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This Creamy Italian Chicken recipe is a simple and easy meal to make that’s quick, rich, full of flavor, and delicious. This is a perfect weeknight recipe that the entire family will enjoy.
You may also love my Mediterranean Chicken Skillet and my creamy chicken and broccoli skillet.
This Creamy Italian chicken is so good, it will be right up your alley. They are made with chicken thighs with the skin left on for added fat for those who need high-fat meals. You may either leave the skin out or use boneless and skinless chicken breasts instead. Made in a creamy garlic parmesan sauce with baby spinach and cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients needed
Below is a list of ingredients you will need to make this dish. Full measurements are listed further down below in the recipe card.
- Chicken thighs, skin on, or skinless chicken breasts
- Olive Oil: or avocado oil
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
- Garlic Cloves, minced: Use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.
- Dried Basil
- Heavy Cream: For those who are looking for a high-fat and low-carb meal, heavy cream is a nice option. Otherwise, you can swap it with coconut milk, in cans.
- Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Baby Spinach: I used fresh, but you can use frozen. Thaw and squeeze out the liquid.
How to make Creamy Italian Chicken
- Prep chicken: Prep chicken. Remove skin if you prefer during this step. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear Chicken: Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Sear chicken until nicely browned on both sides, but not completely cooked.
- Cook: Add garlic, basil, and heavy cream and continue to cook on low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and spinach and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until spinach is wilted and everything is hot and bubbly.
- Garnish and serve: Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and salt.
Common Questions
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container and place it in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat, either use the microwave or add it to a skillet with a splash of water, milk, or broth and allow it to reheat over medium heat.
You can use chicken breasts, shrimp, or salmon. For a vegetarian option, you may use tofu.
Yes. You can use frozen spinach. Thaw and squeeze out the liquid before using. You can use kale instead of spinach as well.
You can use coconut cream, coconut milk (in cans), or one cup of milk with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
More chicken recipes
- Mexican Grilled Chicken Bowl
- Grilled Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Skillet With Asparagus
- Mediterranean Chicken
- Easy Chicken Fajita Bowl
- Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt
What to serve it with
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Honey Balsamic Grilled Zucchini
- Garlic Butter Mashed Cauliflower
- Baked Hasselback Potatoes
Thanks for stopping by. If you try a recipe and you like it, leave me some feedback in the comment section below, and don’t forget to rate it!
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Creamy Italian Chicken Skillet
Video
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Chicken thighs, skin on, or skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, or avocado oil
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream, or coconut milk in cans
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- ⅓ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 2 Cups Baby Spinach
Instructions
- Season the 1.5 pounds Chicken thighs, skin on, generously with Sea salt and pepper
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive Oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Sear the chicken until nicely browned on both sides, but not completely cooked.
- Add 3-4 Garlic Cloves, 1 teaspoon Dried Basil, and 1 Cup Heavy Cream, and continue to cook on low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, ⅓ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, and 2 Cups Baby Spinach and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until spinach is wilted and everything is hot and bubbly.
- Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and salt.
Notes
- Using boneless and skinless chicken breasts will bring the calories down to 480 per serving
- Each Serving is 2 thighs
- This easily makes 5 servings. Nutrition facts are based on 4 servings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was a hit with everyone in my family. We loved it!
Amazing. So glad
This is one of my go-to Keto recipes. So delicious and easy to customize for other non-Keto family members by including pasta on the side. I use skinless chicken breasts instead as I like the texture better than that of thighs.
Haven’t made this yet but looking to make this tonight, just a quick question.. I can see it says the nutrition information is based on 4 servings.. so that’s 8 chicken thighs?
Looking forward to making this 🙂
Yes. each serving is 2 thighs
This is such a tasty dish. I however omit tomatoes and add red bell peppers.
Thank you for the great feedback
My husband is doing the keto and I am supporting him 100%. This recipe is absolutely delicious I added a few more seasoning and it’s delicious either way would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone definitely making it again
can i change the heavy cream for coconut cream?
Yes you can
My fiancé is in his first week of Keto and I have become his personal chef. Eye roll. Lol. I am a small girl with a hyperactive thyroid so keto was not a good fit for him and I both but BOY was this recipe ??!!!!! I used fatty thighs for him and threw in a skinless breast for me. we were racing to the last spoon of sauce! Thank you for posting!! It’s now our new favorite!!!
This is awesome! So glad you guys loved it.
Being new to the keto lifestyle this was a game changer for my boyfriend and I. We have tried so many recipes that turned out to not be flavorful which is always disappointing, happy to mention that this recipe was FULL of amazing flavors. I used the rest of the sauce to pour over my broccoli yum!!!!
Thanks for the feedback!
This is a family fave! Made this two weeks back to back. Another super easy dinner to cook on a busy week night. I use chicken breast and it was delicious!
So glad you loved it.