Skillet Chicken Thighs with Creamy Tomato Basil Spinach Sauce - great idea for a quick weeknight meal! Boneless skinless chicken thighs are seared to perfection and served in a creamy tomato basil sauce with spinach, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Easy dinner that a whole family will love!
As I've been shopping at my local grocery store, I realized that I hardly have any recipes with boneless skinless chicken thighs. Instead, I do have lots of recipes with bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. I decided to fix that small problem immediately, so I bought them right away and made these delicious skillet chicken thighs the next day. So glad I did! It's such a great cut of chicken meat and it cooks so quickly, this chicken dish took me only 30 minutes to make. Everything is cooked in a skillet on the stove top - no extra pans, just one skillet. So easy to make, minimal clean-up!
Creamy tomato basil sauce with fresh spinach is perfect for these skillet chicken thighs. So much flavor in one dish!
Ingredients you need to make these easy skillet chicken thighs:
olive oil
1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 can tomato sauce
½ cup heavy cream
garlic
fresh spinach
fresh basil
grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
How long does it take to cook boneless skinless chicken thighs?
They cook easy and fast. First, I seared the chicken thighs for 5 minutes on one side in the skillet on medium heat. Then, I flipped them and seared for 5 more minutes on the other side on medium heat. Next, I cooked them in the creamy tomato basil sauce for about 5 or 10 more minutes and they were done! Make sure the chicken is completely cooked through.
How to make skillet chicken thighs (step-by-step photos):
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, and cook boneless skinless chicken thighs (seasoned with salt and pepper) on one side for 5 minutes:
Flip the chicken thighs to the other side and cook for 5 more minutes:
Remove the chicken, add tomato sauce, minced garlic, and heavy cream. Stir to combine. Add spinach and basil.
Cook the sauce until the spinach wilts. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, if needed.
Add the cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs back to the skillet, reheat the sauce with the chicken in it. Make sure the chicken is completely cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
Spoon the sauce over the cooked chicken.
What is a good side dish for chicken thighs?
These will go great over simple pasta. Or, serve with roasted potatoes, or creamy mashed potatoes. Other great side dish ideas are steamed asparagus, cooked spinach, or cooked Swiss chard.
If you enjoyed this skillet chicken thighs, you might like these recipes:
Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce
Bacon Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Skillet Chicken Thighs with Creamy Tomato Basil Spinach Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 lb chicken thighs , boneless skinless
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 oz fresh spinach
- 4 leaves fresh basil (or use ¼ teaspoon dried basil)
For serving:
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese , grated
Instructions
How to cook boneless skinless chicken thighs in a skillet:
- In a large skillet heat olive oil on medium heat. Season boneless skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add them top side down to the hot skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, until the top side is nicely seared.
- Flip over to the other side and sear for 5 more minutes on medium heat.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate.
How to make creamy tomato basil sauce:
- To the same, now empty skillet, add tomato sauce, minced garlic, heavy cream. Bring to boil and stir.
- Reduce heat to low simmer. Add fresh spinach and fresh basil. Stir until spinach wilts and reduces in volume.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Add back cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, increase heat to medium. Reheat the chicken thighs in the skillet with the sauce and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
- To serve, spoon the sauce over the boneless skinless chicken thighs and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
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.
Fabulous - made 3 times. Everyone loves this. I added: more spinach, more salt, also added 1-2 tsp sumac. YUM!
So happy to hear that, Marie. The more spinach, the better! Sumac is an interesting addition, thank you for sharing! 🙂
It's hard to believe that something this tasty and satisfying is so easy and quick to put together. As with many of the recipes Julia offers, my husband has asked that this be placed into our regular rotation so that he gets to eat it again sooner rather than later!
I am so honored, Christine! ❤️ Glad both of you enjoy my recipes.
Everyone absolutely loved it. I added more salt and more spinach. But after eating it, I just felt like it needed more flavor overall. It just seemed a little bland. So I’m going to try more garlic next time. Maybe a little more pepper. Definitely adding more spinach because the spinach just seems to get lost in the sauce and I would like it to be a little thicker. Wondering if there’s another spice that would add to it? Your thoughts?
Glad you enjoyed it! I recommend adding smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, or other fresh herbs like thyme or oregano.
Tried this last night, Perfect.
Thank you for your review, David!
So much flavor! I added more garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce and it was delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed it! ❤️ The more garlic the better! 🙂
Delicious and easy recipe. I served it over linguine and it made for a great dinner.
This sauce is perfect for linguine! 🙂 Glad you liked it!
I have not tried it yet but looks lovely.
Is there any way one can use natural yoguart instead of cream or will it ruin the whole affect?
Maggie, I've never tried using yogurt in a recipe like this but I read a lot of comments on my site where people did use yogurt in a similar recipe and liked it. So, I am not sure. You can try adding yogurt off heat, when the sauce is warm, without boiling the sauce because that will make yogurt separate, I think. 🙂 Enjoy! 🙂 Let me know if you try it this way!
Great recipe that the family raved about. I made 10 pieces of thighs that I used two large cast iron skillets to cook in. I used fresh tomatoes, basil and rosemary (1 stem in each skillet) from our garden. I added mushrooms and zucchini. So easy to make and so delicious. Thank you.
Joe, thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. I love the addition of mushrooms and zucchini! ❤️ Homegrown herbs are the best!
Is there a way to make this with less cream for someone with dairy sensitivity?
Claire, you can skip the heavy cream and use unsweetened coconut milk instead.
I made this tonight using homemade tomato sauce (amped up with a bit of red wine), more garlic and only basil (since I didn't have any spinach on hand). I reduced the sauce by about half, and it was as delicious as it was simple and easy to make!!
Can I keep the leftovers for lunch tomorrow
Could I use tomato soup instead of tomato sauce?