“Delish! A welcome new dish for our Keto meal plan – thanks for the recipe!.” ~Suzanne
when it comes to chicken recipes, Tuscan chicken is king!
This creamy Tuscan chicken recipe is the kind of meal that draws people like a magnet…they wander into the kitchen from all directions, noses high in the air, begging to know what smells so delicious. What cook doesn’t live for those moments? And it all comes together in about 30 minutes…check it out!
did you know?
Tuscan garlic chicken is a cult favorite pasta dish at The Olive Garden, and it’s been copied a lot because it’s so mouthwatering. Leave it to a large chain restaurant to come up with such an irresistible combination of ingredients ~ they know what people want. My version ditches the pasta and uses chicken thighs, but there’s no reason you can’t put it over pasta if you crave that.
chicken thighs are best for this recipe
I like to use bone in, skin on, thighs. Why? Thigh meat is fattier, more tender and flavorful than other cuts. I use bone-in thighs because cooking chicken with the bone adds even more flavor. However you can use whatever part of the chicken you like, including chicken breasts, or a whole fryer chicken cut in parts, it all works.
TIP: if you use skin on thighs you’ll want to keep that skin out of the sauce until serving, so it stays crisp. If you use skinless chicken you can submerge it in the sauce.
how to build a quick pan sauce for Tuscan chicken thighs
Just like with your Thanksgiving turkey, the gravy is everything in this recipe. I love to sauté minced shallots and garlic in those drippings before adding the Marsala wine to deglaze the bottom and really grab up every bit of flavor. You’ll brown whatever chicken you’re using in some olive oil until both sides are nice and golden. You can either cook the meat right on the stove top, or pop it in the oven to finish cooking while you make the sauce.
The Tuscan sauce finishes with chicken stock and heavy cream. It gets more flavor, color, and texture from sun dried tomatoes, and fresh spinach. I threw in a few chopped cherry tomatoes because they were sitting on the counter. Good move.
the right pan for Tuscan chicken thighs
A wide shallow cast iron casserole with a lid (sometimes called a braiser) is perfect for this dish. These can range from pricey, to not so pricey, and there are lots of choices. I think every kitchen needs one, they cook evenly and make a beautiful stove or oven to table presentation.
If you cook from my blog you might recognize this pan from these other chicken recipes:
- CHICKEN THIGHS WITH WHITE BEANS AND WILTED GREENS
- LEMON CHICKEN BIRYANI
- CHICKEN WITH CRACKED OLIVES AND HERBS
“This is my second time making this dish and it’s delicious! It was so easy to make and also the ingredients weren’t too expensive to buy. Great family dinner meal.” ~Cassie
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs
Video
Ingredients
- 6 bone in/skin on chicken thighs
- olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 large shallot, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine (or Vermouth, or dry white wine)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, jarred, in olive oil
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (go for the good stuff!)
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped (I like to use baby spinach)
- 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes, or any good red tomatoes
- parsley or fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large shallow cast iron skillet or braising pan with olive oil and heat on medium heat until hot. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and then brown, skin side down for about 15 minutes, until the skin is nice and crisp. Flip the chicken and cook for another 15 minutes, or until done. The meat should read 160F on an instant read thermometer. Set aside on a plate and cover with foil, or put in a warm oven while you make the sauce.
- Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes. Then add the Marsala wine and let it bubble down while you scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, and sun dried tomatoes, and cook the sauce for a few minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring frequently. Scrape up everything from the bottom and sides of the pan into the sauce. NOTE: This isn’t a super thick sauce, but it will thicken somewhat as it cooks.
- Add the cheese and stir until incorporated. Add the chopped spinach and fresh tomatoes to the pan, and cook until the spinach has wilted. Add the chicken back into the pan and heat through before serving, garnished with fresh parsley or thyme.
Notes
- My husband’s a dedicated thigh man, hence I used thighs, but this recipe is just as good with any chicken parts, and you can make a super quick meal with chicken cutlets, which are thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Use chopped chicken instead of the whole thighs, and serve this over pasta. The pasta absorbs all that creamy sauce and it’s fantastic.
- Cut calories and fat by using a little more chicken stock and less cream. Let the chicken stock reduce, and you can thicken the sauce with a little Wondra flour.
- I use the sun-dried tomatoes that come in oil, in a jar, but if you only have the dry kind, re-hydrate them in warm water before using.
- For no-alcohol version replace wine with chicken stock, although be aware that some of the alcohol evaporates off, and the flavor payoff is huge. Even a tablespoon or two will make a difference in the flavor of this sauce.
Nutrition
Good recipe.
But I’d like it be more specific on timing. Saying a few minutes when cooking the sauce is very confusing; especially for someone not used to doing sauces.
I had to guess and I don’t know if I got it right either.
Sorry that frustrated you TL. Sometimes I’ll say “a few” minutes because people’s pans and stove tops are all very different, and specifying, say, “3” minutes can actually be less accurate. The key phrase in this recipe is “until it starts to thicken”, which is more helpful, I think, than an exact number of minutes. Hope this makes sense!
This was sooo amazing yummy and it looked so “fancy restaurant dish” I have definitely added this to my list of recipes!!
Yay! Thanks for your review 🙂
My son loves this dish and so do I. Such an easy recipe.
Can you freeze it ?
Yes! First cool it down completely. Portion it out into airtight containers or freezer bags. Freeze for up to 2–3 months.
I used frozen kale instead of spinach because that’s all I had on hand. The family gobbed it up and I will make it again, but it didn’t taste as good as a leftover than the night I cooked it. But I’m a fan of your recipes overall so I’ll try to tweak it for a bigger flavor punch.
Amazing!! I forgot to buy sundried tomatoes so I used rotel instead… ooooh ooh!!!
I have never reviewed a recipe before but this is the BEST!! So easy to make, and so yummy! I used 1 large chicken breast and 3 thighs (that’s all that would fit into my pan). I didn’t have a shallot so I used finely minced onion. The recipe is very forgiving. I used more broth and less cream and it was de-lish!! Definitely a keeper. Thanks!!
Thanks for the review Dawn, appreciated!
Loved it! I added 8oz of large sliced mushrooms, 3 cups spinach and chicken boullin instead of stock. Serve over noodles.
Delish!! Instructions were easy to follow and spot on. I used 2 shallots, added about 3 cups of spinich and about a tablespoon of dried thyme. My sun dried tomatoes were not from a jar and came out fine. I would make this again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.