This Crockpot Tuscan Chicken features juicy chicken breasts slow cooked in a rich and flavorful cream sauce. This recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep and makes the perfect dinner served over your favorite pasta!
Love your slow cooker? Enjoy more of the best Crockpot Chicken Breast recipes like Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Breast, Crockpot Creamy Garlic Chicken and Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken.
This Baked Tuscan Chicken combines some of my favorite flavors into one delicious dish! There are days though that it feels really nice knowing that dinner is cooking away in the slow cooker (and we all love this Slow Cooker Chicken Breast!)
Enter this Tuscan Crockpot Chicken Recipe. It’s the best of both worlds!
It features those signature Tuscan flavors that we all know and love. Sun dried tomatoes, parmesan, spinach and more come together to create the very best flavor combo!
You can enjoy this creamy chicken dish all by itself with a side salad or veggies, or toss it on top of a heaping pile of rice or Buttered Noodles. It’s hard to go wrong with a meal that tastes this good!
Reader Rating
“This recipe is amazing! My husband literally could not stop eating it, and we all agreed that it tasted like something that you would get at a very nice Italian restaurant!” — Jenny
Why we love this crockpot chicken recipe:
- Easy: This is a true set it and forget it recipe. I love Crockpot chicken recipes like this one that require almost no prep work!
- Versatile: Add more or less spinach, garlic, seasonings, etc. This recipe is so easy to change up.
- Summery: With sun dried tomatoes and spinach, this recipe is lovely to serve during the warmer months when you’re craving some vibrant flavor.
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken Breasts: I use boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs will also work — you’ll need about twice as many or the same weight.
- Seasonings: We’re seasoning the chicken with a simple blend of salt, Italian seasoning, paprika and black pepper.
- Heavy Cream: The base for the cream sauce. You can lighten it up with half and half, but the sauce won’t be as rich and creamy, and won’t thicken quite as much.
- Cornstarch: Helps thicken the sauce as it cooks.
- Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Since the chicken is well seasoned, we just need a little salt and pepper to spice up the cream sauce.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: Choose oil-packed, but be sure to drain and chop the sun dried tomatoes into smaller pieces so they incorporate well into the sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese: Use freshly shredded parmesan for the best flavor.
- Chopped Spinach: I recommend using fresh spinach for this recipe. Frozen spinach will water down the sauce, so be sure to thaw and squeeze it out if you are using it.
How to make Crockpot Tuscan Chicken Breast:
This Crock Pot Tuscan chicken recipe is a simple, flavorful dinner that takes just 10 minutes to prep! For more details about the process, just scroll down to the recipe card.
- Place chicken breasts in the Crockpot. Combine salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle all over chicken.
- Add the cream, garlic, cornstarch salt and pepper to a medium bowl and whisk.
- Stir in the sun dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese and pour around and over chicken in the Crockpot.
- Put the lid on. Cook on LOW for 3 hours or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Stir in the fresh spinach.
Variations and Substitutions
- Chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. I would aim for 2 lbs of meat.
- Cream: You can use a lighter cream, but keep in mind that the sauce will not be as thick and rich. If you go this route, you may want to increase the cornstarch to compensate.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes and Spinach: Try swapping the sun dried tomatoes for roasted red peppers or the fresh spinach for kale if that’s what you have on hand!
- Artichoke Hearts: one commenter asked about adding artichoke hearts to the recipe — it’s a nice way to add more veggies to the dish.
How to store leftover chicken:
You can store leftover Tuscan chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave until warmed all the way through and be careful not to scald the cream sauce!
Can I freeze tuscan chicken breasts?
Yes! Let the creamy chicken completely cool to room temperature prior to freezing in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Let it thaw prior to reheating.
To quickly thaw frozen chicken, place it in a bowl of cool water and allow it to sit until thawed. Change the water out every 20 minutes so that it doesn’t get too warm. If you have more time, just place the chicken in the fridge until it defrosts.
Serving suggestions:
I love to serve the finished chicken sliced over a pile of Garlic Mashed Potatoes and topped off with a scoop of extra cream sauce! These Roasted Green Beans or Honey Glazed Carrots are great way to add veggie to your plate as well.
More Crockpot dinner recipes you’ll love!
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef — skip the takeout!
- Crockpot Salsa Chicken — just a few ingredients!
- Crockpot Meatloaf –so juicy and tender!
- Sun Dried Tomato Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes — a complete meal in one.
Crockpot Tuscan Chicken recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Tuscan Cream Sauce
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed, drained and chopped)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, and pepper. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the chicken.
Tuscan Cream Sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, cornstarch, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in the tomatoes and Parmesan and pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 3 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the chicken reaches 165°F. If the sauce separates as it cooks, simply stir it until smooth. Stir in the spinach.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Remove from the slow cooker and serve.
Notes
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. I would aim for 2 lbs of meat.
- You can use a lighter cream, but keep in mind that the sauce will not be as thick and rich (you may want to increase the corn starch to compensate)
- Try swapping the sun dried tomatoes for roasted red peppers or the fresh spinach for kale if that’s what you have on hand.
Nutrition Information
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Lisa says
This recipe was delicious, and so easy. Thank you
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you for your review!
Nancy says
This is one of the most delicious recipes I’ve tried, even better than I epxected. And all my guests make that mmmmm… sound when they take their first bite! I have made it for three different guest groups, and all have loved it. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Nancy!
Bianca says
This is a go to favorite! This is always in our meal rotation!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Bianca!
Stephen Ansell says
Cooked up this fantastic recipe last night, my wife thought I had brought in a restaurant take away, it was that nice.
Ashley Fehr says
What a compliment! I’m glad it was a hit!
Chelsea says
Can you make it with frozen chicken, I just don’t have the time to unthaw
Ashley Fehr says
Cooking frozen chicken in the slow cooker isn’t recommended because it sits at an unsafe temperature for too long. You can thaw it quickly in a ziploc bag in a sink of cool water.
Bonnie says
Love a good crockpot recipe!! The entire family loved this! Even the kiddos who don’t normally care for tomatoes or spinach cleared their plates. Thank you for sharing!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Sandy says
We love this recipe! We double the sauce as we really enjoy it on tortelloni or any other pasta. Today, I discovered I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes, so I used tomato pesto, still delicious!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Sandy!
Lara says
I’m sorry to be the negative review. I’ve made tuscan chicken many times. I was looking forward to the crockpot version, but I regretted it. The sauces was lumpy, but turned out smoother when I whisked it. The chicken was dry. And the sauce was rather flavorless. I followed the recipe to a T as I always do when making a new recipe. I will go back to the stovetop version.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Lara! Thanks for your feedback — I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as the rest of us! It sounds like the chicken was overcooked — did you cook it only 3 hours on low?
Sue says
I love this recipe and I am making it right now. Thank you!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Sue!
Suzanne says
Hi Ashley,
I wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe! I finally made it tonight and my Man loved it!!! He said it was his new favorite!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Jasmine says
Absolutely loved this recipe! Will be making again!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Jasmine!
Kathy E. says
You have to try this recipe! It’s so delicious!!!! There are only two of us now so I used a 3.5 quart cooker, which held two breasts perfectly. I reduced the seasoning in half and kept the sauce recipe the same as listed. Fettuccine, chicken, creamy sauce on top!
Chef’s kiss!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad you liked it!
Jamie H says
My goodness, I love this! While making it, I realized I did not have corn starch on hand… so I googled it and found I could use 3tbs of all purpose flour per 1tbs of corn starch. Can’t wait to make it with just the corn starch, too, but even with the switch up, I fell in love with this recipe. Thank you!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you for sharing Jamie!
K Campbell says
I need to double this recipe. If I pile chicken on top of one another in the crockpot, do you think it will affect anything?
Ashley Fehr says
It will be just fine but may take longer to cook!
K Campbell says
Thank you so much for the response. Fingers crossed!
Patricia Whitehurst says
This recipe is a keeper! It is so easy and tastes fantastic! I have a few suggestions. I will cut the breast into smaller pieces. I added sliced mushrooms on top of the breasts. I will mix the cornstarch in with a little cream first to dissolve it before adding all the cream. After the chicken reaches the correct temperature, I will add the spinach and stir. Then I will put the lid back on while cooking the pasta to allow time for it to wilt. Garnish with extra cheese. I will be sharing this recipe with everyone. It is so very good!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Patricia!
Jade Schmidt says
I “cheated” on this recipe once…never again. This is by far the best recipe, my family loves it! House favorite, and extended family requests it when they visit. Even if you dont know how to cook, this is an easy to follow recipe that makes you feel like a chef
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so thrilled to hear that Jade! Thanks for your review!
Paula STONE says
INSTEAD of heavy cream and thickener I used Alfredo sauce. Absolutely delicious. Everyone raved about it. Wil) be making this recipe often Thanks a million for sharing it with us.
Jessica Delaura says
Can you use an instant pot? I am in the process of moving and can’t recall what box I packed my crockpot in! Help wanted to make this for dinner tonight! Thank you
Ashley Fehr says
I wouldn’t recommend an instant pot but you can use the oven (https://www.thereciperebel.com/baked-tuscan-chicken-breasts/) or the stovetop (https://www.thereciperebel.com/creamy-tuscan-chicken-recipe/)
Mary A Budyak says
Ashley this is the best crockpot chicken recipe I’ve ever eaten or made. Very flavorful and delicious.
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Mary!
Dana C Newell says
I’ve made this recipe several times over the past year. It is a family favorite. I grow my own herbs half the year, so using fresh Italian spices knocks it up a notch for sure! Easy to make and reheats really really well. We love it!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Dana!
Kimberly Battenberg says
This was sooo good. And super easy to make – put everything in and walk away for 3 hours. Followed the recipe as noted and we did double the sauce based on other comments (probably won’t do that next time – it is A LOT). We served it over pappardelle pasta. Excellent pairing as the sauce was perfect with that size noodle. The chicken was fork tender but not mushy, the sauce was flavorful. Highly recommend this recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so thrilled you liked it!
Shannon Gulotta says
I was so excited to make this! It was so easy and absolutely delicious! Perfect for a warm sunny spring day! I was able to play outside with the kids and come in to dinner cooked! Love the spinach & sun dried tomatoes
Ashley Fehr says
That makes me so happy! Thanks Shannon!
Eve says
Would it be possible to prep everything in the crockpot , put in fridge and then start cooking mid-day? I want to prep for my husband so he can easily handle while I’m at work.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Eve! Yes a few hours is just fine, I just wouldn’t leave it overnight.
Eve Gerstheimer says
Thanks!
Jessica says
Hello Eve. I would recommend adding all the ingredients in a large gallon bag MINUS the cream with cornstarch and spinach. Then you could tell him to dump the contents in the crockpot and add the amount of cream you are using. By leaving the cream out you will be able to store the product much longer (overnight) before cooking.
I have not tried it but this might also freeze well. You would freeze all the ingredients flat in a large freezer bag. Leave out the cream w/cornstarch and spinach (maybe even leave out seasonings unless you mix them well). When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight, dump into crockpot next day, add cream w/ cornstarch and seasoning and let it cook.
Eve Gerstheimer says
Thanks!