicken was a hit Diane!
This was delicious! Simple recipe, packed with flavor.
Glad you loved this Tuscan chicken Jennifer!
Lisa, I am such a fan of so many of your recipes but first time to comment! I made this dish tonight and it was absolutely outstanding.
I had boneless ‘thin cut’ chicken breasts cutlets in the fridge so I used those – due to dairy allergies I used 1 can of coconut cream and shredded goat asiago.
Served this over rice with some vegetables on the side – an absolute make again – thank you so much!
Thanks so much for leaving your first comment Mary! And I’m thrilled to hear this recipe was a success with the coconut cream :)
Easy and tasty. Reports of picky teens eating this are true! they may pick out all the tomatoes and spinach, but they will eat the sauce and the chicken :) I cut chicken into smaller pieces before returning to pan to soak up the sauce better, had some packaged gnocchi in the fridge and it was wonderful. thank you, Lisa, for another great recipe!
Great idea on slicing up the chicken into smaller pieces! I’m sure they soaked up the sauce beautifully.
printed this off but was rather dismayed it took 4 sheets of paper printed on both sides with very large photos on every side. printer ink is EXPENSIVE ! Havent cooked it yet so cant give an opinion but it looks tasty
Hi there – there is a toggle button in the recipe card to choose if you want the photos included in the step-by-step instructions when printing!
My husband and I loved this dinner. It’s definitely going to be served to company in the future.
Happy to hear this was such a success Carol!
Just made this tonight. It was so delicious and really easy to make. Thank you!
Simple, delicious, everyone, including teens loved it
Thank you for listing a measurement for the amount of onion! Would totally appreciate if you could continue doing that for future recipes since onion sizes vary so much. Fantastic recipe! I served along side farro and a spinach side salad :)
Will definitely keep that in mind Mary!
Dear Lisa,
another great great great recipe!!! It’s so easy to make.
I’ve tried it yesterday evening and it turned out amazing. Such lovely flavors that come together at the end.
Highly recommend trying this recipe, if you still haven’t!
Wonderful! Glad to hear you’re loving this Tuscan chicken Tina :)
Doing this tonight :)
Excited to try it. Gonna sub the spinach with arugula and basil…
Hope you loved this Tuscan chicken!
For the non-dairy(Whole30) option, would your Vegan Alfredo sauce work in this recipe, and if so, what amount for 4 chicken breasts?
Using my Alfredo sauce will change the taste completely, but you can if you’d like. Just use the same amount of cream that’s in the original recipe.
You put up some amazing meals!!! Thank you
Glad you loved this one Mark!
Just wondering if you could sub half and half for the heavy cream to cut down on calories or would the sauce be too thin? This recipe looks devine!
I’d stick to heavy cream or coconut cream for a thicker consistency.
Can you add Nutritional values and calories to your dishes? I love your site but it’s difficult to calculate for me.
Thank you
Hi Kelly – you can find the nutritional information below every recipe. :)
Looks delicious. I’m going to the grocery store now to get the ingredients. Yes, would love to join a foodie tour with you!
Can’t wait for you to try this Tuscan chicken Donna!
How much nutritional yeast to sub for the parmesan cheese.
I’d recommend 1 to 2 tablespoons.