My Creamy Tuscan Chicken is a delicious low-carb meal that takes less than 40 minutes from start to finish! Made with juicy chicken thighs, sundried tomatoes, spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream, it is a perfect skillet recipe to whip up on any night. Oh and check the post for a dairy-free option!

What Is Tuscan Chicken?

If you’ve never had Tuscan Chicken friends, you are missing out. This easy main dish recipe is so flavorful and goes well with many different sides.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken usually consists of spinach, some sun-dried tomatoes, and of course chicken. All this is cooked in a rich and creamy sauce that takes the dish to the next level. 

The creamy sauce has a deep and savory flavor that pairs well with the earthiness of the spinach and the sharp bite of the sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a satisfying meal made in one skillet that is easy and fairly quick.

Making Low Carb Creamy Tuscan Chicken

With just a few ingredients and minimal prep time, this recipe will be the perfect meal for any busy weeknight.

This quick and easy skillet dish is perfect for the novice cook or busy Mom. 

Should I Use Dark or White Meat Chicken?

This recipe can be made with the dark or white meat of the chicken, it just comes down to preference and what you have on hand at the time of cooking this meal.

My family prefers chicken thighs because they are more flavorful and they are much more forgiving in cooking than the white meat of the chicken can be.

The chicken thighs I like to use are the boneless and skinless variety because they present better in the dish and they also cook much faster off the bone, making this meal a faster option on busy nights.

They are going to be more expensive than the chicken thighs that are on the bone, so if you need to stay on a budget and save some money, by all means, use the full chicken thighs.

You’ll just need to spend a little extra time cooking the thighs in the first step to make sure they hit the eternal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you are more of a white meat fan, then chicken breast can be a delicious option as well. I would suggest using chicken breasts that are sliced thinner like cutlets so they are easier to cook and serve.

Again these thinner cutlets tend to be a little more expensive than boneless and skinless breast meat, so an option is to buy the larger ones and slice them thin yourself.

If you go this round two or three largest chicken breasts sliced into several thinner pieces would be enough for this recipe.

One thing is for sure, whether you choose white meat or dark meat as I use in this recipe, you are going to love this easy main course recipe!

What To Serve With Low-Carb Tuscan Chicken

Now that you have a delicious new idea for a chicken recipe you’ll probably need some ideas on what to serve this Low Carb Creamy Tuscan Chicken with, right?

Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered for you too. Check out the delicious list of sides and ways you can serve this amazing chicken recipe.

• Asparagus adds a great fresh option to serve along with this creamy recipe. I love to roast min in the oven and leave them slightly crisp. It’s a nice healthy veggies side with a great texture. 
• A Fresh Salad with nice green leafy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and your favorite dressing would also be a healthy option for this rich and creamy chicken recipe.
• Creamy Mashed Cauliflower offers a delightfully cream base that you can serve this dish over, with a bonus of another healthy veggie added to your plate. The mashed cauliflower pairs beautifully with the savory and salty notes of this Tuscan Chicken.
• Your Favorite Low Carb Rice Alternative is also a great bed to serve this chicken recipe over. There are so many options out there these days like Palmini Riced Heart of Palm, Konjac Rice, and of course the stand-by Cauliflower rice. All of these are a delicious vehicle for the creamy sauce. A tip for cooking these rice alternatives is to make sure they are as dry as possible and then stir-fry them in a very hot pan with just a touch of oil. You want to make sure you get all the extra water out of these so you have a much better texture of “rice”.
• A Good Carb Noodle is my family’s favorite way to enjoy this Tuscan Chicken Recipe. There are so many different types of noodles these days that low carbers can enjoy as pasta. The ones you see in the pictures in this blog post are the konjac type of noodles that are all fiber so practically no carbs at all. But you can use the heart of palm noodles, maybe some Lupeni Bean noodles if you aren’t allergic to peanuts, or even regular pasta if you are not needing to keep this dish gluten-free or low-carb.
• And if that isn’t enough I have a whole post dedicated to some amazing side dishes you can look through and pair with this Creamy Tuscan Chicken. So check out these tasty Summer Side Dishes. They may say summer but you can find some for any season in that list.

How To Make Dairy-Free Creamy Tuscan Chicken

I know many of my readers come here to the blog to find some delicious dairy-free recipes and that’s why I’ve also tried this recipe with dairy-free ingredients.

The recipe is just as delicious and easy, so you won’t miss out on any of those good things when you opt to make this recipe without a diary.

Since this recipe only has two dairy components, the heavy cream, and the parmesan cheese, it was easy for me to make those swaps to dairy-free ingredients. I hope it helps you enjoy this recipe as well.

It may be an easy guess here when it comes to what I used to replace the heavy whipping cream, but for those that are newer to dairy-free or low-carb, I’ll go ahead and let you know.

I used plant-based milk like almond milk to replace the cream. If you have a nut allergy you can leave this out or use soy or oat milk depending on which one meets your dietary needs.

I know what you are thinking, almond milk will not make recipes as creamy as a real heavy cream would, and you are completely correct.

But I’ve got a solution that will give you a creamy sauce using almond milk that you may have not seen coming.

It’s plant-based cream cheese! Here me out here, there are so many delicious plant-based cream cheese options out there that our family uses from time to time and it works great to give this Creamy Tuscan Chicken the richness the cause needs that the almond milk may lack a little.

I have tried many brands of plant-based cream cheese but my favorites are Kite Hill, Miyoko’s, and Violife. These brands have the best consistency and flavor to me and are not filled with many bad ingredients.

The great thing about these brands is that they can be found at big stores like Walmart and Kroger around the United States, so they are much easier to find now.

How To Make The Dairy Free Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Now that we have our two easy ingredient swaps we are good to make our Tuscan Chicken, and thankfully changing the ingredients a bit does not affect the cooking time, so this recipe is just as quick and easy.

All you need to do is follow the recipe card below up until the point where you add the chicken stock, heavy cream, and parmesan.

Instead, you’ll add in the almond milk in the same amount as the cream called for and 4 ounces of plant-based cream cheese and stir around until the cream cheese is fully melted into the sauce.

Then you’ll be ready for the step of tasting the sauce for any additional seasonion you may want to add and simmering the chicken thighs in the sauce.

See, simple swaps still equals a simple yet delicious meal! Oh and if you want to sprinkle on some dairy-free parmesan cheese then by all means friend sprinkle away!

Yield: 4-5 Servings

Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

This low-carb Creamy Tuscan Chicken is a delicious main dish that features juicy chicken thighs, fresh spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes all cooked in a creamy rich sauce.

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Ingredients

• 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 3-4 sun dried tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil for cooking

Dairy Free Options

• 4 ounces of plant base cream cheese
• 1/3 cup of plant based milk like almond

Instructions

1. To begin mix all the seasonings in a small bowl. Lay the chicken out and season well on both sides.
2. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. When the skillet is hot place the chicken thighs into the skillet and cook on both sides until they are golden brown.
3. Once the chicken is golden brown and has reached an eternal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit remove it from the skillet and let it rest.
4. Add the spinach and slices of sundried tomatoes to the same skillet and cook until the spinach is wilted.
5. Add in the chicken stock, parmesan cheese, and the heavy cream to the spinach and tomatoes. If using dairy-free ingredients add them in this stage. Stir to combine. (See the blog post for more information on dairy-free options).
6. If you want to thicken the sauce a little at this point you can add in the option low carb thickener of your choice. I choose not to thicken mine.
7. At this point you can taste the sauce and add any additional seasoning you feel it needs before adding the chicken thighs back into the skillet.
8. Let the chicken cook in the sauce on a very low simmer for about 10 minutes then it is ready to serve.

Notes

If you would like to reduce the carbs even further you can reduce the amount of sundried tomatoes or leave them out entirely. The oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes is a great way to impart flavor but not the carbs from the tomatoes themselves. If you would like to enjoy this recipe dairy-free, please see the blog post right above the recipe card.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

2 thighs and sauce
Amount Per ServingCalories 549Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 21gCholesterol 299mgSodium 1117mgCarbohydrates 5gNet Carbohydrates 4gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 59g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

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Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!