Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken (Print Version)

Tender chicken breasts cooked in a luscious sun-dried tomato cream sauce with Parmesan and basil.

# Components:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs)
02 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
03 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
04 - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
05 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Sauce

06 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
07 - ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and thinly sliced
08 - 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
09 - 1 cup half-and-half
10 - ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
11 - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 - 2 cups baby spinach (optional)
13 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish

# Directions:

01 - Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden and cooked through (internal temperature 165°F). Remove from skillet and set aside.
03 - Reduce heat to medium. Add minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet; sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Pour in chicken broth, scraping up browned bits from the skillet. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
05 - Stir in half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook and stir frequently for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
06 - Incorporate baby spinach if using, cooking until wilted.
07 - Return chicken breasts and any juices to the skillet. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting chicken with sauce until heated through.
08 - Stir in fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
09 - Serve immediately, garnished with extra basil and Parmesan if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely faster than ordering takeout, but tastes like you fussed.
  • The sauce is tangy and rich at the same time, which somehow works on everything from pasta to rice to just crusty bread.
  • You only dirty one skillet, which matters more than any cooking magazine will admit.
02 -
  • If you skip the drying step on the chicken, you'll get steam instead of sear, and the dish loses its sophistication before you even start.
  • The sauce will look thin when you finish the cream step—it thickens as it sits, so resist the urge to cook it longer or you'll end up with something closer to glue.
  • Stirring the sauce while the cream goes in prevents clumping and keeps everything silky.
03 -
  • Taste the sauce before the chicken goes back in and adjust seasoning then—it's the last moment you can easily tweak things without worrying about over-salting the chicken.
  • If your half-and-half gets a slight curdled look when the acid from the tomatoes hits it, don't panic—it's just proteins coagulating slightly, not a disaster, and a brisk stir smooths it out.
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