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Tuscan-Style Chicken with Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Garlic Cream Sauce is gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein, and keto-friendly. Perfect when served with asparagus!
I love combining chicken breasts and sun-dried tomatoes, such as in this Mediterranean Chicken with Capers, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes or this Chicken Florentine Bake.
This recipe is no exception. Chicken breasts and bacon combine beautifully with the creamy cheesy sauce made with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, shredded Mozzarella cheese, and cream. So good! The chicken is moist and tender!
This is KETO friendly recipe. Chicken breast is low-carb and high in protein. Bacon is low carb and has a high-fat content. Sun-dried tomato cream sauce is low-carb and high in fat. There are hardly any carbs in this recipe, and it tastes so good - like something you would order from a good restaurant! Enjoy!
Side dishes
What to serve with this Tuscan-style chicken? What would go great with the sun-dried tomato cream sauce? I suggest serving steamed or roasted veggies, such as asparagus and broccoli. Also, cooked spinach or cooked green beans would be great. Below are some KETO-friendly side dish ideas:
- Oven-Roasted Asparagus with Bacon, Garlic, and Asiago cheese
- Spinach Cooked with Garlic and Olive Oil
- Garlic and Bacon Green Beans
- Asiago Roasted Broccoli
- Asiago Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Tuscan-Style Chicken Breasts with Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken Breasts
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 6 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil in a jar
- salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil either from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes, or just use olive oil
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 lb chicken breasts large, halved horizontally (4 chicken breasts)
Cream Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded (not fresh Mozzarella!)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes at least, add more to taste
- 8 strips bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
How to cook chicken breasts in a skillet on stove top:
- Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sautéing as described below:
- In a large pan, on medium heat, saute garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of oil (olive oil or oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Remove sun-dried tomatoes and garlic from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken breasts, halved horizontally, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for color) and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side (or longer) until completely cooked. You might have to cook the chicken covered at some times. Use a meat thermometer and make sure the thickest part of the breast registers 165 °F (74 °C) before removing it from the heat.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and keep it warm.
How to make cream sauce:
- Add 1 cup of heavy cream to the same, now empty, skillet. Add back the cooked sun-dried tomatoes and the garlic. Add basil and crushed red pepper - mix to combine.
- Bring to boil, add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, immediately reduce to simmer, constantly stirring to melt the cheese, until the cheese melts.
- Add 1 cup of milk gradually, whisking until nice and smooth, while on simmer. You might not use all the milk - add just enough to thin out the sauce to your liking.
- Add cooked chicken breasts. Top with crumbled cooked bacon. Reheat until warm.
Video
Notes
- Use pre-shredded Mozzarella cheese labeled as part-skim, low-moisture. It is usually sold pre-shredded or as a block of cheese.
- Do not use fresh Mozzarella, usually sold as large soft balls or a log.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Are the nutrition fact for one breast or the whole meal?
The nutrition facts are per one serving. There are four servings in this recipe.
Just tried this for dinner. WINNER. Adding to our favorites. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that! Thank you! 🙂
Great meal! Thank you
Made this twice in one week. My husband requested it the second time and said: This is a keeper. If you make it for guests that sauce will show what an amazing cook you are. Thank you for sharing.
Tracey, you are welcome! So happy to hear your family has been enjoying this recipe! 🙂
LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT ,4 SERVINGS @ 30 GRAMS OF CARBS EACH?
Family’s favorite and made it for our New Year’s Eve dinner. Thank you for sharing this.
Sounds delicious! I think I will serve this over zucchini noodles when I make it and that will be soon!
Zucchini noodles sound delicious alongside this chicken!
This recipe was amazing. We ate it with pasta and oh my goodness it was devine. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
I made this receipt. It was delicious. I placed my asparagus in the sauce as it simmered it was absolutely tasty. I don't even like asparagus. You could cut the milk and cream I think to half and still have enough juice. But honestly I drank all the juice with my food. It was a great gravy.
This looks and sounds delicious! I must make this soon but with some modifications. Like you said it's low in carbs...well fairly low from what i can see but higher for some diets and the calories are very high. Would be delicious served with Polenta either soft or sliced.
Thank you, Sandra! Enjoy! Yes, this recipe is low in carbs but obviously has a fat content thanks to all the cream. 🙂 This recipe could work really well for some diets, such as low-carb diet.
Sounds awesome! Plan to try it out for dinner tomorrow night!
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! Super tasty and pretty easy to make. We omitted serving it with asparagus (because hubby hates it :'( ) and served it with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Definitely will make again. Thanks for sharing!
Followed recipe exactly (even served with asparagus). It was delicious! Bacon made the whole dish come together. So glad I didn't skip it! Thank you for the great recipe, which would be delicious with penne, too.
do you have the nutritional breakdown for this recipe? Thanks!
I made this chicken on last week and it was delicious I served it with asparagus and mash potatoes, my family loved it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
This recipe is really good, thanks for sharing it with us.
Looks absolutely mouth-watering! Happy Holidays!!