This creamy Tuscan Chicken pairs chicken breasts with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh spinach, all in an irresistible cream sauce. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
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If you love one-pan chicken recipes like Chicken Madeira or Chicken Marsala, this Tuscan Chicken Recipe is sure to become a new favorite. We loved it so much that we now have a Tuscan Shrimp Recipe!
Tuscan Chicken Video Tutorial
Watch Natasha make Tuscan Chicken, then grab the ingredients below and give it a try for yourself. P.S. Here’s the Splatter Guard for sauteeing that I showed you in the video.
Easy Tuscan Chicken Recipe
Tuscan Chicken is a chicken dish that originated in the Tuscany region of Italy. It pairs a creamy Parmesan sauce with chicken breasts, spinach, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a restaurant-worthy dish you can make at home for a fraction of the cost. Here’s why you will love this recipe
- Simple – it’s an easy recipe for busy weeknights.
- Mouthwatering – The chicken is juicy and tender.
- Irresistible Sauce – It has a creamy, cheesy sauce that you’ll want to eat with a spoon.
- Versatile – You can pair it with so many different sides and salads.
We love easy chicken recipes from Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta to Chicken Lasagna. If you feel the same, then this Tuscan Chicken is a must-try.
Ingredients for Tuscan Chicken
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Chicken breasts – You’ll need two large boneless skinless chicken breasts; about 1 1/2 pounds total. Look for chicken breasts that are pale pink in color, with very little visible fat. To ensure they cook evenly, choose two chicken breasts that are similar in size.
- Garlic powder – dried garlic is perfect to season chicken so it doesn’t burn on the skillet
- Olive oil and Butter – this combination prevents the butter from burning
- Mushrooms – Use brown or white mushrooms. If you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, you can substitute drained and quartered artichoke hearts (not marinated) or fresh asparagus. Sauteed red peppers are also delicious here.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – buy them packed in oil for more flavor
- Green onion – chop the light and dark green parts. You can also use chives
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic will give your sauce the best flavor
- Heavy cream – or sub with regular whipping cream
- Parmesan cheese – Freshly shredded off the block is best, as it will melt into the sauce more smoothly
- Baby spinach – Baby spinach is preferable to “regular” or mature spinach, as it wilts in the sauce quickly. It also has a milder flavor, making it perfect for picky kids. You can substitute baby arugula if you prefer.
Pro Tip:
When cooking with acidic ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, it’s important to use a non-reactive skillet. Avoid cast iron, aluminum, or copper, which reacts with acidic ingredients and can curdle the sauce. A ceramic, enamel-coated, or stainless steel skillet is a good option for this recipe.
How to Make Tuscan Chicken
- Cook the Chicken – Melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-reactive skillet set over medium heat. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper; cook the chicken for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board.
- Cook the Vegetables – Return the pan to medium heat and add another tablespoon of oil, along with the mushrooms. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mushrooms are golden and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
- Make the Cream Sauce – Stir the cream into the mushroom mixture, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese over the top. Bring to a light boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes, or until it thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Finish the Dish – Stir in the spinach until it wilts, then add the chicken back to the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then remove the pan from the heat and garnish with chives, if desired.
Pro Tip:
Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken to make sure it’s safe to eat, but not over-cooked either. It should reach 165ºF, but not go much higher than this. Chicken that is cooked too long will be tough.
Common Questions
If you’d like, you can bake the chicken breasts in the oven, but the sauce will still need to be made on the stovetop. Once the chicken is done baking, add it to the skillet with the sauce, then serve.
If you have a skillet large enough to fit 4 large chicken breasts, you can double this recipe. The sauce will take a bit longer to thicken, but other than that, the recipe will be the same.
Yes, chicken thighs work great, and dark-meat chicken has great flavor. Be sure to trim the chicken thighs of extra fat before sauteeing. Cook chicken thighs to an internal temperature of over 175˚F for best results.
If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add a splash of milk, or chicken broth to the sauce.
If you prefer to add a little spice, try crushed red pepper flakes and add them to taste.
What to Serve with Tuscan Chicken
We love to chop the cooked chicken before returning it to the skillet; this way, it will soak up the tomato Alfredo sauce. Serve this as a main dish paired with:
- Pasta – serve over fettuccini, spaghetti or your favorite noodles. Homemade Pasta is especially delicious. The sauce coats the noodles nicely just like with our Tuscan Shrimp Pasta Recipe.
- White rice or cauliflower rice
- Mashed potatoes (try it with our Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes)
- Quinoa is another great gluten-free option
Make-Ahead
While this recipe is best eaten the day it’s made, you’ll also be able to enjoy leftovers.
- To Refrigerate: Store Tuscan Chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Tuscan Chicken can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: If you’ve frozen the chicken, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat it in the microwave or in a skillet set over medium heat, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
We’re always looking for winning Chicken Breast Recipes and easy dinner ideas, and this recipe for Tuscan Chicken is definitely one of those dishes you’ll find yourself making again and again.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes to Try
If you love this Tuscan Chicken, then you won’t want to miss these chicken recipes:
- Chicken Parmesan
- Pizza Chicken
- Easy Popcorn Chicken Recipe
- Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Creamy Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Chicken Piccata Recipe
Tuscan Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, halved (1 1/2 lbs)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil, divided
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 oz brown mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
- 1/4 cup green onion, green parts, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- In a large non-reactive skillet over medium heat and melt in 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Season chicken all over with about 1/2 salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Add chicken to the hot skillet and sauté 3-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through to a safe internal temperature of 165 ̊F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove chicken from the pan and transfer to a cutting board to cool then slice chicken if desired.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp oil and sliced mushrooms, and sauté 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly golden and excess liquid has evaporated. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, green onion, minced garlic 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Sauté another 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in cream and sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesan cheese over the top. Bring to a light boil, stirring frequently then reduce heat and simmer (2 minutes) until sauce is slightly thickened. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add spinach and stir just until wilted. Add chicken back to the pan, and spoon warm sauce over it then remove from heat. Garnish with chives if desired.
Notes
- If you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, you can substitute drained and quartered artichoke hearts (not marinated) or fresh asparagus. Sauteed red peppers are also delicious here.
- If you like spicy chicken, add some crushed red pepper flakes – start with a pinch and add to taste.
- Chicken thighs work great here, but trim the extra fat before you sautee them. Chicken thighs are better when cooked to an internal temperature over 175˚F.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Could I cook the chicken the day before and then make the sauce the day of and heat it up in the sauce?
Hi Cindy, this recipe is best eaten the day it’s made, you’ll also be able to enjoy leftovers. Please see my “How to Store and Reheat” section of the recipe post. I hope it is helpful.
I have made this so many times and my bestie and her hubby love it and now her husband wants me to make it so he can put it in his freeze drier to make MRE’s out of it. Then we can enjoy it on camping trips.
This would be so good during a camping trip! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome recipe, one question, can I double this recipe? It will be enjoyed for a long time.
Thanks, Diane. Yes, you may double this recipe.There are also notes in the recipe “Can I double the recipe?” you can go back to the recipe to check that.
My family loved this. Easy to make. I will be making it again soon.
Made this last night and my family loved it. Simple and easy to make. Definitely will be making this again. We paired this with rice and broccoli. So good. 🙂
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.
Thank you for your great comments and feedback! I’m happy to hear that you family loves this recipe a lot!
Best Tuscan Chicken I have tasted everyone in our house loves it.
Thanks Natasha for the great recipe.
That’s so great to hear, John!
Family raved about this recipe. Making it for Easter dinner tomorrow ❤️
I’m going to make this for our dinner tonight. I will have to substitute half and half because that is what I have now. Looks so delicious. I saw Sharky trying to eat the chicken after you browned it. Love your recipes.
Looks delicious! I want to make next week. The only thing I’d like to know is could a sub something lower in fat than whipping cream. Like evaporated milk. Or whole milk and some cream? Thanks and all your yummy recipes . Praying for Ukrainian and your family and loved ones too.
Hi Sandi, those substitutions may work, note because they have less fat it will yield a thinner sauce so heavy whipping or just whipping cream works best.
Hi! I want to thank you for all your delicious recipes! I love them all.
Aww, you’re so nice! thank you Carolyn! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes.
Made this dish for my husband. We both enjoyed it immensely. However, if you can even get the ingredients out of the refrigerator in 10 minutes you must have a prep chef.
Thank you for your comments and feedback!
Made last night and served over mini farfalle. 1-1/2’d the sauce because of the pasta, but subbed out some of the heavy cream for milk. Delicious dish and will definitely be making again.
Hey Jackie, nice to know that you enjoyed our Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.
I’ve made this before, & it’s absolutely delicious!! My question today, while shopping for ingredients, is can I use bagged, dried “sun dried tomatoes” instead of the ones packed in oil?
Hi Ginny, that will work, although we prefer the ones in oil since they give more flavor. I hope this helps.
Made this last weekend and it was absolutely delicious. Next time I am going to double the sauce. I served it with Garlic Parmesan Rice and I would have loved to have had more sauce to serve over the rice. Keeping this for regular servings. Your recipes are always my go to!
Sounds great! Feel free to double the sauce, that’s what others do too. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this dish yesterday. Very easy and WOW, how delicious! Permanently add to my recipe favorites.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Patsy!
Can you substitute boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts?
Hi Mariann! You can, if you’d like. Just cook them through until they reach an internal temperature of 170-175 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hi!
I love this recipe, the first time I had it I knew I’d make it again. I couldn’t get any sun dried tomatoes this time and I was wondering if using a little tomato paste or some tomato sauce would be a good substitution.
Hi Sam! It doesn’t have quite the same taste but some of my readers have used fresh tomatoes.
This recipe was easy to make and so delicious! I made it as a pick up and go meal for my brother and sis-in-law. I cut the cooked chicken into strips, put it over long grain wild rice, added, the creamy sauce mixture on top and placed it in the oven on warm for 2 hours. They LOVED it.
Thank you for sharing, Lisa! I’m glad it was a hit!
I made this tonight and it was so very delicious. My son ate seconds. So much flavor and very easy to make.
Glad that you both enjoyed them!
I don’t remember the last time I said, “Mmmmm,” so much during a meal! My kids looked at me like I was crazy. I really enjoyed this recipe and can’t wait to cook it again! Also, at first my kids didn’t like the idea of having mushrooms for dinner, but they couldn’t taste them, really. It’s a subtle flavor in the dish and just helps bump up the richness of the sauce. Everything worked so well together! Thanks, Natasha!
I’m so glad this recipe was enjoyed. Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
Any suggestions for making in advance and freezing? I’m guessing the cream sauce would not be good frozen
Hi Tom, I have notes and tips on freezing under the Make Ahead section of the recipe post. I hope those help.