This Baked Tuscan Chicken Breast is an easy meal ready in 30 minutes or less! With a creamy sauce that’s perfect over pasta.
See the step by step recipe video down in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
This Tuscan Chicken Breast has been a long time coming!
We’ve always loved the creamy Italian-inspired flavors of these Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts, this Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes and this Instant Pot Italian Chicken Pasta.
But I’ve never done any creamy delicious like this in the oven or stove top.
Since this month is all about these perfect Baked Chicken Breasts, I wanted to share a few different ways that we can take a classic roast chicken breast and jazz it up without adding much prep time.
In the end, we’ll have multiple easy, toss-it-in-the-oven-and-forget-it chicken dinners that just need a simple salad or pot of pasta to make it an instant hit with the family.
For the first one, I definitely wanted something creamy and comforting. It’s still on the chilly side here, and we are game for a creamy baked chicken dinner full of garlic, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach any day of the year!
It looks impressive, and yet it is so easy to make!
Perfect for guests when you don’t want to slave over the stove 😉
Don’t feel like turning on the oven? Try my Crockpot Tuscan Chicken instead!
How to make Baked Tuscan Chicken:
- Flatten your chicken breasts so they are roughly the same size: this will ensure they cook evenly and that one side doesn’t end up completely dried out! Simply cover in plastic wrap and use a rolling pin or a small frying pan to flatten the thick end slightly.
- Dry with paper towel: we want our chicken to roast and be golden and flavorful, so we don’t want any of the excess water that might be on it. Drying it before seasoning will give the best results!
- Rub with oil and season well: we are keeping the seasoning simple again, but the sauce adds a ton of flavor!
- High heat for a short time: what I love most about this recipe is that almost all of the sauce ingredients are added right to the pan, and everything cooks at once. There’s no simmering on the stove or extra hassle! Just toss and go — the only thing we add after is the spinach.
- Cover and let rest: at least 10 minutes! You can even let it rest for 20 and I promise it will be so juicy and hot. This keeps the juices inside the meat and gives the spinach a chance to wilt down in the sauce without becoming overcooked and slimy.
Variations and substitutions:
- Boneless chicken thighs: you can absolutely swap for boneless chicken thighs without changing the rest of the recipe! You will likely want to use twice as many thighs as the breasts called for.
- Cream: I know it’s tempting to swap the heavy cream for a lighter variety, but be careful because lower fat dairy cannot be cooked at a high temperature without curdling. You may be able to swap for evaporated milk if you are a looking for a lower calorie option, but it may not thicken like heavy cream does and your sauce may be thinner.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: I know these can be hard to come by at times, but I just love the subtle flavor they add! A couple other options would be fresh cherry tomatoes or jarred roasted red peppers — they’ll both add a nice pop of flavor!
- Seasoning: you can absolutely play with the seasoning, as long as you choose herbs and spices that pair well with the sauce.
- Spinach: you can leave it out if you want. I love that it adds a pop of color and a boost in the nutritional value. You can swap for other vegetables if you prefer: green beans or mushrooms could be added at the beginning of the cook time for a new twist!
How to store leftover Tuscan Chicken:
This Tuscan Chicken Breast is a great option for prepping ahead because it stores easily and is delicious reheated!
You can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days provided all of your ingredients were fresh.
If you stuck to the recipe and used heavy cream (low fat dairy cannot be frozen) you can also store in an airtight freezer container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months, maybe it a great freezer meal!
What to serve with Tuscan Chicken Breasts:
We love this with plain, simple pasta, but you can also serve over these Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes for a touch of indulgence, or these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes for a make ahead option.
This Instant Pot Brown Rice is also a great complement for a healthier, gluten-free option.
Also, these Breadsticks do a great job of soaking up all that creamy sauce 😉
Note that the chicken is as saucy as it is in these photos — it is enough sauce for us to serve with pasta, but the pasta is not drowning in sauce. If you want a lot of sauce, I would multiply the sauce recipe by 1.5 (so instead of 1 cup cream, use 1.5 cups, etc.)
Baked Tuscan Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (breast halves)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Cream Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup sundried tomatoes (chopped)
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup chopped fresh spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin, smooth meat mallet or small frying pan to flatten the thick side of the chicken so that it is roughly an even thickness.
- Place chicken breasts in a 9×13" baking dish (or a larger one if you are using very large chicken breasts — you don't want them smushed together or they will take longer to cook).
- Combine ½ teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning, paprika and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Drizzle chicken with oil and rub with seasoning (I just do the top, since the bottom will be sitting in sauce).
- Whisk together cream, garlic, corn starch and salt until combined. Stir in sundried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese and pour around the chicken in the baking dish (it shouldn't cover the chicken completely, but it won't hurt anything if it does).
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 16-20 minutes, until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached in the thickets part of the chicken (the exact cook time will depend on the size of your chicken breasts).
- Remove pan from oven and stir spinach into sauce. Cover pan and allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes while the spinach wilts.
- Uncover and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Vicki Lucia says
So I’ll start with my husband’s comment…”This is better than any restaurant!” I used 6 medium sized chicken breast halves, doubled the sauce and served it over angel hair pasta. Molto bene!
Gina says
OMG! I have NEVER posted a comment on a recipe before but for this one I HAD to! This was AMAZING! I did add some halved petite yellow potatoes and cherry tomatoes around the sides of my baking dish as my husband is a “meat and potatoes” guy and increased the baking time to about 35 minutes! So, so good! This is definitely going in my regular rotation!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Sarah Miller says
This was a delicious receipt, I used fresh basil, rosemary lots of garlic fresh too. I would use one whole jar of sun dried tomatoes. Triple the sauce of your feeding 4-6 people and make sure you remember to let chicken and spinach (mix) sit for 8 mins as you then put your thin pasta on boil for two minutes. Also, add 2tsp of starch.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sarah! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Melissa J says
I made this test on the house. I’m happy to say that I have 3 men here and all of there stomachs were happy! And now they are all asleep! Double wammy!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Melissa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Erica says
I would like to make this with the pasta however I feel like I need a vegetable on the side with garlic bread what veggies on the side would you recommend?
The Recipe Rebel says
Maybe broccoli? It’s really whatever you prefer. Hope you enjoy it!
Chris says
It seems like mine curdled , maybe bc I used lactose free cream.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Chris! I actually covered this in the blog post under “Variations and substitutions”. I know it’s tempting to swap the heavy cream for a lighter variety, but be careful because lower fat dairy cannot be cooked at a high temperature without curdling.
Krystle says
Absolutely delicious! This may actually be one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked home. It was quick and easy to make and uses ingredients that I typically have on hand. My one complaint would be that the sauce got really thick so I had to add cream to thin it out a bit. Wondering if it may keep its consistency better if I exclude the cornstarch next time?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Krystle, you can omit the cornstarch if you need to. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Rachel says
Wow this dinner was absolutely so yummy! My husband raved about it when I made it. I will definitely continue making this. So delicious!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Rachel! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Becky says
This is fantastic, followed the recipe exactly. I needed something simple – one pan and in the oven! The flavors and presentation make it special enough for guests. Plenty of sauce for pasta but we had new potatoes. My son called this recipe “a keeper”.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Becky! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Dianne Shearer says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Will definitely be making this again.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dianne! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Alisha says
REALLY glad that I googled “baked chicken recipes” today :-). This dish turned out amazing. I paired it with salad and frozen rolls.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Alisha! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Ashley S. says
I NEVER comment on recipe sites. Googled “Easy chicken recipe” and this one popped up and looked amazing. This was absolutely delicious! Added cherry tomatoes and extra garlic (personal preference). It was so satisfying, picky kids and hungry husband ate every bite. I doubled the recipe and split between two dishes. I thought I made enough for leftovers – Nope- All. Gone. And it was so easy, 30 minutes start to finish plus another 10 to rest. This is permanently going into regular rotation! Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Ashley! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Lorraine says
i have made this receipe and it was wonderful.
do you think I could substitute the chicken for salmon?
The Recipe Rebel says
So glad to hear Lorraine, although I haven’t tried it myself, you likely could. The timing is going to be much less when using salmon. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!