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This Creamy Tuscan Chicken is so delicious, and such an easy gluten free dinner idea! Juicy chicken breasts in a rich sauce of sun-dried tomato, cream and parmesan cheese, with shredded spinach. Perfect served with rice or pasta. Plus I’ve included a Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken recipe too!
I absolutely adore Tuscan Chicken. It feels like a restaurant-standard meal that is packed with flavour, but is so easy to make.
The Tuscan flavours of this creamy sauce come from a mixture of sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, parmesan, spinach and of course, cream.
It’s rich, creamy and delicious, the perfect gluten free chicken recipe that you can serve with anything – from pouring over rice to serving it as gluten free Tuscan chicken pasta.
And the Tuscan sauce is so moreish, it’s perfect mopped up with a chunk of gluten free baguette, a soft gluten free bread roll, or one of my easy gluten free flatbreads.
If you’re a fan of slow cooker recipes I’ve also got a Crockpot Tuscan Chicken method for you below as well, so you can make it however you like!
Serve this creamy Tuscan chicken up with some crispy parmentier potatoes, a side of gluten free garlic bread, a plate of gluten free doughballs or your favourite steamed veg.
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card for this gluten free Tuscan garlic chicken recipe below. But for the shopping list you will need…
- Chicken Breasts: You’ll need boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. If you don’t want the faff of butterflying them, use mini chicken breast fillets instead.
- Gluten Free Flour: Use a plain gluten free flour or all purpose gluten free flour blend.
- Garlic: I use frozen chopped garlic but you can also use a fresh minced garlic clove or garlic paste instead.
- Paprika: This adds colour and a richness to the sauce.
- Dried Oregano: Essential for those Tuscan flavours!
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: Get jarred sun dried tomatoes as you’ll need to use some of the oil from the jar for the sauce. If not, you’ll next some extra virgin olive oil for this.
- Double Cream: In the US look for heavy cream. See the FAQs below for options for a lighter version of my Tuscan chicken if you want a less calorie-heavy meal.
- Chicken Stock: Either use homemade chicken stock or ensure you pick a gluten free stock cube or stock pot as some contain barley.
- Parmesan: Grated parmesan cheese adds flavour and helps thicken the sauce.
- Spinach: I recommend fresh spinach leaves as frozen will add too much moisture.
How to make Tuscan Chicken
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free Tuscan chicken recipe is:
Butterfly the chicken breasts so you have 4 chicken cutlets. Mix the gluten free flour, paprika, salt and pepper together and spread on a plate.
Dip each piece of chicken in the flour mix, turning so it is coated well. Press the flour into the chicken to ensure an even coating.
Heat around 1 tbsp oil from the sun dried tomatoes in a large pan on a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden on the outside and cooked through. Remove from the pan.
Add a little extra oil if needed, then turn down to a medium heat. Add the garlic, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the gluten free chicken stock and add the grated parmesan. Mix well and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave on a low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken back into the pan along with the shredded spinach, stir in the cream and simmer for a further minute before serving. Finish with some fresh ground black pepper.
How to make slow cooker Tuscan chicken
Believe it or not, the first time I made this recipe I made it in the slow cooker. I wanted to adapt it to be a more general recipe, but still include a crock pot method.
Making this Tuscan chicken in the slow cooker is very easy and a great way to save time. You can just chuck it all in and let it do it’s thing!
I’ve included both methods in the recipe card below but here are a few step-by-step photos for you of this method too:
To make Tuscan Chicken in the Crock Pot:
Optional: Follow step one above to coat the chicken. Add some of the sun dried tomato oil to a large pan and place on a medium-high heat.
Fry the chicken for a minute on each side until just browned, to seal the meat.
If you’re short on time you can simply cut the chicken breasts and then add straight to the slow cooker, sprinkling the flour in with the other ingredients. You can also cut the chicken into large chunks if you prefer.
It honestly doesn’t make a huge amount of difference, I just prefer the slightly browned colour of the chicken from pre-frying it. Taste-wise it’s pretty much the same both ways.
Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the spinach to the slow cooker pan. Mix well, pop the lid on and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
Remove the lid, stir in the spinach and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the spinach has wilted, then serve.
Storing and Freezing
This gluten free Tuscan chicken recipe is actually great for batch cooking, whether you’re making it on the stove or in the slow cooker.
To Store: Any leftovers of this Tuscan chicken can be cooled completely, portioned into a tub and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat thoroughly before eating.
To Freeze: Cool any leftovers completely, portion into a tub and freeze for up to 6 months. Reheat thoroughly from frozen (or defrost first) before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy Tuscan chicken recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes you can! If you want a Tuscan chicken recipe with less calories, I recommend swapping the double cream for a light cream cheese. I do this regularly and it’s equally as delicious, but not so heavy. I wouldn’t recommend crème fraîche as I’ve tried this before and found it made the mixture split. Not very attractive!
This recipe relied quite heavily on dairy so I haven’t tested a dairy free substitute. You could replace the double cream with a vegan cream cheese to still get a creamy sauce. The parmesan could be replaced with some vegan cheese and a little nutritional yeast to get that cheesy flavour, but this is not something I’ve tested or experimented with a lot.
This creamy Tuscan chicken is best served fresh but it can be made ahead of time. Just store in the fridge and reheat before eating. Ideally I wouldn’t make this more than 24 hours ahead as the chicken may lose some of its crispiness.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, butterflied
- 2 tbsp plain gluten free flour
- 3 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 100 ml double cream
- 200 ml gluten free chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube and 200ml boiling water
- 50 g grated parmesan cheese
- 120 g spinach leaves, shredded
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Butterfly the chicken breasts so you have 4 chicken cutlets. Mix the gluten free flour, paprika, salt and pepper together and spread on a plate.
- Dip each piece of chicken in the flour mix, turning so it is coated well. Press the flour into the chicken to ensure an even coating.
- Heat around 1 tbsp oil from the sun dried tomatoes in a large pan on a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden on the outside and cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- Add a little extra oil if needed, then turn down to a medium heat. Add the garlic, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the gluten free chicken stock and add the grated parmesan. Mix well and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave on a low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken back into the pan along with the shredded spinach, stir in the cream and simmer for a further minute before serving.
For Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken:
- Follow step one above to coat the chicken. Add some of the sun dried tomato oil to a large pan and place on a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for a minute on each side until just browned, to seal the meat (you can skip this step if short on time!)
- Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the spinach to the slow cooker. Mix well and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the spinach has wilted, then serve.
Notes
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this Tuscan Chicken should look at each stage – for both the stove and slow cooker methods.
- Storing: Check out the blog post above for more information on storing and freezing this Creamy Tuscan Chicken.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Tuscan Chicken Recipe!
Nutrition
More gluten free chicken recipes
More slow cooker recipes
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Yummy, love the light version with low fat cream cheese instead, and a slow cooker version too! Brilliant!
Yummy! Was worried the chicken breast would be tough after such a long cook but it was so tender and delicious! Very easy too! Highly recommend.
Really lovely! Thanks, Sarah – another hit. I slightly upped the chicken stock (by half as much again) to make more sauce.