This Easy Tuscan Chicken is creamy with an irresistible garlic white sauce. Perfect with mashed potatoes, salad, crusty bread or pasta!
Pleasing the hubby with this dish
It was around 11.30 pm and I was in bed with my laptop, trying to brainstorm a few more recipes for this upcoming Valentine’s Day. My hubby, Tomasi, was next to me watching a movie on his phone when I turned to him and asked, ‘Do you think Tuscan Chicken is a romantic dish?’. His eyes widened in excitement and replied ‘Hell yes! That’s a damn sexy dish. Are you making it tomorrow?‘
So here it is, inspired Tuscan chicken because Tomasi coined it romantic, but he’s biased because this is one of his favourite dishes. After having 4 servings of this dish recently, he offered to explain why he thought Tuscan Chicken was perfect for Valentine’s Day. ‘The name of the dish sounds romantic and there’s red stuff in the sauce.’ Yes, this is a very articulate and thoughtful observation from my dear hubby.
This quick and simple version of Tuscan Chicken has browned chicken thighs fillets, lots of garlic, fresh grape tomatoes, cream, white wine, parmesan cheese and spinach.
The star of this show is definitely the indulgent creamy white garlic sauce. It tastes quite similar to the much loved Boscaiola sauce. It’s magnificently rich and flavourful that even if you chucked in an old leather boot in there, it’ll still probably be tasty. This means you can serve this dish with almost anything you want! Crusty bread, pasta, salad, mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables.
A dish from Tuscany?
When I first laid my eyes on this dish on the internet a few years ago, I thought it was an actual dish that originated from Tuscany in Italy. After doing a bit of research on the history of this dish, it seems that Tuscan Chicken is actually a dish that was inspired by an American Restaurant ‘Olive Garden’.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed because my romantic Valentine’s Tuscan dish may not be from Tuscany after all! Oh well, at least I can proudly vouch that this dish is mind blowing good regardless of its origin. It’s also super easy to prepare and will be on the table in no time, so it makes for a tasty midweek dinner!
To be fair, it does actually tastes Italian because it reminds me of FETTUCCINE BOSCAIOLA. The sauces have similar flavour profile, rich, garlicky, hint of wine and dangerously good!
Some recipes use sun-dried tomatoes and the oil it comes with, but I prefer using fresh tomatoes to cut down on the richness of this dish. If you prefer to use sun-dried tomatoes, replace the fresh tomatoes with half a cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes plus 1 tablespoon of the oil it came with.
We’ll be browning and pan-frying the chicken until it’s almost cooked before adding them into the sauce. This is because it’s a cream based sauce, so we can’t cook for it too long or it may split.
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Ingredients for Tuscan Chicken
Chicken fillets – I used boneless and skinless chicken thigh fillets. Breast fillets would also work in this recipe, but the chicken will be slightly drier. Bone-in thigh cutlets are best because you’ll have juicy chicken, but they take longer to cook.
Tomatoes – I used grape tomatoes, but any small tomatoes would work, such as Cherry tomatoes. Cut them in half if they are on the larger side. If preferred, add half cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in place of the fresh tomatoes.
Dry white wine is lower in sugar levels than other varieties of white wine. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are popular dry white wine varieties.
Thickened cream (whipping cream) has gelatine added to it and contains 35% milk fat. To maintain a smooth, rich consistency, I don’t recommend using low-fat cream as it will thin out the sauce.
How to make Tuscan Chicken
Lightly season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium to high heat. Place the chicken in the pan and fry on both sides until it’s browned and mostly cooked through. You may need to do this in two batches. Place the chicken on a large plate and loosely cover it with foil.
If there is a large amount of oil left in the pan after removing the chicken, get rid of some of it with paper towels (a little amount of oil is ok). On medium heat, melt the butter into the same pan. Add in garlic, onions and stir-fry for a minute. Then add in the tomatoes, oregano, chicken powder, salt and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook for a minute or until the alcohol smell disappears.
Add the cream into the pan, and when it forms little bubbles, add in spinach and parmesan. Stir until the cheese has completely melted. Reduce the heat to low and place the chicken back into the pan and cover it with the sauce. If the tomatoes have not shrivelled, help them by gently squishing them with a wooden spoon. Gently cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Have a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Optional – Garnish with parsley before serving.
Leftovers – Allow the Tuscan Chicken to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the dish into an airtight container and refrigerate. It’ll be good for up to 3 days.
For romantic sweets
check out Easy waffles with Strawberry Compote or if pancakes is more your thing, try this impressive Dutch Baby Pancake with Berries
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Easy Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 700-800 gm chicken thigh fillets (NOTE 1)
- salt and pepper to season
- 40 gm butter
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 small brown onion (or half of a large, finely diced)
- 250 gm grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes) (NOTE 2)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (NOTE 3)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp chicken powder (or chicken stock powder) (Optional)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup thickened cream (NOTE 4)
- 120 gm baby spinach
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Lightly season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium to high heat. Place the chicken in the pan and fry on both sides until it's browned and mostly cooked through. You may need to do this in two batches. Place the chicken on a large plate and loosely cover it with foil.
- If there is a large amount of oil left in the pan after removing the chicken, get rid of some of it with paper towels (a little amount of oil is ok). On medium heat, melt the butter into the same pan. Add in garlic, onions and stir-fry for a minute. Then add in the tomatoes, oregano, chicken powder, salt and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook for a minute or until the alcohol smell disappears.
- Add the cream into the pan, and when it forms little bubbles, add in spinach and parmesan. Stir until the cheese has completely melted. Reduce the heat to low and place the chicken back into the pan and cover it with the sauce. If the tomatoes have not shrivelled, help them by gently squishing them with a wooden spoon. Gently cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Have a taste of the sauce and add more salt and pepper if needed. Optional – Garnish with parsley before serving.
