“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
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.
Video
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
This is a great recipe. My family loved it.
Fantastic use of chicken thighs! I cooked this, and my husband who was mad at me couldn’t help but compliment my cooking saying the crispy skin was perfect! I seared both sides on high heat, put my own seasonings including salt pepper smoked paprika sage and turmeric, de glazed with marsala, added broth and cream, simmered until that sauce really looked delicious. The only mistake I made was not cooking the chicken long enough but it worked out, I took it out and put in oven on 400 for a while, finished under low broil until the chicken was perfectly done. Unfortunately I had no vegetables but served over pasta and was wonderful
This was delicious. I only had frozen chopped spinach so I thawed it and used it – worked out great. Also, I used 1 cup half and half and the rest stock. Probably not as creamy as it could have been but it was what I had. Everyone loved it.
This was delicious, so many flavors, wow! I didn’t have spinach on hand, so I used Kale, which worked well. I had just made au gratin potatoes and had the right amount of cream left over, so it was perfect for the chicken. I also left out the Parmesan because of the cheesy potatoes I made to go with this. Thanks for this great recipe.
Sounds like the perfect meal 🙂
I don’t use wine or alcohol so what would I use instead of the wines suggested here??
You can use stock, that’s fine.
Hi there, do you think this would work for a meal prep plan?
DIVINE!!! Luscious, velvety, colorful, flavorful…and so easy to put together!! I didn’t necessarily make any changes, but I measured certain things heavy or light…just 4 not 6 chicken thighs, extra fresh baby spinach, two fresh Roma tomatoes (just not a cherry tom fan, simmered the thyme because it wasn’t fresh, diced the sun-dried toms so they couldn’t be picked out ?, extra marsala (follow Sue’s recipe!! Don’t skip this ingredient!!)…exact measurements on everything else. Tasting the sauce after step 3, I could have stopped there, it was already so delicious!! But I’m glad I kept going, because then I started to sing to the chicken…a Bon Jovi inspired song…”I wanna laaaaaay you down in a beeeed of spinach”…yes, I’m serious…it’s that delicious! Thank you, Sue for contributing happiness to our familyby sharing your amazing recipes!!!
P.S. I wish we could post pics!!
This is such an amazing meal, everyone loved it, especially the kids. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks so delicious. Perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner.
I happen to think chicken thighs are the best part of the bird. What a great dinner option for on night this week.