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This easy recipe for Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken will quickly become a dinner favorite! Chicken and garlic mix together with spinach and tomatoes in a simple cream sauce that cooks in one skillet in less than 35 minutes!
This Tuscan Garlic Chicken is one of my favorite meals. It’s packed with flavor and cooks in one skillet. Inspired by the popular Olive Garden recipe, this dish is made with simple ingredients and cooks up quickly. It’s great for a weeknight dinner in a pinch!
The creamy sauce comes together using garlic, fresh tomato, and onion that are simmered down into a sauce with heavy cream. Top it with parmesan cheese, then serve with your favorite sides for a hearty and comforting dinner everyone will enjoy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This homemade recipe is made with simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store making it a budget-friendly option.
- The entire meal comes together in one skillet making the kitchen clean-up a breeze.
- You can adapt this recipe to be suitable for low-carb or keto lifestyles.
- It’s versatile and can be served over pasta, rice, or paired with your favorite side dishes.
- The entire dish can be made in 35 minutes or less.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This is the cooking oil you’ll use to cook the chicken breasts in the skillet. It helps give them color and seal in moisture. You can substitute with avocado oil, if needed.
- Chicken Breast – You’ll want boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are filet evenly into 4 pieces of the same thickness.
- Dried Italian Seasoning – This Italian herb mixture gives the chicken classic Italian flavors.
- Salt & Pepper – Balance out all the flavors in the dish.
- Butter – A bit of unsalted butter is used to deglaze the pan and help give the sauce a rich buttery flavor.
- Onion & Garlic – These aromatic vegetables are classic in Italian cooking and infuse the dish with a garlic onion flavor.
- Fresh Tomato – Gives the sauce a light red color and adds acidity to the sauce
- Baby Spinach – Adds nutrition, texture, and a pop of green color.
- Heavy Cream – Cream makes the sauce creamy and rich.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – Gives the dish a salty bite.
- Fresh Parsley – Adds a pop of freshness and color. You can omit.
How to Make Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Step 1. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. Add chicken and season with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Cook until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
Step 2. Reduce heat to medium-low, then add butter and a splash of water, broth, or white wine, deglazing the brown bits from the pan. Saute onions for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent, then stir in garlic and cook 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant. Add diced tomatoes and spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook until spinach begins to wilt.
Step 3. Stir in heavy cream and parmesan and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and cook until heated through 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 4. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with your favorite side dishes.
Low Carb and Keto Tuscan Garlic Chicken
You can easily adapted this recipe to fit a low-carb or keto lifestyle. Simply reduce to ½ cup onion and tomato, and 4 cloves garlic. Serve the chicken over:
- Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini Noodles
- Steamed Broccoli
- Riced Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Mash
Recipe Tips
- Cut the chicken breast into pieces that are the same size and thickness to make sure they cook evenly. To make sure the chicken is fully cooked, use a meat thermometer and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
- Do not add the spinach to the dish until the very end. Let the heat of the sauce wilt the spinach for best results.
- Always use fresh garlic cloves if possible for the best flavor.
Variations
- Change up the greens by using fresh kale or collards to wilt down into the sauce instead of spinach.
- Don’t like chicken? This recipe is also delicious with salmon or shrimp.
- Add a little spice by using a pinch or two of red chili flakes right in the sauce.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Tuscan garlic chicken tastes great on its own or served over rice or pasta.
More Skillet Dinner Recipes
- One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- Baked Mediterranean Chicken (baked in a skillet)
- Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet
- Maple Dijon Chicken Skillet
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini Skillet
- Spanish Chicken and Rice
Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, split horizontally into 4 pieces total
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large tomato, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add chicken and season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, then add butter and a splash of water, broth or white wine, deglazing the brown bits from the pan. Saute onions for 5 minutes until translucent, then stir in garlic and cook 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add diced tomatoes and spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook until spinach begins to wilt.
- Stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and summer until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and cook until heated through, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with your favorite side dishes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious recipe. I love a one skillet meal. The recipe was very easy and quick to prepare. I will definitely save this recipe so that I can make it again and again.
Holy cow this is delicious!!! I wish I could post a picture of how wonderful it looks!
Made this tonight…
Shortcut – used onion and garlic powder and no tomatoes. Used half and half in place if heavy cream.
Delicious dinner! I added broccoli before the spinach.
Served over brown whole grain. Rice.
Will make again for sure!
I made this for my family tonight and it was sooooo delicious! Loved by everyone and that’s not an easy task lol. Only thing I would change is make more of the sauce because it’s so good ur gonna want everything drenched in it.
Would this still be ok without the tomatoes? I like tomato based things, but not tomatoes.
Yes, you can omit the tomatoes. It will still taste great without them. Enjoy!
Absolutely fabulous! I used half and half instead of heavy cream; still delicious!
I made this last night. I split the breasts in half and pounded them. I was skeptical about cooking them 8 minutes a side. I thought they’d be dry. At one point, I was tempted to turn them over after 4 minutes a side. But I followed the recipe, did the 8 minutes, and they were tender and juicy. The sauce was beautiful. It was all great.
I’m so glad you enjoyed. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback!
Amazing!!! Love, love, love. Will make it often.
My whole family loved this. Even the picky tween. Thank you for the recipe.
This was beyond delicious! I think I would eat this sauce on just about anything, so dang good!