The first time I prepared this for my sister, I was so busy talking on the phone that I let the cream boil hard and the sauce to curdle, breaking into grainy, oily puddles around the chicken. I was about to dump the whole pan when I scraped out the contents into a bowl and whisked in a splash of warm broth and a few more gratings of Parmesan before I served it. She kept asking for the recipe before she finished. Lesson learned.
This is the recipe I keep making over and over again now, on weeknights when I crave something that looks like a restaurant dish, but takes a single pan and around forty minutes. The chicken gets a real golden crust on it, directly in my cast iron skillet, and then I can use all that browned goodness to build a delicious sauce. The chicken’s browned bits incorporate into the cream and give you a flavorless flavor, and the sun-dried tomato offers a slightly sweet tang, and a just-minute baby spinach wilts into it.
This is a forgiving recipe. No extravagant equipment or rare ingredients here. The sauce is quite simple to ruin provided you don’t turn the heat up to high. You’ll also notice that the kitchen smells like garlic hitting warm butter and then that beautiful, nutty, salty aroma of Parmesan melting into the cream. Everyone in the house will follow this smell to the table.
Quick Recipe Info
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 min
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
For the chicken
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approximately 1 ½ pounds / 680 g) in total.
Cut each breast in half horizontally, creating four relatively thin cutlets. They’ll cook quickly and stay moist. Alternatively, using plastic wrap, pound to about ¾ inch thick, if desired.
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Tbsp Unsalted butter
For the sauce
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced (about 6 to 8 pieces)
Save approximately 1 tablespoon of the oil from the jar. It’s got quite a bit of flavor and we’ll use it to cook the garlic. The jarred sun-dried tomatoes in oil are softer and more flavorful than their dry counterparts which require a bit of soaking time.
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
Fresh is the only answer here. Garlic from a jar that has been pre-minced will lose some flavor and be a bit sharp after cooking into cream.
½ cup chicken broth (low sodium)
1 cup heavy cream
Don’t substitute with half-and-half. It is more apt to curdle or split upon contact with the heat, and the sauce will not have a rich, velvety texture.
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, about 2 ounces
Shred it yourself from a block. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking powders that prevent it from melting uniformly and you’ll have a grainy sauce.
1 cup packed baby spinach (approximately two large handfuls)
½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
For the garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Additional grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
A pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Season the chicken. Completely dry the cutlets with paper towels. Season both sides with the remaining black pepper and salt. (It’s dry chicken, which is much better when browns than moist chicken. This is the step everyone skips or at least rushes through).
Preheat the pan. Place a 12-inch cast-iron or other heavy-duty skillet on the stove over medium-high heat for 3 minutes to preheat. Add the olive oil and allow it to shimmer. Flick a few drops of water onto the surface of the pan and they should dance and sizzle, not sit there.
Sear the chicken. Place the cutlets in the pan, making sure they are not touching each other. Cook 4-5 minutes, undisturbed. You’ll hear a constant sizzle, and you’ll notice that the corners will appear opaque white at halfway up the side. When the first side is a deep golden brown and will lift right off the pan, turn it over. If it sticks, cook another 30 seconds.
Cook the chicken: Flip the chicken over, then cook for another 3-4 minutes on the second side, until the inside registers 165°F (74°C). Transfer the chicken to a plate and loosely cover with foil. The cutlets will continue to cook slightly while they rest, which is great.
Begin sauce by reducing the heat to medium. Toss butter and remaining sun-dried tomato oil into the pan. When butter begins to foam, add sun-dried tomatoes and cook until just fragrant and sizzling, 30 seconds or so.
Sauté the garlic. Stir in the minced garlic, cooking and stirring constantly for 30 to 60 seconds. You want to cook it until it turns a light golden color and becomes fragrant. When it smells toasted, pour in the broth. Once it begins to brown it will become bitter, and you’ll taste it in the sauce.
Deglaze the pan. Add the chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Those stubborn little bits are packed with flavor, and the reason this sauce is worthy of a restaurant. Bring the broth to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it has reduced by half.
Now add the cream, stir to combine. Gradually pour in the heavy cream, mix well. Bring to a light simmer until bubbles just break the surface all over, but don’t boil, as cream sauces will split when boiled at high heat. Boil away gently for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it coats the back of the spoon.
Melt in the Parmesan. Reduce heat to low. Drop in the Parmesan, in small handfuls, stirring between additions until each handful has melted before adding the next. This takes about 2 minutes. When all the cheese has been added and the sauce is smooth and shiny, the sauce is done. If you notice oil separating out on the top, then the heat was too high – remove the pan from the heat for a moment and whisk in a tablespoon of warm broth.
Stir in the spinach, handful by handful, letting each batch wilt before adding the next. It will seem like a lot at first, but it wilts down quickly. The spinach should be bright green and tender, and the sauce will be a little more runny. Season with Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, if using, and remaining black pepper. Taste, and then add salt only if necessary, as parmesan and sun-dried tomato will impart saltiness.
Add the chicken back to the skillet. Return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the sauce over the top. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes to allow the cutlets to soak up the flavors and to reheat. If sauce seems too thick, add in some more broth or cream; if too thin, cook for an additional minute.
Garnish and serve. When ready to serve, sprinkle the parsley and a dash of coarsely ground black pepper over the top and add more freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Pass the pan around and ladle sauce over each serving.
Hints for Success
Don’t let the cream boil over. When the cream gets to a hard boil it will split and the cheese will be grainy. As soon as the mixture begins to foam, remove it from the heat for a brief moment and stir.
Sear in a cast-iron pan. Cast-iron is reliable at maintaining a consistent temperature, so the chicken will create a nice crust without stealing the temperature from the pan when you add the cool chicken. A heavy-duty stainless pan is fine as well, but may require a little more temperature adjustment.
Grate your own Parmesan. You’ll save yourself two minutes, and the cheese you grate yourself will melt into the cream better and will have a sharper, nuttier flavor than the bagged stuff.
Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces. You want strips that are as thin as long as they can be so that they’re distributed throughout the sauce to give flavor. Otherwise, you might find chunks of sun-dried tomatoes that are nothing but salt.
Don’t rush to thicken the sauce. The sauce will seem quite thin when it is hot but it will become thicker as it sits. If you add extra flour or cornstarch to stiffen it, you will end up losing the luxurious quality that comes from adding the cream.
Pace the pan. Don’t crowd the pan-if the cutlets are too close, they’ll steam rather than sear. You may need to do this in two batches if using a small pan, and make sure to clean the pan if bits are stuck to the bottom before starting the sauce.
Differences and Alternatives
A slimmer option: Use half and half or whole milk instead of the heavy cream, and whisk in 1 tablespoon cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons cold broth prior to stirring in Parmesan cheese. The sauce is not as rich, but still delicious. Keep the heat low, and stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
Gluten-free: Since this recipe doesn’t include any flour, it’s naturally gluten-free. Just be sure to look at your broth and Italian seasoning labels, as a few brands do contain wheat fillers.
Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless thighs are perfect for this recipe and they’ll be even more tender than the breasts. They also take an additional 2-3 minutes per side. You can also keep them whole rather than cut them.
Dairy free: Substitute the cream for canned full fat coconut milk and use a plant-based Parmesan style cheese. The sauce will be a little sweeter and not quite as sharp, but still creamy. Finish the sauce with some lemon juice to balance it.
After removing the chicken from the pan, cook 8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms until golden, then proceed with garlic. Finish with a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest and a squeeze of juice to enliven the sauce.
Storage and Reheating
Leftover storage: Allow the chicken and the sauce to rest for about 20 minutes before placing the cooled leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The sauce will thicken a lot after it has rested in the refrigerator but is totally delicious. Do not leave at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers at medium-low heat in a pan, stirring regularly, adding a small amount of broth or cream until the sauce begins to loosen again. Reheat until the chicken is hot, about 5 to 7 minutes. The microwave is totally fine in a pinch. Reheat at 50 percent power, in 30 seconds to 1 minute bursts, stirring between, adding some additional moisture so the sauce remains saucy. The spinach will cook down further when reheating, but the flavor remains nice.
Last Word
I hope this one makes an appearance on your weeknight rotation as regularly as it did on mine. It’s a lovely dinner for a tired Tuesday and there’s never much to do to bump it up a little if you’re entertaining. If you do make this, let me know how it turns out. Did you manage to keep the sauce silky smooth like it’s supposed to be or did it need a little saving like mine? Tell me in the comments – I always want to know what all of you do with it!