Here’s an easy, saucy meal with slow-cooked deep flavor. It’ll be hard to believe that Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce is actually a 30 minute meal. The chicken is perfectly tender and juicy, and the easy cream sauce is over-the-top in complex Italian flavor thanks to quick-caramelized tomatoes and fresh basil.
This dish is ALMOST a one skillet meal. The sauce is started in a saute' pan and then poured over everything in the skillet. Serve with vegetables, over noodles or rice. Best of all, it's ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2.17 cup chicken broth
- 0.54 cup white wine
- Juice from one lemon
- 4.33 cups whipping cream
- 4.33 Tablespoons butter
- 1.63 teaspoons sea salt
- 0.54 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.08 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 4.33 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 6.5 or 4 chicken breasts pounded thin for even cooking
- 0.54 cup all-purpose flour for dredging the chicken, use cornstarch for gluten-free
- Salt and pepper
- 6.5 to matoes sliced to 1/4" thickness
- 4.33 or 3 garlic cloves minced
- 6.5 Tablespoons fresh basil more if desired
- More Parmesan cheese to taste
- Optional: Add some toasted pine nuts at serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 250F degrees.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat chicken broth and white wine over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced by one third, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add lemon juice and whipping cream. Heat to a slow simmer and then add butter, one tablespoon at a time. Lower heat a bit and continue on a very low simmer, whisking occasionally while you make the chicken and tomatoes.
- After chicken has been pounded to an even thickness, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12" skillet on medium-high heat. Lightly dredge chicken in the flour mixture, shaking extra flour off before placing chicken in pan. Heat chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Place chicken on an oven-safe plate, cover with foil and place in oven to keep warm.
- In the same pan you cooked the chicken (do not wash out the pan), add the last tablespoon of oil and lower heat to medium. Add the tomatoes in a single layer, adding salt and pepper as desired. Let cook until tomatoes start to disintegrate and caramelize, about 4 minutes.
- Stir tomatoes and add garlic cloves. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally. The tomato mixture will stick to the pan a little. This is what you want, because it means they're breaking down correctly and the tomatoes natural fructose is working. Turn heat to low while you finish preparing chicken and sauce.
- Remove chicken from oven and slice on diagonal, about 1" thick slices. Add chicken to the skillet and lightly toss with tomatoes.
- Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese to your cream sauce now and stir until melted. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and lightly stir all ingredients together.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil and more Parmesan cheese. The meal is ready to serve now, or it can be covered and returned to the 250 degree oven for up to 40 minutes while you prepare side dishes, etc. When you remove from the oven, the sauce needs a quick stir to incorporate back together. (In the recipe photo, you can see that the yummy tomato infused olive oil and cream have separated a bit.)
- Leftovers are even better the following day.
Recipe Notes
If you're looking to lower the saturated fat content in the recipe, whole milk may be used in place of whipping cream.
The nutrition facts for this recipe show a very high fat quantity based on the sauce (which again, can be reduced using whole milk). However, if you use less sauce on your portion, that will also reduce the fat content and calories, if you're wanting to do so. The sauce is nice and rich, so a little can go a long way.
Recipe Adapted From Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce @ gooddinnermom.com