Creamy Tuscan Chicken

By Dan Pelosi

Updated March 31, 2026

  • Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Media 1 of 2
Ready In
40 min
Rating
5(2,144)
Comments
Read comments

Despite its name, Tuscan chicken is not a traditional Italian recipe, but a dish of Italian-American origin, with its roots perhaps most frequently linked to Olive Garden. While it bears similarities to Chicken Florentine, with its creamy spinach sauce, as well as Marry Me Chicken, with its creamy tomato sauce, it is best described as a combination of the two. In this recipe, a bit of cream cheese is melted into its sauce to ensure that it is extra thick and creamy. Fresh cherry tomatoes are cooked until they burst, adding a hit of acidity to the sauce that drapes over the perfectly browned chicken breasts and wilted spinach. It’s no secret that this recipe should be served over pasta or with crusty bread to sop up the sauce. For those looking for variation, sundried tomatoes can be used instead of, or alongside, the fresh tomatoes, and kale can be used instead of spinach. 

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally (see Tip) or 4 thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

  • Salt and black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

  • 2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)

  • 1 pint cherry or other small tomatoes, halved

  • ½ small onion or 1 medium shallot, minced

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1½ cups chicken broth

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano)

  • 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil), optional

  • ½ cup heavy cream  

  • ½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

  • 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

  • 2 cups packed baby spinach (about 3 ounces)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

22 grams carbs; 161 milligrams cholesterol; 569 calories; 13 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 37 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 3 grams fiber; 905 milligrams sodium; 38 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large pan over medium. Heat the olive oil in the pan. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown (but not cooked through), about 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 

  3. Step 3

    Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes and onion have just softened and the garlic is aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add broth, oregano and basil (if using), and stir to combine, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and let simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream, grated Parmesan and cream cheese, and stir, allowing the cream cheese to soften and melt, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add baby spinach and stir until the spinach begins to wilt, about 1 minute.

  5. Step 5

    Return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with more freshly grated Parmesan on top. 

Tip

  • To cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half horizontally, place them individually on a cutting board, leaving a few inches in between each. Place the palm of your hand on the chicken, apply pressure down, raise your fingers up and out of the way of your chef’s knife, then slice breasts in half as evenly as possible, creating two thin cutlets.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
2,144 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Alice

Boneless, skinless anything yields so little fond to contribute to the sauce that I just made the sauce and served over rotisserie chicken. Easy and delicious!

Park Bench

@Tamosin. In step 3, add a few tablespoons of flour while sautéing the other ingredients, and then increase the amount of stock or milk. Has the same effect as adding a bit of béchamel or velouté for thickening and richness without the calories. You can skip the cream and cream cheese.

Margaret

Thirty years ago, my husband made a dish he called, “Tuscan Chicken” - a super easy, healthy, & tasty make. 3tbls olive oil high-med in lg pot, add 2lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs & brown. Sprinkle w/1tsp ground garlic, 1tsp Italian herb mix, add 6-8 c chopped Napa cabbage or kale, 1 can tomato purée, 2 cans diced tomatoes over cabbage, lid on, turn down to lowest setting, 1hr, stir, season w/salt. Serve w/nice bread, quinoa, farro… Can sauté leeks, onions, mushrooms & add b4 1hr simmer.

Patricia

Perfectly Delicious just the way it is. So happy to find one more great dish to use all my beautiful garden tomatoes.

LB

It wasn’t very thick. Tasty though. I think I need to reduce the liquid more before adding the cheeses.

Andrew

@LB try adding flour next time. Not much. Just towards the end. Worked for me to thicken it up.

Queenie

First I despise chicken thighs, I know it's trendy to love them, their flavor tastes like blood and iron, God how do people stomach it? I made this dish with wonderful sliced chicken breasts (HEB higher end breasts) this recipe is marvelous! not a cream cheese lover for pasta so I cooked down more cream and used that, love anything with tomatoes, used dried spices and we LOVED it, it's in rotation for our monthly meals, you can't be cream, spinach and chicken breasts! Parmesan was fantastic!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.