Baked Tuscan Chicken
This Baked Tuscan Chicken dish is creamy, hearty, and loaded with goodness. From the baby spinach to the sun dried tomatoes, there’s lots going on in this dish, but it’s super simple to make. Load it into a baking dish, pop it in the oven, and feast on fabulousness in no time!
Boneless skinless chicken breasts get a flavor makeover in this easy Baked Tuscan Dish. It’s such an easy recipe, and it tastes so good! The sauce is fabulous, so make sure you have some pasta or rice ready to serve with it.
Baked Tuscan Chicken
All you need for this recipe is a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and ingredients. It all goes into the baking dish – and you can even do this part ahead of time – and then it is baked in the oven until it is saucy, bubbly, and oh-so-good.
This recipe will serve about 8 people, but it’s simple to scale down if you don’t want leftovers. Just cut the recipe in half, and use a smaller baking dish. The leftovers are delicious, and I’ll often make the recipe as it is, so I have another meal for later in the week. [In the photos we cooked 2 whole breasts, that serves 4.]
Why I love this recipe
- It’s so easy – everything goes into the baking dish and then into the oven!
- Everyone loves this dish, and it’s a healthier alternative to pan-frying chicken.
- The flavors are amazing, and there are no hard-to-find ingredients.
Gather these ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- Heavy cream
- Garlic cloves – Minced.
- Cornstarch
- Onion powder
- Chili powder
- Black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Sundried tomatoes – Oil packed; reserve some of the oil.
- Frozen chopped spinach – Thawed and squeezed dry or optional to use fresh spinach!
- Mozzarella cheese – Grated.
- Parmesan cheese – Grated.
- Fresh parsley – Chopped. Optional, but it’s so pretty as a garnish.
How To Make Baked Tuscan Chicken
- Preheat your oven to 400-F.
- Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and tenderize them with a meat mallet or meat tenderizer to pound them out a bit thinner. Sprinkle them with salt.
- Whisk the cream, garlic, cornstarch, onion powder, chili powder, black pepper, and Italian seasoning in a bowl until combined.
- Stir in the sundried tomatoes, squeezed-dry spinach (or fresh chopped) and Parmesan cheese.
- Spread ⅓ of the sauce on the bottom of the 9 x 13 baking dish, and then top with the chicken breasts.
- Pour the remaining sauce around the chicken breasts.
- Drizzle the reserved sundried tomato oil over the top of the casserole, and then add the mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Loosely cover the pan with foil and bake. Uncover during the last 15 minutes of cooking time and remove it from the oven when the chicken reaches 165-F.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve.
Tips & substitutions
- If your chicken breasts are very thick, slice them in half horizontally.
- Depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts, the dish could take a bit more or less cooking time. Check the internal temperature of the chicken with a digital meat thermometer. Chicken is safe to eat at 165-F.
- Optional to use frozen spinach (just make sure and defrost and squeeze the water out), or fresh spinach.
- You can prep this dish ahead of time. Follow the instructions up to the baking, and pop it into the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
- Use an Italian blend cheese instead of mozzarella to give the dish a slightly different flavor.
Serving suggestions
Serve this creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken with pasta or rice to soak up all that yummy sauce. A wedge salad pairs nicely with this meal, or stick with the Italian theme and make an Antipasti Chopped Salad to go with it. Don’t forget about dessert! This Apple Cake is one of my all-time favorites, or serve up a scoop of homemade chocolate ice cream.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Check out these awesome chicken recipes while you’re here
- Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Lemon Basil Chicken Kabobs
- Santa Fe Chicken Foil Packets
- Indian Butter Chicken
Get the Recipe:
Baked Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts, breast halves, tenderized
- 1-2 tsp salt
- Cream Sauce
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped and drained - reserve 1 Tbsp of the oil for the topping
- 6 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (or 1 ½ - 2 cups of fresh spinach)
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and tenderize; sprinkle with salt and set aside.
- Whisk together cream, garlic, corn starch, onion powder, chili powder, black pepper, and Italian seasoning until combined. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and Parmesan cheese. Spread a small amount on the bottom of the 9x13 pan, and then top with the chicken breasts. Pour the remaining sauce around the chicken breasts.
- Drizzle 1 Tbsp of oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes over the top, and then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
- Loosely cover the pan with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes with the loosely covered foil, then uncover and bake additional 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165˚F). The chicken should be done in 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve the chicken immediately with your choice of sides (rice, pasta, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, mashed potatoes, etc:)
- Optional to add fresh chopped parsley.
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Iโm Sandyโlover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
made this tonight, its so amazing! I substituted a can of artichoke hearts for the spinach and samn near drank the sauce!!! wonderful and easy!!
Would be helpful to have the cook temperature in the recipe….