Name: Creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 Chicken breasts; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1 tsp Italian seasoning; 1/2 tsp garlic; 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper; 1/2 tsp sea salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1/2 c sun dried tomatoes (drained of oil) (chopped); 10 oz. white mushrooms (sliced); 1 c fresh baby spinach (chopped); 3/4 c heavy cream; 1/2 c chicken broth; 2 oz cream cheese (softened); 1 T cornstarch; 2-3 tsp garlic cloves (minced); salt and pepper (as desired); ⅓ c grated parmesan

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This cozy and comforting creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken is a simple take on a classic dish. A dump and bake chicken breast recipe that can be prepped and served in about 30 minutes. A great dish for a simple weeknight meal or a dinner party–perfect for any occasion!

Baked creamy tuscan chicken in pan topped with fresh parsley.

Why You Will Love This Creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken:
Recipe Ingredients:
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Baked Tuscan Chicken Notes and Tips:
Storage Instructions:
What to Serve With Tuscan Chicken:
Other Chicken Recipes:
Creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken Recipe
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Tuscan chicken is always a fan favorite, and it’s very easy to see why. It’s a dish that originated in Tuscany, Italy and it consists of chicken in a rich and creamy parmesan sauce with spinach, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.

This baked version (as opposed to stove top in the skillet) is a simple dump and bake sort of recipe that we love to make for a simple weeknight meal or for a cozy dinner with friends and family. It’s also a great dish to make and deliver to a friend in need, since typically lots of lasagnas and casseroles are sent over in those times.

If you want a stove top chicken dinner, try these Creamy Mushroom Chicken Thighs or White Wine Pan Seared Chicken.

Why You Will Love This Creamy Baked Tuscan Chicken:

It is so simple to make. While making Tuscan chicken stove top is a delicious option, we love making it in the oven to bake it up nice and juicy with minimal effort. All you have to do is season the chicken, add the mushrooms and tomatoes and then whisk the cream sauce ingredients and pour over. Bake and enjoy!
Cozy and comforting. Love some comfort food on a dreary day. This baked Tuscan chicken is all that and more. Also plenty of veggies so I will call this comfort food with a nice nutrition boost.
Easy to prepare ahead of time. You can prepare the chicken and cream sauce in advance, up to 24 hours and then bake before you are ready to eat. I love being able to get it all ready in a few minutes in the morning and then pop it in the oven just before dinner.
Pairs well with so many dishes. Lots of simple dishes you can pair this creamy parmesan sauce covered chicken dish. From your favorite pasta to roasted veggies. We love to serve it with this Pan Fried Gnocchi on the side or a simple side of Air Fryer Broccoli. A dinner salad is great as well!

Baked chicken with cream sauce over top with mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and parsley over top.

Recipe Ingredients:

chicken breasts: about 4 breasts, pounded to even thickness for best results and the most juicy, evenly cooked chicken.
seasoning: garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper. The perfect seasoning for an Italian inspired chicken breast.
sun-dried tomatoes: you want the kind of sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil and seasoned with Italian herbs. Drain the excess oil so the sauce does not become super oily when cooking.
mushrooms: sliced white mushrooms or your favorite kind. If in a pinch, the canned mushrooms can work well too.
heavy cream: heavy cream is ideal for its richness and thick texture to make a good creamy parmesan sauce. I don’t recommend using half and half or milk.
broth: chicken broth for the best addition to the flavor. Use low sodium or no salt added broth to decrease the saltiness.
cream cheese: the cream cheese sets this sauce apart from any others. It may not be a classic ingredient for a Tuscan chicken cream sauce, but the tang and richness it gives the sauce is amazing. Don’t skip it if possible!
parmesan: grated will work best in the sauce. Freshly grated is a great option but not a necessity.
cornstarch: I tried using flour and cornstarch for this baked Tuscan chicken and found that the cornstarch blended much smoother and more easily into the sauce. The flour tended to clump up more easily. If you don’t have cornstarch to help thicken the sauce, then know that flour is still an option!
garlic: for the sauce, freshly minced garlic is a great option, however if you don’t have any, you can use 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Salt and pepper: to your liking, adjust at the end to taste.
spinach: freshly chopped baby spinach is recommended

Step-By-Step Instructions:

Prepare the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a large plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin or heavy wooden spoon, pound the chicken to an even thickness. About 1/2 to 3/4 inch is a good thickness to aim for. Place the chicken in an oil sprayed 9×13 inch baking pan. Season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper. Arrange the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms around the chicken in the pan.

Make the cream sauce. Add the broth and corn starch to a small bowl and whisk well until cornstarch is completely smooth and blended in. Add the cream, cream cheese, garlic, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Add the parmesan and stir. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken and ingredients in the baking pan.

Chicken breast in plastic bag with rolling pin besied it.

Chicken breast in baking pan with seasoning and mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes surrounding.

Bake the chicken. Bake at 425°F for about 17-20 minutes or until chicken has come close to 165°F internal temperature in the thickest part.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Add the chopped spinach and stir it into the cream sauce allowing it to wilt and the chicken to rest for several minutes.

Once the spinach is wilted, spoon the sauce over top of the chicken to cover completely.and serve as desired!

Spinach chopped and surrounding baked chicken breast in pan.

Baked Tuscan Chicken Notes and Tips:

For the juiciest chicken, pound the breasts out to even thickness. The best tip when cooking chicken breasts is to make sure the thickness is even across all pieces. You can use a rolling pin and easily pound the chicken until even, doesn’t take a ton of effort but well worth the extra step!
Use a meat thermometer for best results. The size and thickness of your chicken breasts can impact cooking time. For best results, test with a digital meat thermometer so that you can pull the chicken out just before it hits 165°F. Resting for several minutes after while the spinach wilts will allow it to come to full temperature and not dry out!
You could use chicken thighs if desired for this recipe. To use chicken thighs, follow directions accordingly but you will need to add about 10 minutes to cook time, possibly a bit more.

Creamy baked Tuscan chicken breast on white plate with pasta and fork.

Storage Instructions:

Store this baked Tuscan chicken in an air tight container for about 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers in the microwave for about 2 to 3 minutes or bake for about 10-12 minutes at 350°F.

To freeze, allow the chicken to cool down completely. Place in a freezer safe, air tight container and cover the chicken as much as you can in the cream sauce. Freeze for up to 3 months.

What to Serve With Tuscan Chicken:

We love serving this Tuscan chicken over a big bed of pasta, like this Lemon Garlic Pasta, but there are plenty of other options as well. If you prefer some cozy potatoes, then Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes are a great option. These Air Fryer Baby Potatoes are great too, just skip the sauce and add a sprinkle of parmesan instead.

My favorite veggie to serve with this chicken is usually Roasted Parmesan Green Beans although you will have to figure out the oven situation since both need to be baked. I often have them leftover in the fridge since we make them so often.

A nice salad is a good choice as well. Pesto Orzo Salad pairs nicely as well as this Spring Green Salad with Burrata.