A thick and creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Chicken with Mushrooms. NO heavy cream — or ANY cream — at ALL! Plus dairy free and gluten free options.
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Chicken with NO CREAM and PACKED with flavour!
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Chicken
There’s so much flavour happening in this pan right now, and only a quarter of the fat and calories when compared with typical creamy sauce recipes. Pan fried garlic followed closely by sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms AND melted parmesan cheese through this sauce makes this dinner incredible.
How to make a creamy sauce with no cream
To make the creamy sauce for this recipe, you’re going to use evaporated milk. You can use full fat or reduced fat. You can also use plain milk if you like, but please take care that you don’t boil your sauce rapidly or it will curdle. Keep it to a very low and gentle simmer.
- First, coat your chicken breasts (or thighs), in a mixture of flour and parmesan cheese. You can use all purpose, plain flour or Tapioca Flour to cut back on gluten. Tapioca Flour is made from cassava root and incredible for gluten free cooking and baking.
- Once your chicken is coated in the flour / parmesan mixture, fry them in a skillet (or pan) until golden browned on both sides and cooked through.
- Then add the sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms, sautéing them until the mushrooms are soft and the pan is filled with sun dried tomato flavours.
Creamy Sauce for Chicken
Do you see how creamy this sauce is? And how without cream? Using normal, humble milk. That’s it. That’s the BIG secret that’s really no secret. Milk mixed with cornstarch when it’s simmering = a beautiful, thick and creamy sauce without the fat and calories of thickened or heavy based creams. A beautiful, weeknight OR weekend meal that FEELS like a cheat meal withOUT any cheating.
WATCH HOW WE MAKE Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Chicken HERE!
Love Creamy Sun Dried Tomato? Try these recipes!
Creamy Tuscan Shrimp | Chicken with Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Sauce (With Cream) | Sun Dried Tomato Cheesy Meatballs (Low Carb)
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Chicken (No Cream)
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts , halved horizontally to make 4 fillets
- 2 tablespoons Tapioca flour (or all purpose or plain flour/s)
- 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese (do not include for dairy free option)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cracked pepper
For The Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons reserved sun dried tomato oil (or olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 200 g | 7oz jarred sun dried tomato strips in oil , drained (reserve 2 tablespoons of oil for cooking)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (250 g | 8 oz)
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (reduced fat or full fat milk)*
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) mixed with 2 tablespoons of milk**
- ⅓ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (do not include for dairy free option)
- 2 teaspoons Italian herbs (optional for added flavour)
- 2 tablespoons fresh shredded basil , to serve
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour mixture; shake off excess and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Fry the chicken until golden on each side, cooked through and no longer pink (about 5-6 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your chicken). Transfer onto a warm plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet; sauté the garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms; fry until the mushrooms are just soft.
- Reduce heat to low heat, add the milk (or cream if using) and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to your taste and add the milk/cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan. Continue to simmer while quickly stirring the mixture through until the sauce thickens. (Only use cornstarch if using milk for your sauce.)
- Add in the parmesan cheese; allow sauce to simmer for a further minute until cheese melts through the sauce. Add the chicken back into the pan; sprinkle with the fresh basil and a little extra pepper (optional), and serve over pasta, rice or steamed veg.
Notes
Nutrition
RM Jones says
Beautifully balanced flavors; My family loved this!
Line says
I’d love to try this recipe, but have some black olives lingering here. Do you think I could add some?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Karina says
Hi Line, absolutely!
Lynne G. says
If using half and half should I use the corn starch?
MDS says
I used coconut flour and skipped the parmesan, but I did add a small amount of goat cheese. Next time I might reduce the oil (a lot came out with the sundried tomatoes) and get reduced fat evaporated milk instead of whole (what I grabbed by mistake). Hubby loved it though, delicious!
Jacquie says
I made this the other night. It was really good and hubby thought so too! I did not have milk or evaporated milk so I used half and half and I also added a little white wine. It was delish! Thanks for the recipe!
Jana Lundh says
Just made this for a family whose momma had surgery. The sauce came together like a dream! I think I would skip dredging the chicken in flour and cheese next time though, I may have gotten a little too much on them. The coating slid off the chicken into the sauce! I’m sure they’ll still love it, but it got all mushy and now it’s part of the sauce. Looked amazing. I took a nip of the sauce and it was delish!
Karina says
Hello Jana,
That is so kind of you to help a family who needed a meal. I am glad that it all came together in the end. It is a really delicious recipe! Thanks for the comment and thanks for following along. xo
Brenda says
Made this last night when some friends came over, everyone LOVED IT!! Definitely adding this into regular rotation for dinner. Was easy to make, and had so much flavor. Thank you!!
Kirstin says
Any recommendations on what to serve this with? Sides? or pasta?
Karina says
Most salads are great or potatoes,. asparagus, even corn would work too. Pasta would taste great too! Enjoy!
Darline says
I made this last night, delicious, easy, will definitely make this again. Prepared extra sauce, this evening we had Shrimp Pasta with the leftover sauce AWESOME! So, it’s wonderful with chicken or seafood. Thanks so much !
Jan says
My husband really liked it. I added fresh baby spinach with the mushrooms and tomatoes. He went back for seconds
Karina says
YAY!! Seconds for the WIN! That is great! Thanks for sharing!
margaret woodford says
Aim add this also it it seemed like the gravy was grainy (.?) as if it was curdling…did I do some thing wrong
Kathy Calder says
Tried this dish. So easy and its so tasty. Will be making it again and again.
Jpas says
Excelent receipe. All my family loved it. Easy to cook and absolutely is a gourmet level.
Tymeron Smith says
That is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kelly Deaver says
I’ve probably made this ten times now because it has become a big-time favorite. I use the evaporated milk which gives it such rich flavor. I forgot to add the parmesan this last time I made it and it was missed, but still tasted awesome. I have found that when I use the evaporated milk the sauce doesn’t really combine well (the oil from the tomatoes and the evaporated milk) but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying it. Also, if you let the sauce get too hot and it starts to boil, eve lightly, it will break up the evaporated milk and make it appear grainy. STILL TASTES WONDERFUL! But for appearance, keep a really close eye on the simmering phase. Love this recipe!
Kristi says
First of all, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe, and I make it with coconut milk and tapioca flour and no cornstarch (coconut milk is THICK ENOUGH – learned the hard way). But I am curious on the nutritional values you posted. When I put this into my fitness pal it gives me like 6 total carbs with 1 fiber carbs, so 5 net carbs. Yours has like almost 40 total carbs! Did you include a starch for serving over with your nutrition facts or maybe was there a mistake? I’ve tried going over my list but also there just isn’t a lot of carbs in this recipe to warrant such high carbs, unless you are counting rice or noodles or something! Just curious if I am missing something 🙂
Liza says
I made this last night for my parents and picky fiancé. Everyone LOVED it. Very easy to make. I served it with a ceaser salad. The chicken was the perfect golden brown and the sauce was so flavorful. Definitely will be making again.
Karina says
I’m so happy to hear that Liza!
Diane says
Can you bake this in the oven? I am having 12 people over for dinner and want to make this.
Matia says
Can I please have the recipe for the “with cream” version shown in the video?
Karina says
Hi Matia. Please read the notes 🙂
Beth Livingston says
Recipe gets 5 stars. Easy and delicious. I don’t eat pasta so I served over a bed of crisp romaine leaves with a bit of Caesar dressing. Thank you!
Karina says
YUM Beth! I love that serving suggestion!!!
Nicole Demers says
Amazing recipe !!, will definitely make it again. A bit too salty though, since the Parmesan cheese is already salty. Also in your ingredient list for the sauce you have 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning as optional but in the instructions for the sauce there’s no mention of putting the Italian seasoning (which I did anyways when preparing the sauce), 1 teaspoon would be enough rather than 2 or I may try putting the extra teaspoon with the flour and cheese mixture, and as mentioned in other comments a splash of vino sounds delish ….. and the basil at the end just adds that much more flavor. Again amazing recipe, loved it – a definite keeper.
Nicole
Thurrayah says
I made this recipe last night and served it with couscous, it was so delicious and enjoyed by all,big and small. I used the grated parmesan for the chicken and the sauce and also used cream and milk and added the mazena, really tastey thank you
Lisa says
I was so proud of myself for making this dish all the way down to the very end…when I added evaporator milk in the Parmisian cheese but it didn’t melt. Just soaked up the milk. What am I doing wrong?
Samantha says
Someone mentioned adding white wine- interested in trying, how would you suggest doing so?
Staci says
I would deglaze the pan with it after cooking the chicken, and then continue with the recipe.
Robin says
This dish was so amazing!! Even pleased my super picky son who doesn’t like tomatoes or mushrooms. Definitely will make again!!
Jolene says
Simple and delicious! Love your website!!
Neil Roach says
Thank you for your amazing recipes Karina. I used to have trouble getting my son to visit with his very busy work schedule but as soon as I tell him i’m making a dish like this he makes the time to visit. I also have to make more and freeze it for him so he can take them to work to eat in his lunch hour (he’s the envy of his work colleagues who believe his dad is a master chef and want him to take them food in). Thank you once again for some amazing recipes, you are a godsend to this old fart who found his kitchen later on in life.
Elizabeth says
Everyone in my familynsaid it was def. Restaurant quality. Very esmast to make and so flavorful. Best meal I had in a ehile. I have been trying different recipes but this is def. One of the ones I will cook more often than not. Look forward to reading and seeing more to come. It was great served over linguine.
Charles C says
OMG!!! Five stars are not enough. Just made this recipe and it is awesome. Even my grandson, the picky eater, loved it. Next time I’ll use 3 chicken breasts so that I have more of this to enjoy. Thanks for sharing.
Lucy says
Absolutely delicious. Our whole family loved it. Will become a regular dish on the menu.
Lori Crowson says
Planning to make this tomorrow night… Wondering how the sodium is so very high?
Angela S. says
This recipe is amazing!!! Thank you!!! I will add spinach the next time 🙂 Hubby said it was so good that he forgot about the fact that I forgot the garlic bread lol
Lisa Ellis says
This was delicious and so easy to make! Definitely a hit in our house and everybody ate it without any complaints. Will definitely make again, it’s our new favourite!
Melissa says
Wow thank you for this recipe .. omg it was sensational hubby an I felt like we were at a restaurant eating dinner not sitting at home ? Delicious will definitely be cooking again .
Nancy says
I made this last night for my family and it was loved by all. I added pine nuts and spinach. Because of our love of pasta I put some orzo pasta on the bottom of the bowl first. 10 stars for me
Mike says
Amazing food! We had this last night for dinner, and everyone ate it all! My 5-year-old, and our live-in grandmother (88) ate all of it also! I made some Garlic & cheddar biscuits to accompany this awesome meal. I’ll keep looking for more!
Karina says
YUM!! Love it Mike!
Karrie says
I would like to know what the serving size amount is.
Molly says
Ok I think we all agree this is AMAZING. Now seriously, what wine should I pair with it??
krista says
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It tasted so yummy and your recipe is perfectly measured! I didn’t feel to guilty eating it either —
Lindsey says
This recipe is amazing. It was really easy to make and we loved it. The sun dried tomatoes really make it delicious.
Latoya says
Made this tonight and it was amazing!!!! Used diced tomatoes and added fresh spinach and shrimp. This recipe is a Def keeper!!
bill martin says
best chicken ever
Anne says
This looks delicious. Pinning
Jenn says
Sounds delish and has great reviews. I’ll be converting this to LCHF to fit my needs 🙂
Mario Calvillo says
So easy and so exquisite!
Vanessa says
I made this tonight (served with egg pasta and broccolini) and everyone said it was amazing! I doubled the recipe and used 1 part cream and 1 part milk, so didn’t need any cornflour to thicken it. Next time I will use chicken tenderloins instead of breast fillets, increase the quantity of mushrooms, add a splash of white wine, and a couple of handfuls of pitted Kalamata olives, maybe some spinach too. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Stephanie says
I used coconut milk and added fresh grated ginger and lime juice. It was fantastic!!!
This ones a keeper.
Candy says
Just cooked this for dinner and it is YUMMY, and was easy to make. This is a keeper,
liz richards says
Brilliant recipe and so easy to make a vegan version too. Substitute the chicken for large portabello mushrooms and use a non dairy cream and Parmesan… delicious!!
Daniele says
Sara, if you can only find dry sun dried tomatoes in a bag that are affordable just put them in a jar with olive oil and leave them for a few days and then you have your own!
Linda S. says
Hi! What is the source of all the sugar gms.? Thank you!
Dan says
I made this for my wife tonight it was great! I did add baby spinach, artichokes, and white wine. I hope I didn’t overdo it but it was very tasty.
Marla says
Hi! Just discovered your blog. This recipe looks DELISH!! I am hoping to have friends over for dinner soon who can’t have any gluten. I am nervous about cooking for them because of this and have been putting off entertaining them for awhile now. Am I correct to understand that this recipe is gluten free? Are any of your other main dish recipes gluten free? Thank you!!
Sara says
I’m making this for the second time and just wanted to stop in and comment on its deliciousness!! I think it was my 13 year old daughter’s favorite thing I’ve ever made. It tastes like something from a restaurant. My husband abhors mushrooms so I will keep making this when he’s out of town! I don’t want to omit them, wouldn’t be the same. Unfortunately a jar of sun dried tomatoes is $4 though-ugghh. I saw a bag of sun dried tomatoes yesterday at the store for cheaper but of course there was no oil so I bypassed those for this recipe. Anyway, thanks for the easy one pot delicious recipe!!
Jennifer says
This was flat-out delicious- thumbs up from my teenaged boys and husband which is a rare compliment. Served it with rice this time around; will try with penne. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Karina says
Jennifer you’re welcome! I’m so HAPPY to read this!!! It IS rare. I think all husbands and teenagers are the same lol!
Julie says
I made this the other night and was not disappointed. It has amazing flavor and was very easy to make. It’s definitely going to be something I make for years to come. I’m not even big on chicken. I find the taste to be weird most of the time but his is amazing. I made the mistake of not using as many mushrooms but they seemed to outnumber the tomatoes and of course they shrunk down lol. I definitely recommend that everyone use the oil from the tomatoes. It tasted amazing.
Natalie says
Hi just stumbled upon your site and I am addicted!! For this recipe the parmesan cheese, I live in Jamaica and good cheese is hard to come by. Could I use the parmesan that comes in the containers or just skip it all together?
Kylie says
Hi – I am making this for a potluck and was wondering if after I pan fry the chicken breasts, make the sauce separately and then cook it to finish it off in the oven. I am feeding 14 guests and don’t have a pan big enough to cook all my chicken breasts on my stove stove top. If so, for how long and at what temperature please?
Lindsay says
I made this recipe for my family and I have 4 kids and a picky husband they all loved it. I did use the whipping cream instead of the milk and it was just to die for. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Debi says
Googled Parmesan Chicken and found this recipe – WOW! I didn’t have any mushrooms, unfortunately, and us.ed the oven roasted tomatoes I had made and this is SO good! I can’t wait to make it with mushrooms. Will definitely be keeping this recipe. Thank you so much for this one!
kym says
this was very good and simple! I chopped my SDT a bit but that is all i changed! Love creamy sauces but hate all the butter and heavy cream. this sauce was rich and the perfect constancy, i did add the corn starch. Not runny at all! thank you! you should have your own cooking show, move over pioneer women, it not too hard to make good food when you add tons of heavy cream and butter to everything like she does! but what you did is a gift!
Karina says
Hi Kym! Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback! Wow! I’m SO happy you loved this! It’s a family favourite here too. And I agree about the heavy creams. It’s absolutely not needed to get the same texture and consistency!
Nema says
This is a great recipe! Love, love it and is so easy too. Will be using your recipes frequently! Thank you very much for all recipes, I love cooking and trying new ideas!
Fred says
Made this and I am eating it right now. It is amazing!!!
Kelly | Maverick Baking says
Hi Karina! I tried this out last week and myself and my family loved it. So creamy and tasty that it’s hard to believe it’s so light! Thanks for another great recipe.
Vicci | It's Cheat Day Everyday says
I absolutely LOVE the fact that this recipe does not include any cream – great way to cut back on some calories! This looks absolutely delish. Pinned for later 🙂
Kristen says
Just made this delicious recipe – fantastic!! My husband and I loved it. I also appreciate the few ingredients you need to make it. I served it was angel hair pasta. It will be a new favorite for sure.
Beverley says
delicious and so easy to make, I love this creamy recipe. I have been following your blog for a long and have never been disappointed by any of your recipes , thank you xoxo
SueAnn says
OH MY WORD, this is sooo good! (and really very easy, its a very fancy looking and tasting dish and I cant wait to make it for company! SO good)
Thank you, I just LOVE your site!
Fiona says
Tried this last night, loved it, going to make this recipe again.
ND says
Rambled across this recipe yesterday and decided to make it for dinner tonight. I used brown rice flour and almond milk and it turned out great. The whole family liked it, even my son who’s a very picky eater. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation. Thanks!
Debbie says
Just made this delish chicken dish! It’s a keeper!
Ree says
My daughter clued me into your site and right off the bat I see “Creamy Sundried Tomato Chicken Parm – with NO cream. You rock Karina–can’t wait to try it and so many others that look mouth-watering deeeelicious.
Malika says
I just made this for dinner and when I read milk instead of cream I was sceptical about it to be honest. To anyone reading this MAKE IT! I didn’t even miss heavy cream and I love creamy sauces. I must tell you that you are a genius Karina. So much flavor in this chicken I couldn’t stop at one piece. We served it over brown rice and it was one of the best chicken dinners we’ve tried. Like a restaurant! You should open one!
Sue@frugalgifts2give says
My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures!! I’m definitely making this dish! Thanks for sharing!
Enpress says
This looks so good I want to try it but I only have a Mexican cheese blend can I use that or will it mess up the flavor?
Karina says
Hi Enpress! You can definitely try it? It will take on a hint of what the cheese blend tastes like! It’s equally good without cheese also 🙂
Le Morris says
Hi Karina, I must tell you how much I love all the delicious recipes. I just became a follower a few weeks ago and already made 4 delicious dishes. You are amazing and I really do love Cafe Delites healthy eating very much. Thank you!!
Le
Alida @ Simply Delicious says
This chicken looks so amazing Karina! That sauce! I could bathe in it!
Margaret Ann @ MAK and Her Cheese says
Love this! Simple milk really does go a long way. I’ve been making creamy sauces for years with a milk/cornstarch base and would never think about adding heavy cream! This dish looks fabulous; beautiful photos, as always 🙂
– MAK
Karina says
Thank you Margaret Ann!