Crockpot Tuscan Chicken

This right here is a winner, winner Chicken dinner!! This is just ❤️

When I first cooked Crockpot Tuscan Chicken, it was a game-changer. The creamy, garlicky Parmesan sauce with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes took me by surprise with its incredible flavor. What’s amazing is how easy it is to put together, perfect for busy weeknights but classy enough for entertaining guests. Trust me, once you try this dish, you’ll understand why it’s become a go-to in my kitchen!

Tuscan chicken might not be from Italy, but was created much closer to you. It’s the brainchild of Olive Garden and became very popular, as people fell in love with the beautiful combination of ingredients and colors in this dish.

It has classic Italian flavors in the form of sun dried tomatoes, plenty of parmesan and bright green spinach. Red, white and green… the tricolor of the Italian flag!

Today I am making this in the crockpot instead of stove top. I want the chicken to slow cook in the sauce for a long time to create a beautiful delicious sauce, almost like liquid gold, with the end result of fall off the bone tender meat.

I like the fact that once the chicken and sauce goes in the crock, I am completely free to do whatever I want, as it doesn’t require active hands-on attention.

On extremely lazy days, I actually plop all the ingredients straight into the crock and still end up with mighty good Tuscan chicken. If you want some good color and added flavors, you need to prep the chicken and make a quick sauce before dumping everything in for slow cooking.

I personally don’t mind a few minutes of prepping the ingredients if the end result is like the following picture. What do you say?

What cut of chicken to use

For Tuscan chicken, any chicken part works, but in my experience, dark meat is best for slow cooking. I prefer boneless, skinless thighs, they’re perfect for the crockpot. They turn out tender and packed with flavor. I can see bone-in, skinless thighs working very well here also.

Ingredients Needed

• Chicken
• Garlic
• Butter
• Cream
• Chicken stock (optional)
• Parmesan cheese
• Sun dried tomatoes – Diced or cut into strips.
• Spinach
• Herbs and spices – Italian seasoning, chili flakes, freshly cracked black pepper, salt

How to Make Crockpot Tuscan Chicken

First, I season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and chili flakes (the flakes are optional, but add a nice punch of flavor).

Then, I heat up some oil or butter in a skillet or cast iron pan. Once it’s hot, I sear the chicken for about 5-6 minutes on one side until it gets a nice golden color, then flip and sear for another 3-4 minutes. After that, I transfer the seared chicken thighs into the crockpot.

Lazy day tip 1: I sear the chicken mainly for the color, and browning the meat adds tons of flavor to the end result. I understand completely if some days you just want to place your chicken thighs straight in the crock after seasoning.

Now making the quick parmesan cream sauce…

In a pan, I melt some butter and sauté garlic for about 30-40 seconds until it’s fragrant. Then, I pour in cream and chicken stock (or extra cream if you don’t have stock) and stir for 3-4 minutes.

Next, I add Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning, cooking for another couple of minutes until everything is creamy and well combined.

Finally, I toss in the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for just a minute to let their flavors meld with the sauce. That’s it.

Once the sauce is ready, I pour it over the chicken thighs in the crockpot, making sure they’re fully coated. Then, I cover the crockpot and let everything cook.

Lazy day tip 2: I mix cream, melted butter, garlic, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, parm cheese and sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and pour it all over the chicken.

Lazy day tip 3: Instead of making the sauce at home, you can use store bought alfredo sauce along with sun dried tomatoes. Sometimes you just need quick hacks to make life that much easier… I totally get you 🙂

I cover and cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW. When the chicken is tender and cooked, I stir in spinach and cover and cook till it’s wilted. That’s it!!

When you open the lid, you will be greeted by a meal that’s not only delicious, but also pretty looking. It’s amazing that just a few simple ingredients can create such a flavor bomb.

Variations

1. When I am searing the meat, I sprinkle some Cajun or Creole seasoning on the chicken. Or even my Montreal steak seasoning. Great flavors.
2. Some days I add in extra ingredients like artichoke hearts, capers, roasted peppers or mushrooms.
3. Stir in some white wine when you are making the sauce.
4. Instead of parmesan, I also try different cheeses like provolone or mozzarella. Cream cheese can give you an even creamier dish.

Can I make It on stove top?

Of course, in about 30 -40 minutes. After the initial steps of seasoning and searing the chicken, I’ll plate it out and then use the same pan to whip up that creamy Parmesan sauce we talked about earlier.

Once the sauce is ready, I’ll return the chicken back into the pan, cover it up, and let it cook for about 20-30 minutes until it’s cooked through and tender.

Finally, I’ll stir in some spinach and let it cook until it wilts. Simple!

How about Instant Pot?

First, I season chicken with salt, pepper and red chili flakes.

To prepare Tuscan chicken in the Instant Pot, start by heating it up using the SAUTE mode. Once it’s hot, add oil and butter. When the butter is melted, sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown. Then, plate it out.

In the same Instant Pot, add more butter and sauté garlic for 30-40 seconds. Pour in cream and chicken stock (or extra cream if you don’t have stock), stirring for 3-4 minutes.

Next, add Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning, cooking for another couple of minutes until the sauce is creamy and well combined. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for a minute.

Return the chicken back into the sauce. Seal the lid and cook on HIGH pressure for 5 minutes, then allow for a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes.

Once done, put the Instant Pot back on SAUTE mode. Stir in spinach and cook until it wilts.

Serving Suggestions

1. This chicken is so keto friendly and carb less. You can keep it keto and have it over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
2. It’s called Tuscan chicken, so pairing it with some kind of pasta seems obvious. I like penne, bowties, spaghetti, or tricolor tortellini. You can serve it over the cooked pasta or mix the pasta straight in the crock.
3. It’s yum over a bed of mashed potatoes.
4. Try it with some nice crusty bread, like my no knead bread.

So guys, if you haven’t made this Tuscan chicken yet you are soo missing out on greatness! Tonight is the night to treat yourself to this fabulous and easy chicken dish drenched in the most amazing sauce.

While you’re here, check out my roundups of the best Spinach Recipes and best Mediterranean Recipes.

Let me tell ya again… this is a winner, winner Chicken Dinner!

Crock Pot Tuscan Chicken, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Try these other great recipe in your Crock Pot!
Barbacoa Pork
Crack Chicken
Islander Pork
Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken
Guinness Beef Stew
Meaty Cabbage Soup
Dublin Coddle
Crockpot Greek Chicken

Crockpot Tuscan Chicken

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes

My Crockpot Tuscan Chicken is drenched in a creamy sauce loaded with great Mediterranean flavors. It's one easy and delicious make ahead weeknight dinner!

Print

Ingredients

• 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 Tbsp butter, divided
• 1.5 cup cream
• ½ cup chicken stock (optional)
• ¾ to 1 cup parmesan cheese
• ½ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped or cut into strips
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 3-4 cups spinach, packed
• ½ tsp red chili flakes
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 Tbsp oil

Instructions

Crock Pot Method

1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, red chili flakes. Heat oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a pan on medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes. Flip and cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side. Transfer them to crockpot.
2. In the same pan, add in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter. Add in garlic and sauté for 30-40 seconds. Add in cream and chicken stock and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning and cook for a minute. Add in sun dried tomatoes and cook for a minute.
3. Pour the sauce over chicken in the crock pot. Spread well. Cover and cook 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW.
4. Once the chicken is tender and cooked, stirred in spinach leaves and mix well with the sauce. Cover and cook till wilted.

Instant Pot Method

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper and red chili flakes.
2. Heat up the instant pot using SAUTE mode. Wait till it's hot then add in oil and butter. Once butter is melted, add chicken and sear on both sides. Plate it out.
3. Heat more butter then add garlic and sauté for 30-40 seconds. Add in cream along with chicken stock. If you don’t have chicken stalk, just increase the amount of cream. Stir it for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add in parmesan cheese along with Italian seasoning and cook for another couple of minutes. Add in sundried tomatoes and cook for a minute.
5. Return the chicken back into the sauce. Seal the lid and cook on HIGH pressure for 5minutes, then natural release pressure for 10 minutes and remove lid.
6. Put instant pot back on SAUTE mode. Stir in spinach and cook until it is wilted.
   

Notes

1. If you don't feel like cooking sauce in pan, mix cream, melted butter, garlic, chicken stalk, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes in a bowl, then pour it over the chicken.
2. You can skip the searing the chicken and add raw chicken directly to the crock, though searing the chicken increases the flavor tremendously.
3. Leftovers: This is great in an airtight container for 3 days in your refrigerator.

Nutrition Information

Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 592Total Fat 45gSaturated Fat 23gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 276mgSodium 585mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 43g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.