Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Packed with flavour, my Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce is the ultimate chicken dinner. Serve with pasta, potatoes or just a big hunk of bread to dip into that creamy sauce.

I can’t get enough of creamy, tangy sauces right now. Indulgent and lip-smackingly tasty, and although a little calorific, there are still of loads of nutritous goodies in there. So I’m good with that.

Besides, this is one of those dinners you can serve with courgetti, where you don’t really taste the courgetti, because it’s covered in sauce.

Not that I’ve got a thing against courgetti. But come on, it’s not pasta is it.

Speaking of nutrition, did I tell you about the diet challenge we’ve started?

We’ve had a few sneaky peaks of the sunshine to come in the summer with one or two glorious days in the garden. That’s totally spurred us into action to lose a few pounds before real Summer hits.

I will be wearing strappy tops this summer!

So a few members of our family have got together to see who can lose the highest percentage weight in the next 10 weeks.

Nothing silly – we won’t be starving ourselves. Just good old watching what we eat and bumping up the exercise.

The first week is done, and although Chris and I spent 3 days of it at a bloggers retreat (more to come on that in a future post, but here’s a nice pic I took at Sunrise on Saturday), he still managed to lose 5 pounds!!

I lost one. Leaving me in last place at the moment 😫

So I’m stepping it up this week. Already 3 exercise sessions down, and I’ve been watching what I eat – roughly 1400 calories, with a good amount of fruit, veggies and fibre.

Now we’ve started adding nutritional info to Kitchen Sanctuary recipes (we’re slowly working our way through all of our previous recipes too), it’s so much easier for me to keep track.

So this dinner, which comes in at a reasonably calorific 643 calories (plus a few extra for the courgetti) is still on the menu, but I just have a lighter breakfast and lunch.

Yay to being able to eat nice teas that we can look forward to all day!!!

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes! Use gluten free plain (all purpose) flour blend for coating the chicken and replace the stock with bouillon or gluten free chicken stock.

Can I make it vegetarian?

Yes, try my mushroom version – it’s soooo tasty!

Can I make ahead?

Yes, make up to end of step 8, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat, covered in the oven at 160C/320F for 20-25 minutes or on the hob until the chicken is piping hot throughout.  You may need a splash or water/stock/cream to loosen as it will be a little thicker. Add the spinach and wilt before serving.

Will it freeze?

Yes, personally I find this works better with the chicken in bitesize pieces, rather than served whole. If you do this, there’s no need to finish the chicken cooking in the oven (setp 6), as it should cook a lot quicker in the pan. Just remove the chicken from the pan at the end of step 5 (it should be cooked through at this point), then add it back in at step 8.

At the end of step 8, cool, cover and freeze. When ready to cook, defrost thoroughly at room temperature, then reheat, covered in the oven at 160C/320F for 20-25 minutes or on the hob until the chicken is piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash of cream. Add the spinach and wilt before serving.

Leftover lunch

I like to cook an extra chicken breast with this dish, then shred/chop the chicken and serve with a salad for lunch the next day. Way tastier than plain chicken.

Equipment:

In order to make this Tuscan Chicken recipe you will need:

• • A good Kitchen knife. I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.
  • Chopping Board
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Garlic Press
  • Cheese grater (if you don’t get ready grated Parmesan)
  • Couple of small bowls for dredging the chicken
  • Whisk
  • Measuring Jug
  • A frying pan/skillet.  I use a cast iron pan in the photos above
  • Oven tray/sheet
  • Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.

The Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce recipe:

5 from 3 votes

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Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

Packed with flavour, my Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce is the ultimate chicken dinner. Serve with pasta, potatoes or just a big hunk of bread to dip into that creamy sauce.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 643 kcal

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken breasts
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp plain all-purpose flour (replace with gluten free flour blend if needed)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 160 g sun dried tomatoes I like the bright red one from the deli counter
• 1 red bell pepper de-seeded and sliced
• 90 ml white wine
• 120 ml chicken stock (use bouillon for gluten free)
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 90 ml double heavy cream
• 50 g parmesan cheese grated
• 90 g fresh baby spinach
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

UK (metric) - **Convert to US Measures**

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Trim the chicken breasts to remove any fatty parts.

2. Whisk the egg lightly in a shallow bowl.
   

3. In a separate shallow bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika and garlic salt.

4. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) on a medium-to-high heat. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg, then dredge in the flour mixture.

5. Place the chicken in the pan and fry on both sides until golden.

6. Take the chicken out of the pan and place on a tray in the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking whilst you make the sauce.

7. Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat on a medium heat.

8. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften.

9. Add the garlic, oregano, paprika, sun dried tomatoes and red peppers. Cook for 2 minutes, moving around the pan with a spatula, then pour in the wine.

10. Allow to bubble for 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.

11. Stir the cream and parmesan, then remove the chicken from the oven. Check it's done (insert a knife into the fattest piece of one of the chicken breasts - it should no longer be pink) and place in the pan.

12. Add the spinach to the sauce and stir to cover the spinach in the sauce. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the spinach wilts.

13. Serve topped with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Tastes great with pasta, courgetti (zoodles), rice or saute potatoes.

Recipe Notes

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes! Use gluten free plain (all purpose) flour blend for coating the chicken and replace the stock with bouillon or gluten free chicken stock.

.

Can I make it vegetarian?

Yes, try my mushroom version - it's soooo tasty!

.

Can I make ahead?

Yes, make up to end of step 8, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat, covered in the oven at 160C/320F for 20-25 minutes or on the hob until the chicken is piping hot throughout.  You may need a splash or water/stock/cream to loosen as it will be a little thicker. Add the spinach and wilt before serving.

. 

Will it freeze?

Yes, personally I find this works better with the chicken in bitesize pieces, rather than served whole. If you do this, there's no need to finish the chicken cooking in the oven (setp 6), as it should cook a lot quicker in the pan. Just remove the chicken from the pan at the end of step 5 (it should be cooked through at this point), then add it back in at step 8. 

.

At the end of step 8, cool, cover and freeze. When ready to cook, defrost thoroughly at room temperature, then reheat, covered in the oven at 160C/320F for 20-25 minutes or on the hob until the chicken is piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash of cream. Add the spinach and wilt before serving. 

.

Leftover lunch

I like to cook an extra chicken breast with this dish, then shred/chop the chicken and serve with a salad for lunch the next day. Way tastier than plain chicken.

.

Nutritional Information is per serving.

Nutrition Facts

Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 643 Calories from Fat 243

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 27g 42%

Saturated Fat 10g 50%

Cholesterol 227mg 76%

Sodium 1128mg 47%

Potassium 2512mg 72%

Total Carbohydrates 35g 12%

Dietary Fiber 7g 28%

Sugars 18g

Protein 62g 124%

Vitamin A 89.2%

Vitamin C 80.6%

Calcium 24.6%

Iron 35.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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