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
1/2 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
Boneless skinless chicken thighs smothered in an easy-to-make creamy tomato basil and spinach sauce. The whole recipe takes 30 minutes from start to finish!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 lb chicken thighs , boneless skinless
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 oz fresh spinach
- 4 leaves fresh basil (or use 1/4 teaspoon dried basil)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese , grated
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.
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.
This was a very good and quick meal! However, I found the sauce VERY thick with a can of tomato sauce and 1/2c cream, actually too thick. I added some chicken broth to the sauce to make it a bit thinner. But a very good and tasty meal! My family loved it 🙂
I am so glad you liked this recipe! Good idea to thin out the sauce with the chicken broth.
I am on the keto diet and this was a wonderful change of flavor for me and my family. I followed the recipe and it is just as amazing as it described. Thank you I will be trying more of your recipes.
I am so glad you tried this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a kind comment!
Delicious! Whole family loved it. Made it twice this week.
I used co coconut milk as a substitution. Made it Paleo and it was amazing. And I skipped the Parmesan. I shared it with a few friends
Thank you for your comment! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Using coconut milk as a substitution is a great idea!
I made this exactly how the recipe says ..It was the most delicious chicken I’ve ever had .Thank you Julie …..I would give it 10 stars if i could
Thank you so much for such a kind comment, George! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can you substitute buttermilk for the cream in this recipe?
No, it’s best to use heavy cream or half-and-half.