Easy One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Easy One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Easy One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken Dinner is the perfect weeknight meal when you are short on time. A hearty and delicious meal, this creamy chicken skillet meal is super fast and super tasty. Best of all, it is a one pan recipe that means less to clean up. Tender chicken, white beans, and baby spinach are cooked in a flavorful creamy tomato sauce. This easy chicken dish will quickly become a new family favorite.
Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try
Quick and easy: If you’re looking for an easy skillet chicken recipe look no further. With simple directions – think no special techniques – this easy chicken dinner is accessible to even the most inexperienced cook. Toss everything into a pan, heat it through, and you have a 30 minute meal. Replace the chicken breast with rotisserie chicken and you’ll be ready to dig in even faster!
Flavor: Tender chicken breast, white beans,spinach, and Parmesan smothered in a delicious creamy sauce bring all your favorite flavors together in one dish.
Easy clean up: as a one-skillet meal, the entire dish comes together in one pan. No excess dishes to wash is a true dinner time treat!
Recipe Ingredients
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 15.5 oz can of great northern beans
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 pkg baby spinach (6 oz)
salt
Ingredient Notes
Thin-sliced chicken breast is always a plus as it saves time. See Tips & Tricks for how to prepare them yourself.
Looking to decrease your cooking time even more? You can replace the chicken breast with rotisserie chicken. Simply shred the chicken to yield about 3 cups.
I used great northern beans in my dish but you can also use cannellini beans. While the two beans are similar, cannellini has a slightly bolder taste. They work particularly well in dishes like soups, stews, and – you guessed it – a creamy one skillet dish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Because this dish comes together so quickly, it is a good idea to prep everything in advance. That means cutting the chicken into strips, draining and rinsing the beans, opening the tomatoes, and washing the spinach.
2. Slice the chicken breast into about 1/2 inch strips.
3. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.
4. Add the chicken to the hot skillet and lightly salt.
5. Cook the chicken stirring and flipping the pieces until cooked through, about 5 minutes. You can add an additional tablespoon of olive oil if you feel the pan is too dry.
6. Carefully add the undrained tomatoes, the beans, and the oregano.
7. Stir the mixture and allow it to heat, about four minutes.
8. Slowly pour in the heavy cream in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Stirring the cream this way will keep it from curdling.
9. Stir in 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
10. Let the whole thing heat over medium heat for about four minutes.
11. Pour the spinach over the top and cover. There will be a big pile of spinach, but it cooks and reduces pretty quickly.
12. Let the spinach completely wilt, about five minutes. As most of the leaves shrink down, stir everything together one last time.
13. Add salt to taste.
Winner winner chicken dinner, a meal your whole family will love!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 3 days.
Tips & Tricks
Ideally, you want to use thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets in this recipe, but those can be expensive or even hard to find. I slice my own by placing the breasts on a flat surface and VERY CAREFULLY slicing them horizontally using a long, sharp knife. I place my hand on the top and work very slowly, concentrating on keeping the knife straight through the middle. REMEMBER: YOU MUST BE CAREFUL. It is easy to lift the knife up and slice your hand, so you must work slowly, carefully, and attentively.
Afraid of hurting yourself? You can also place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and whack them with a meat mallet, working from one end to the other.
Rotisserie chicken is a great option for this dish. I like to remove the meat from the chicken as soon as I buy it (Who has room for that in the fridge?) and store it in an airtight container. Take out 3 cups for this meal and combine it with the beans, tomato, and oregano cooking until heated through.
FAQs
Can I use other cuts of chicken in this recipe?
You can use boneless thighs in this recipe. Thighs are a particularly flavorful cut of meat, so they can be a great choice for a chicken meal. If you want to use chicken thighs, I recommend cutting them into chunks. Cook them in olive oil heated in a deep skillet. Lightly salt the chicken and cook over medium high heat stirring and flipping over the piece regularly until cooked through. Chicken thighs are cooked at an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Once the chicken is cooked, follow the recipe as written.
Do you need a side dish with this meal?
I would say not because of the beans and the spinach. It really easy a one pot meal. That said, I knew my husband would be looking for something else, so I made some creamy rice. You could also serve it with a green salad and some crusty bread.
If you loved this recipe, why not try another super quick and easy chicken meal? This Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken
Easy One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 lb thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 15.5 oz great northern beans
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 pkg baby spinach 6 oz
- salt
Instructions
- Because this dish comes together so quickly, it is a good idea to prep everything in advance. That means cutting the chicken into strips, draining and rinsing the beans, opening the tomatoes, and washing the spinach.
- Slice the chicken breast into about 1/2 inch strips.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken to the hot skillet and lightly salt.
- Cook the chicken stirring and flipping the pieces until cooked through, about 5 minutes. You can add an additional tablespoon of olive oil if you feel the pan is too dry.
- Carefully add the undrained tomatoes, the beans, and the oregano.
- Stir the mixture and allow it to heat, about four minutes.
- Slowly pour in the heavy cream in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Stirring the cream this way will keep it from curdling.
- Stir in 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Let the whole thing heat over medium heat for about four minutes.
- Pour the spinach over the top and cover. There will be a big pile of spinach on top, but it cooks and reduces pretty quickly.
- Let the spinach completely wilt, about five minutes. As most of the leaves shrink down, stir everything together one last time.
- Add salt to taste.
