Tuscan Chicken Recipe

I promise, after one taste, you’ll agree this is the Best Tuscan Chicken Recipe you’ve ever tried!

Made with tender chicken breast, baby Tuscan kale, sun-dried tomatoes, and red bliss potatoes in a luxurious cream sauce. This delicious restaurant-quality dish is perfect for weeknights, date nights, or your next dinner party.

 

This is a take on an old Olive Garden recipe with a few tweaks to make it even more delicious! The flavorful, creamy sauce makes my Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe one of my all-time favorite chicken recipes.

For another delicious Italian chicken dish, try my tasty chicken Scarpariello recipe.

Ingredients

Gather the ingredients to prepare our creamy Tuscan chicken recipe. Culinary professionals call this the “Mise en Place,” which means “everything in its Place.”

Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.

Made with Simple Ingredients

• chicken breasts
• baby Tuscan kale (or baby spinach)
• Red Bliss potatoes
• sun-dried tomatoes
• bacon
• heavy cream
• fresh garlic cloves
• shallots
• grated Parmesan cheese (or Romano cheese)
• chicken broth
• sweet Hungarian paprika
• salt and black pepper
• olive oil

I’ve seen recipes that add tomato paste, but I wouldn’t add it to this dish.

Do I have to use Chicken Thighs?

No, you don’t. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or a whole cut-up chicken instead of just thighs. The process is the same as long as you leave the skin on. Either way, you make it, my creamy Tuscan chicken recipe is a keeper!

**If you choose skinless breasts or thighs, you don’t have to sear the chicken for as long since there is no skin to crisp up.

Can I make substitutions in this dish?

You sure can! If you can’t find baby kale or prefer using fresh spinach (or any other green), feel free to make the change. I like using baby kale because it’s more tender than the larger leaves.

You can leave out the sun-dried tomatoes if you don’t like them or can’t find them. Or you can swap them out for cherry tomatoes. If you use cherry or grape tomatoes, cut them in half and use them more as a garnish. You can cook them, but raw, they will add a nice fresh pop to the dish.

The bacon garnish is optional. You can cook it with the shallots and garlic and add it directly to the sauce. You could also use chopped prosciutto instead of bacon.

If you like mushrooms, they will make an excellent addition to the dish. Quartered or cut in half, they would work well in the sauce; sauté them right before adding the shallots and garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, you can use garlic powder instead.

You can also use any potato you like or have on hand. If you don’t have shallots, use chopped onion or onion powder instead.

How to make our Tuscan Chicken Recipe

Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make our Tuscan chicken recipe in your home kitchen.

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Rinse the potatoes and cut them into chunks.
• Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place the potato chunks into the baking dish.

• Season the chicken thighs on both sides with sea salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika.

*You can also use your favorite Italian seasoning.

• Add olive oil to a large skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Place the seasoned chicken skin side down in the hot skillet (be careful) and cook until nicely browned, about 4-5 minutes. Once it has browned, turn the chicken over and cook the other side for 2 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside until needed. Discard all but one tablespoon of the oil from the skillet. Then, add the fresh garlic and shallots to the pan. Let them cook for about one minute.

*If you’d like to add a little white wine to the sauce, this is the time to add it, deglazing the pan.

• Add the heavy cream and chicken stock to the pan. Bring the mixture to a light boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the sauce to reduce for about five minutes until thickened.
• Add the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce.

• Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the grated Romano or Parmesan cheese. Taste the sauce and re-season as needed.
• Pour the sauce over the potatoes in the baking dish. I used a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Place the baking dish on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender and the chicken is fully cooked.
  *Use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.
• While your chicken is in the oven, add the chopped bacon to a clean skillet and cook until golden brown and crispy. Set aside until needed.

If you’d rather use pasta instead of potatoes, you can easily make the switch and turn it into a Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta dish.

Garnish the Tuscan Chicken with crispy bacon and chopped parsley, and serve.

Wouldn’t your family love to sit down to our creamy Tuscan chicken? I promise you won’t hear anyone say, “Chicken Again?”.

Recipe FAQ’s

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