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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.
Can you sub Chicken breast? If so is the cook time different?
AMAZZZIIINNNNGGGG recipe! Made this for dinner and bae agrees it was ridiculously good. I even packed some for my lunch the next day! Next time I make this I plan to add mushrooms and some onion...I wanted to try it as is the first time before I went on experimenting- even though mushrooms and onions go great with just about anything!
Thank you, Sarah, for your wonderful comment! I agree - mushrooms and onions will be great additions to this recipe!
Made the other night and was delicious. Can the sauce be doubled for a larger crowd.
So glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Yes, you can double the recipe.
Can you use half and half instead of heavy cream?
Yes, you can.
Made this dish last night. I used bone in thighs with skin (this is what I had on hand in my freezer). Got same results but boneless skinless thighs might be better. I also cheated by using Progresso Tomato Soup with basil and instead of heavy cream I used softened cream cheese. Served with egg noodles. Very good dish. I will make it again tonight. My family really enjoyed it.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your feedback! Love the idea of serving this over egg noodles.
can broth be added in the step while making sauce so that instead of a thick sauce we have a thin fluidic sauce?
Absolutely! You can thin out the sauce after it's made by gradually adding small amounts of broth until the sauce is thinned out to the desired consistency.
I mixed in fresh parmesan with the tomato sauce to give a hint of cheese with the sauce. If you have any leftover sauce pan fry some gnocchi and put the sauce on top. Pairs quite well together
That's a wonderful idea to serve the sauce with some gnocchi.
This meal I super easy and super delicious. I made last week. I’m making again tonight!!
Thank you, Mary, for the comment!
Bob
This is a great, quick and easy dish!!
I am glad you enjoyed it!
Do you think you need a side dish with this?
This was really tasty! I made egg noodles and tossed them in the sauce to serve with the chicken. Everyone loved it.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Excellent idea to use egg noodles and toss them with the sauce.
You could serve this over angel hair pasta or spaghetti. You could also serve this over cooked spaghetti squash.
Has anyone tried this with chicken breasts?
You could make this with skinless boneless chicken breasts.
Do you have a video of it how to make it ? ☺️
It was delicious, but I needed an estimate f how long to cook the chicken in the sauce.
Need dairy free what can I sub with
I'm planning on using coconut milk.
Full fat canned coconut milk was used in a very similar recipe but I haven't tried it yet. I'm also dairy free.
Can you eat coconut milk? Coconut milk is a great substitute for the half-and-half and heavy cream.
Can you make this recipe using jarred gravy instead of the tomato sauce?
What in particular do you mean by jarred gravy?