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This 25-minute Tuscan chicken recipe is so easy and totally irresistible. You will love the restaurant quality creamy sauce with all the best Italian-inspired flavors!
For more inspiration, try my Creamy Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup and Creamy Tuscan Orzo with similar flavors next.
Why you’ll love it
This creamy Tuscan chicken is a favorite in my home. I mean, what’s not to like about melt-in-your-mouth chicken that’s pan-fried to golden perfection and slathered in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach and basil? It’s a simple way to make a quick weeknight dinner feel really special, and that flavor combo is so good.
For those unfamiliar, this Tuscan chicken recipe is inspired by the one at Olive Garden, but I have to say this one is even better with my own twist! As with most of my creamy chicken recipes, it elevates pantry staples for a dish that’s good enough for serving company. You’ll make this comfort food meal again and again. I know I do. 😉
What you’ll need
- Chicken – I cut two chicken breasts in half lengthwise. The cutlets cook faster and more evenly so that they remain tender. You can use four smaller chicken breasts, but you will need to cook them a bit longer.
- Garlic powder – along with salt & pepper, this infuses savory flavor right in the chicken
- Flour – for that irresistible golden pan-seared exterior on the cutlets
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Chicken broth – another layer of flavor and the base of the sauce. Feel free to use a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay to fancy it up a little bit!
- Dijon mustard – it’s a tried and true way to add an extra savory note to the sauce. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the sauce taste mustardy. I use Dijon in many of my recipes to enhance the flavor.
- Heavy cream – to make the sauce luxurious
- Spinach – fresh baby spinach is what we’re using here
- Sun-dried tomatoes – I buy the kind packed in oil
- Basil – it’s the ideal complement to tomatoes and rounds out the “Tuscan” flavor profile
Pro tip
- Use an instant read thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked to 165F in the thickest part. They’re inexpensive and the best way to guarantee that chicken is neither overcooked nor undercooked. Every home chef should own one to take the guesswork out!
How to make Tuscan chicken
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cut the chicken into 4 thinner cutlets, season with garlic powder and salt & pepper, and dredge in the flour. Pan sear in the oil and butter until golden, and transfer to a plate. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, add the Dijon, and scrape up the browned bits.
Pour in the cream, and add the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Return the chicken to the pan, and fully cook it through while the sauce thickens. Stir in the basil, and season with additional salt & pepper if needed.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend subbing the heavy cream for something else like milk or half-and-half because there’s a chance the sauce may curdle, and it will end up thinner and less flavorful. With that said, you can always experiment, especially if you’re used to tweaking sauces.
- If sun-dried tomatoes aren’t your thing, you could substitute them for fresh tomatoes. I suggest using a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes or cut up one medium tomato.
- For more herb-forward flavor, try adding in 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning.
- Garlic lovers out there, go ahead and throw in a couple of cloves of minced garlic if you want to amp up the garlic flavor.
What to serve with creamy Tuscan chicken
- For extra deliciousness, grate some parmesan over top just before serving.
- The rich sauce goes great with your favorite starch. Try jasmine rice or a big pile of Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Pasta like my easy Buttered Egg Noodles would also work.
- For a lighter choice, try a side salad with mixed greens and my Copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing or Creamy Balsamic Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- This Tuscan chicken will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in a saucepan over a low heat slowly until warmed through. Be careful to not reheat it too quickly or with a high temperature, or the sauce could separate.
- Our kitchen doesn’t recommend freezing leftovers of this one.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or if you’ve tried this easy Tuscan chicken recipe! You can also tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram with your creations.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts sliced lengthwise
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
- 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 2 cups (loosely packed) fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes see note
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Coat in flour.
- Melt the oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes/side or until golden. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
- Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and Dijon mustard. Scrape up any brown bits and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the cream, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. Add the chicken back to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through and the sauce reduces a bit.
- Stir in the basil and season with extra salt & pepper if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If the sun-dried tomatoes are not packed in oil, you may want to add a bit more – the oil-packed ones taste more concentrated. I drain the oil prior to adding them to the pan.
- If you have particularly small chicken breasts, I recommend leaving them whole and cooking them for a few minutes longer.
- Chicken is safe to eat when it’s reached an internal temperature of 165F. Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on April 27, 2018. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Excellent recipe.double sauce and would add a ton more of spinach. Love sauce and spinach. Served over fettuccini noodles.
Thank you!!
So delicious! Made this last night and we loves it. I used wine to deglaze and a bit more spinach than called for (I really wanted to stretch that into its own side dish if you want to know the truth LOL) and served it over mashed potatoes. Sooooo good!
Haha I get it!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Tracy.
This turned out perfectly for me! Before I deglazed the pan I added garlic and grape tomatos cut in half then I deglazed with them in it (I wanted to use them up) WOW super good! Will definitely make again. And I loved the way you do the chicken too!
Fantastic!! 🙂 It definitely is delicious with fresh tomatoes too. So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this last night and was very, very impressed – not only at the ease of preparation and how quick it took, but the flavor was phenomenal!!!!
The only thing I did different was that in the deglazing step I added about a 1/2 a cup white wine (Pinot Grigio) as well as the broth and mustard as my pan drippings seems perhaps more than yours. Other than that I followed everything to the letter, which I typically don’t always do. But as I was ‘fixing it in my head’ while reading the recipe first, I just knew this was one I had to follow exactly. The wine addition was only because my ‘flour dredge’ was a bit on the heavy side.
I served over jasmine rice with a generous amount the the spinach and sauce.
Thank you Natasha!!! Looking forward to trying other recipes.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂 I do like the white wine idea and I’m glad it worked out. Let me know if you make anything else! XO
I am wondering if you’ve made both versions (one with the chicken broth and one with the white wine) and which you prefer? Or can you use 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 white wine to the dish?
I prefer white wine. Definitely can do 50/50 ♥️
This recipe was the trifecta – delicious, quick, and easy! I paired it with spaghetti squash and it was a hit at the dinner table. I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation! Thank you for a great recipe!!
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that! 🙂
This was fabulous! So easy and quick and delicious. I made this for company and they loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
That’s what I like to hear! You’re very welcome!
I just made this for my wife and me tonight. It is absolutely fantastic. Not being the cook between the two of us, it was still fairly simple to prepare. We are eating low carb at the moment and used baking powder instead of flour and still had perfectly browned chicken. I also used Italian seasoning instead of just basil. Thank you for such a versatile recipe. We can’t wait to try it again with different proteins.
I’m so glad it worked out for you! 🙂 You’re very welcome. I do have various “Tuscan” recipes with this flavor combo – some are linked within the blog post, or just type “Tuscan” into the search bar and they’ll come up for you.
Loved this!
I used coconut milk instead of cream and added a little more Dijon. Served it with mashed potatoes. So good!
Wonderful! So glad it worked out for you.
I made it and it was great. I served linguine under the Tuscan Chicken.
Excellent! So glad you enjoyed it, Susan!