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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.
does anyone know how to convert this to the instant pot and how long are you cooking chicken for
Made this tonight and it was really tasty! I even used a can of cauliflower soup in place of the half and half to keep it dairy free and it was still really tasty. The sauce was so good on the veggies I served on the side too. Yummy!!
This dish is so flavorful.... absolutely love if.
Will certainly make again.
Bland recipe that needs more seasoning desperately.
I thought it needed a little depth, so I added in about 1/4 cup of chicken bone broth and some garlic. We loved it!
This dish is DELICIOUS!!! It easy to make just the recipe said. This is a keeper.
The Skillet Chicken Thighs with Creamy Tomato, Spinach, and Basil Sauce is simple, delicious, and elegant! Love it!!!
This recipe was delicious and super easy to make! I used oatmilk in place of the half and half and it came out great. Will definitely be making this again!
This recipe was delicious!
This was fast and easy. I didn’t have fresh spinach so chopped up a zucchini from the garden. I put it in For the last few minutes and served when zuc was still crisp
Love this fish! It’s definitely a favorite in our home and I make it for anyone I get to cook for!
What is tomato sauce where you’re from? Tomato sauce in Aus is Ketchup in the US. Can you please let me know if tomato sauce means passata? Napoli? Canned tomato soup? Thanks
Tomato sauce in the US is puréed tomatoes, plain or with salt, pepper.
So I was not paying attention and I used a can of Tomato soup But it was Delicious! So it was a happy accident. Thanks for the recipe. .
This is delicious! It will become a regular meal in my house. My husband loves it too and I may even make the sauce as a soup and leave out the chicken once in a while in the winter!
Delicious used sweet cream Instead of regular cream because I love sweet . It was delicious
What kind of noodles should you use for this dish is fettuccine okay.