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(1,654)
Comments
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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. 

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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

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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,654 user ratings
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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.

Worldcurious

I found the sauce very tasty; I added some lemon juice and lemon zest at the end and it really made it more delicious. That said, it was runny - so my solution was to make some pasta, and put the chicken & sauce all over the pasta and it was a huge hit!

WW

Added sliced mushrooms 3-4 mins before the tomato mixture, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Delicious!

Madi B

i sautéed chopped asparagus w the onion and tomato. I added lemon juice + zest at the end to brighten it a bit! Also did shredded chicken and added pasta to sauce. It was 10/10.

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