What readers are saying about this recipe
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I made it for my husband and I the other night and we are both so in love! The leftovers were great the next day as well. I’ve tried a few recipes from this blog and every single one has turned out amazing! Thank you!
Heather
If you like this recipe you have to try our dairy free chicken recipe with mustard sauce, our dairy free chicken breast recipe with mushroom sauce and this no dairy creamy chicken casserole recipe. They’re all dairy free and full of creamy deliciousness!
Making lightened up Tuscan chicken (step-by-step)
This creamy dish comes together all in one pan in about 30 minutes. Here’s how:
What to serve with creamy Tuscan chicken
Our favorite way to serve this dish is over either white rice or cauliflower rice. Some other options:
- Over your favorite noodles (zoodles or spaghetti squash noodles are great for a grain free option)
- With some garlic bread
- Pair it with any mix of roasted veggies
- With mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower
Looking for more creamy recipes? Check out our Comfort Food Category!
Making a dairy-free cream sauce for Tuscan chicken
How do you make creamy, delicious recipes without dairy?
Our preferred method is to use full fat coconut milk. We get the brand Aroy-D on Amazon, and we find it works best because it is pure full fat coconut milk that doesn’t separate and get watery.
Most other coconut milks have some water or other ingredients added. It’s best to use 100% full fat coconut milk.
You can also make coconut milk at home with our easy 2-ingredient coconut milk recipe!
Coconut cream vs coconut milk
Coconut cream is just the thicker, creamier version of coconut milk. You can use either coconut cream or coconut milk for this recipe, the sauce will just be a little thicker with coconut cream.
If you are using coconut milk from a can and the water and cream have separated, I suggest dumping it into a blender to mix it back together and turn it into a more “milk” like consistency before mixing up the sauce.
And don’t worry, this tuscan chicken doesn’t really taste like coconut at all. The garlic, shallot, herbs and sun dried tomatoes cover up the coconut flavor and result in a rich and creamy dairy free sauce.
We hope you love this dairy-free chicken recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to leave a quick star rating and review below, we read every comment and truly appreciate your feedback. Also, be sure to browse the rest of our homemade chicken dinner recipes to find some other favorites too!
25-Minute Creamy Tuscan Chicken (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 chicken thighs, (or chicken breasts, see step #2)
- 2 tbsp ghee, (can sub avocado oil if needed for dairy-free)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth, see notes
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch, see notes
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup basil, chopped
- 3 cups spinach
- Chopped parsley, optional topping
Instructions
- Prepare shallot and garlic as noted. Place Italian seasoning, sea salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix.
- If using chicken breasts, place the chicken breasts between two pieces of parchment paper and pound them down to make them even in thickness. (Skip this step if using chicken thighs)
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add ghee. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the Italian seasoning mix.
- Once hot, add the chicken to the pan (you may have to cook the chicken in 2 batches depending on the size of your pan). Cook, without disturbing for 4-5 minutes, until a nice brown crust has formed. Flip and cook another 4-5 minutes on the other side, until the chicken is mostly cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking, whisk together chicken broth and arrowroot starch.
- Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Add more ghee if needed and add the garlic and shallot to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, sun-dried tomatoes and basil to the pan. Give the chicken broth mixture a quick whisk and pour that in as well.
- Stir to mix, scraping up any browned bits remaining in the pan from when you cooked your chicken.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet with the sauce. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- When the chicken is done, add in the spinach. You might have to add it in batches. Stir the spinach in until wilted.
- Serve with vegetables, potatoes, rice or cauli rice. Spoon some sauce over everything for serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley (optional).
Notes
- You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs for this recipe. Follow the instructions to flatten the chicken breasts (step 2). Adjust cooking time if needed to ensure the chicken is fully cooked.
- If your sauce is too thick, add in more chicken broth to get the consistency you want.
- If you don’t have arrowroot starch, you can substitute tapioca starch or corn starch. Corn starch is not considered Paleo or Whole30.
Great recipe! My boyfriend and I are both dairy-free and we thought it was very tasty. The receipe came together fairly quickly too! We loved all the flavors.
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🙂
Great dish! I doubled it to accommodate my family and everyone thought it was great despite the coconut smell initially throwing us off. When you taste it, its delicious! So hard to believe it’s dairy free. I am going to add a little extra garlic next time and I might try it with a combo of extra creamy oatmilk and cashew cream. I have some picky kids and they loved it! Thanks for a great recipe! This one will be added to my rotation for sure!
Thanks for giving it a try! We always love hearing when a recipe is a hit with the whole family, even the picky eaters. 🙂