This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
If you have cooked my Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts or the fan favorite Creamy Tuscan Salmon, you know that this garlic butter Tuscan sauce is practically liquid gold.
But today, we are upgrading the meat. While I love a lean breast, Chicken Thighs are the undisputed king of flavor in my kitchen. They are forgiving, budget-friendly, and impossible to dry out. This recipe features golden, pan-seared thighs simmering in that signature silky sauce packed with spinach, fresh basil, and sweet sun-dried tomatoes.
t’s rich, rustic, and ready in just 30 minutes.
Why this recipe works
I get asked all the time: “Karina, how do I keep my chicken from drying out?” The answer is simple: use dark meat. Chicken Thighs are the undisputed king of flavor. They are naturally juicier, more forgiving if you accidentally overcook them, and they have a rich, savory depth that stands up perfectly to the bold garlic and parmesan cream sauce.
The real secret to this recipe, however, is in the searing. I use the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomato jar to fry the chicken. This simple trick infuses the meat with a tangy, sweet tomato essence before you even start building the sauce. When you deglaze the pan with white wine to lift those golden browned bits, you create a foundation of flavor that tastes like it has been simmering for hours, even though it takes just 30 minutes.
The ingredients
- Chicken Thighs You want boneless, skinless thighs. While skin is delicious when crispy, this chicken finishes cooking by simmering inside the liquid sauce. If you leave the skin on, that beautiful crispiness you achieved during the sear will turn rubbery and soggy the moment it touches the cream. If you have only skin on thighs opt into making my delicious crispy roasted asian thighs. If you only have bone-in, that’s fine too! Just add about 5-10 minutes to the cooking time to ensure they cook through to the bone.
- White Wine You might be wondering if the wine is necessary. The answer is simple… for the best flavor, yes! After searing the chicken and sautéing the garlic, you will notice sticky, golden-brown bits stuck to the bottom of your skillet. Chefs call this fond, and it is pure concentrated flavor. Pouring in the wine allows you to deglaze the pan, lifting those browned bits effortlessly so they melt into the sauce. A dry white wine adds acidity to cut through the richness of the cream. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or a Chardonnay work perfectly.
- Parmesan Cheese Use fresh shredded parmesan cheese as it melts much smoother. Grating your own block of parmesan ensures it melts seamlessly into the hot cream, acting as a thickener and creating that luxurious, silky consistency I want. Avoid the pre-packaged powdered stuff as it’s coated in anti-caking agents like cellulose to keep it from clumping together in the bag. Unfortunately, those same agents prevent the cheese from melting down properly, often resulting in a gritty or grainy sauce.
- Chicken Broth For this recipe, I recommend using Low Sodium Broth rather than stock. Stock is typically made from bones and contains high amounts of gelatin, which can make a rich cream-based sauce like this one become too thick or gluey as it reduces. Broth is lighter, helping to maintain that silky, pourable consistency you want. Additionally, using a low-sodium version is crucial because you are already adding salty parmesan cheese, this puts you in complete control of the seasoning so the final dish doesn’t end up too salty.
For a full list of ingredients see the recipe card below
Substitutions
Missing an ingredient? Here is how to swap things out without losing flavor.
- Chicken If you prefer white meat, you can certainly use chicken breasts. However, breasts cook faster and can dry out, so please check my Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts recipe for timing.
- The Wine If you cannot consume alcohol, simply replace the ½ cup of wine with an extra ½ cup of chicken broth. The sauce will still be delicious!
- The Cream For a slightly lighter sauce, you can use half-and-half (or single cream). Just be careful to simmer it on low heat, as lower-fat creams can split if boiled too rapidly.
- The Shallot If you can’t find brown shallots, you can substitute them with half a small yellow or red onion, finely diced.
- The Greens If you don’t have fresh baby spinach, frozen spinach works well. Just thaw it and squeeze out the excess liquid before adding. Kale is also a fantastic substitute; just remove the tough stems and sauté it for a minute or two longer than spinach to soften it up.
Step by step with photos
- Season the meat: In a shallow bowl or on a plate, season chicken thighs with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Sear until golden: Heat the reserved sun dried tomato oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken in batches of two or three until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
- Sauté aromatics: Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sun dried tomato strips and cook to release flavors, about 1 minute.
- Deglaze: Pour in the wine. Bring to a simmer while scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let simmer for 2 minutes to reduce slightly.
- Build the sauce: Add in the chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low-medium. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Tip: Stir regularly to ensure the parmesan melts smoothly.
- Season: Taste test the sauce and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, if needed
- Finish: Stir through spinach and basil leaves. Let them wilt slightly. Return the chicken to the pan; drizzle the sauce over the chicken and let it simmer for a further minute to reheat the meat.
- Serve: Serve immediately over mashed potato, mashed cauliflower, garlic butter rice, or pasta!
My tips for the perfect sauce
I know a thing or two about tuscan sauce. One of my most famous dishes is the creamy garlic tuscan butter shrimp. So trust me when I say I am an expert in the tuscan sauce. Here are my helpful hints.
- One of the common mistakes of getting a golden crust on the chicken thighs and keeping them so moist is to not overcrowd the pan. If you pack them all in at once, they will steam instead of sear.
- My secret to this dish is using what chefs call the fond. That is the stuff you find on the bottom of the pan after searing the chicken and frying the aromatics. When you pour in the wine, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan vigorously. Make sure you get all that flavour into the sauce, don’t leave anything behind.
- Add the spinach right at the end. The residual heat of the sauce is enough to wilt it without turning it into mush. That’s why I suggest to use fresh spinach.
What to serve with Tuscan Chicken
This sauce begs to be soaked up. Here are my favorite pairings to turn this into a full meal.
Low carb options
- Cauliflower mash
- Zucchini noodles
Comfort foods
- Browned butter mashed potatoes
- Mashed sweet potatoes
- Cheesy smashed sweet potatoes
- Crispy garlic butter parmesan smashed potatoes
Bread
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate – Transfer leftovers to an airtight container. They will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheating – Reheat gently on the stove-top over low-medium heat. Because the sauce contains heavy cream and cheese, it will thicken significantly in the fridge. simply add a small splash of chicken broth or water to loosen it up again as it warms.
- Freezing – I do not recommend freezing this dish. Dairy-based sauces made with heavy cream tend to separate and become grainy when thawed and reheated.
The top FAQ’s
Yes, absolutely! However, chicken breasts cook much faster than thighs and dry out easily. If swapping, we recommend pounding the breasts to an even thickness before searing and reducing the cooking time slightly to avoid overcooking them. You can find our dedicated Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts recipe here for the exact timing!
Yes, bone-in thighs work great and have excellent flavor. Since the bone insulates the meat, you will need to increase the cooking time. Sear them for about 6-8 minutes per side (instead of 3-4 minutes), and simmer them in the sauce a little longer to ensure they are cooked through to the bone.
Yes! Chicken thighs are naturally high in protein and fat while being low in carbs, making them perfect for a Keto diet. One serving contains only 10g of carbohydrates. To keep the meal low carb, serve the chicken and sauce over mashed cauliflower or zucchini noodles instead of pasta or potatoes.
You might also like
Get a free eBook!
Subscribe to Cafe Delites FOR FREE and receive recipes straight into your inbox!
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs (Stove Top)
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1½ lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs about 6-8 pieces
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
For the Sauce
- 2 tsp reserved sun dried tomato oil from jar
- 1 small shallot brown
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup sun dried tomato strips
- ½ cup dry white wine or extra chicken broth
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese fresh
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¾ cup baby spinach leaves packed fresh
- ¼ cup basil leaves packed fresh
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Season chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Heat sun dried tomato oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sear chicken in batches of two or three until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate, keep warm.
For the Sauce
- Add the shallot and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sun dried tomato strips and cook to release flavours, about 1 minute.
- Pour in wine; bring to a simmer while scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Let simmer for 2 minutes, then add in the chicken broth, cream, parmesan and Italian seasoning.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low-medium. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Stir regularly to melt parmesan cheese.
- Taste test sauce and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, if needed.
- Stir through spinach and basil leaves. Stir through and let leaves wilt through the sauce. Return chicken to the pan; drizzle sauce over chicken and let simmer for a further minute.
- Serve immediately over mashed potato, mashed cauliflower, rice, pasta, or fresh bread to mop up the sauce!
Notes
- Chicken Thighs I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they cook quickly and stay juicy. If you prefer to use bone-in thighs, you will need to increase the searing time to ensure they are cooked through to the bone (approx. 6-8 minutes per side depending on size).
- Do not discard the oil in your jar of sun dried tomatoes! This recipe specifically uses that reserved oil to sear the chicken. It infuses the meat with a rich tomato flavor right from the start.
- Wine Substitute If you do not consume alcohol, you can simply replace the ½ cup of white wine with an equal amount of chicken broth. If using wine, a dry white like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works best.
- Heavy Cream The recipe calls for heavy cream (thickened cream) to get that signature silky texture. You can substitute with half-and-half or a light cream (single cream), but be sure to simmer it gently on low heat to prevent the sauce from splitting.
- Spinach Substitution If you don’t have fresh baby spinach, you can use frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed of excess liquid) or fresh kale. If using kale, add it earlier with the liquids to give it time to soften.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
