Baked Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potatoes with Spinach in creamy Parmesan Sauce. Easy, gluten free recipe for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs.
Chicken and Sweet Potatoes with Spinach in a creamy Parmesan Sauce - moist and tender chicken thighs smothered in a super creamy sauce. Great weeknight dinner recipe that a whole family will love! This recipe is a great choice if you're looking for new ways to incorporate sweet potatoes into savory recipes.
Not only did I enjoy this dish for several nights this week, this chicken + sweet potatoes will make a great holiday recipe, too, and will look great on your Thanksgiving dinner table! Either way, it's a great recipe during the Fall/Winter season, when the sweet potatoes abound, and when you want cozy comfort food on those cold nights.
How to cook chicken thighs and sweet potatoes
Start by browning chicken thighs on the skillet on the stove top:
Chop up the sweet potatoes and add them to the 9 x 13 baking dish:
Add creamy Parmesan sauce + spinach:
Add chicken thighs on top:
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender:
Chicken and Sweet Potatoes with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs , skin-on, bone-in
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup Parmesan , shredded
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 2 sweet potatoes large, cut in 1 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.
- Generously season both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add in the the chicken thighs, skin side down.
- Fry the chicken until the skin is very crisp, about 5 minutes. Then, flip the chicken over to the other side, turn off the heat and let the chicken brown on the other side, off heat, uncovered. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Drain the fat from the pan, clean it, and place back on the stove.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same pan, add minced garlic, and cook, stirring until garlic is fragrant, about 30 or 45 seconds. Add 1 cup half and half to the pan. Bring to boil. Add shredded Parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and stir to melt. Immediately reduce to simmer. Add fresh spinach on top of the sauce, cover with the lid, and remove the pan from the heat - let the spinach wilt on its own, off heat, covered. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more of half and half. Stir the spinach in the sauce.
- In the mean time, cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
- Grease the bottom of 9x13 baking pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Place cubed sweet potatoes evenly on the bottom of the pan. Pour the creamy Parmesan and spinach sauce on top. Add chicken thighs on top, skin side up.
- Bake the chicken in the oven at 400 F for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until the potatoes and the chicken thighs are cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
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.
Could I use drumsticks in this recipe.
Yes, you can! I think chicken drumsticks will be the perfect substitution for chicken thighs.
does the finished dish reheat or freeze well as I need to make it a couple of days early?
Yes, this dish keeps well refrigerated or frozen!
I’m making this for dinner tonight! Looks yummy!!
Can I substitute the spinach with broccoli?
Totally yum!! Thank you. Used mostly milk and it was still really good.
I made this recipe with pork chops and it was great!
Thank you!
I tried to "skinny it down". I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and instead of the Half & Half I used coconut milk. It was fantastic!
Thank you for sharing your feedback! So good to know this recipe worked with boneless skinless chicken breasts and with coconut milk instead of half and half.
I made this recipe with pork chops and it was awesome! Great Recipe!
Thank you, Chelsea! Good to know that the recipe work with the pork chops!
Excellent! I did use boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced in half length wise.
So glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it, Linda!
The half and half and parmesan separated and looked as if they had curdled. I think I followed the directions carefully. Any thoughts?
Did you add olive oil and butter and garlic to the pan and sautéed the garlic before adding the half and half? Once you added the half and half, did you bring it to boil before adding the cheese? Sometimes the cheese separation can occur if there is not enough fat content in the sauce and if the pan is not hot enough. That's why it's important to sauté the garlic in butter and olive oil first, then add half and half and bring everything to boil, add the cheese, reduce to simmer, and stir to melt the cheese - that heats up both the pan and the liquids.
The 4 cloves of garlic were left out of the instructions yet included in the ingredient list.
Thank you - I have corrected the recipe.
May I know what is "1 cup half and half" please? Thanks
Half and half is the US milk product that combines half milk half cream to form a lighter cream (unlike heavy cream). To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup regular cream (heavy, or whipping cream).
Sweet potatoes are a super food and super tasty too!