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 healthy 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 this roundup of 20+ Warm and Cozy Comfort Food Recipes!
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 healthy 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.
I’m so grateful to this website for all the the creamy non-dairy recipes. I used Einkorn flour to thicken as I don’t do well with tapioca, corn or arrowroot. Superb! You are the only site I’ve found where the coconut in the recipe isn’t too sweet.
Glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed our recipes!
Hello! Can this be made in a crockpot?
Thank you!
Yes, others have made this in the crockpot. Just throw everything except the spinach in the crockpot on low for 5-6 hours or on low for 3-4 hours. Then, add in the spinach at the end and mix until it wilts.
Really good. Next time I think I would skip the arrowroot or maybe only use half as it was too gloopy for my taste. I added some parmesan at the end that really pulled the sauce together. Love the idea of using coconut milk!
Delicious! I loved it and my husband even really liked it (he can be picky about chicken). I made it by itself this time but we agreed that I will make rice next time and serve it over the rice and that will be even better! But yeah, it’s really good! Great recipe!
Glad you both liked it, thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review!
Can this dish be frozen?
Yes, this could be made and frozen. The coconut milk might separate when frozen, but the sauce will mix back together when it is reheated.
My husband and I loved this recipe! It has a bit of sweetness from the coconut milk. It is as creamy as the picture depicts it. I’ve tried many chicken casserole recipes and they haven’t been as moist and creamy as they are described. Thank you.
Gail and Charlie
You’re very welcome, I’m so glad you both enjoyed the recipe.
I really wish you would include the nutrition information, please. Some of us have strict protocols we need to follow. Please consider including it in the future. Thank you.
If you need the info you could use an online calculator like My Fitness Pal. We will consider including it for future recipes.
what are some good side options with this?
There are several recommendations noted in the post above ⬆️
The chicken was delish, but adding arrowroot ended up with gummy thick viscous sauce. We ended up having to toss the sauce.
Sorry to hear that. We just made this yesterday and added detailed step-by-step photos and instructions in the blog post. It helps to whisk the arrowroot and chicken broth again right before pouring it in. Alternatively, you could sub corn starch or another thickening flour you prefer.
easy to make. followed recipe exactly. is now on our weekly rotation. thanks!
Amazing! So happy to hear it was a hit! Thanks for coming back to leave a review! 🙂
just an FYI….if one is old school and prints out this recipe the name of the blog doesn’t show anywhere on the printout. It is probably easily found by searching your names but….
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It should print the URL at the bottom left and our name after the recipe at the top but I’ll look into this now.
Delicious!! This meal has made it into the rotation! Definitely better day of, it doesn’t reheat super well, as the noodles dry out
FABULOUS!!!!
We are loving this recipe!!! 😍♥️
Thanks for coming back to leave a review, happy to hear that!
Want to try this recipe and wondered if it can be made ahead. It sounds delicious!
Yes, it can be made ahead and just reheated on the stovetop before serving.
I have now made this dish several times!! It continues to be on popular demand by family and friends. And as myself and a few other family members are lactose intolerant the coconut milk is a wonderful idea! Thankyou for this recipe! I used a can of organic whole fat coconut milk and it was creamy and delicious! I was worried you’d taste the coconut, however with all of the other ingredients you would never know it was in there! I also substituted with olive oil and just used all purpose flour. Came out excellent!
Perfect! Thanks for sharing with your family and friends 🙂
DELICIOUS!!! And thank you for the recipe! I am lactose intolerant and the coconut milk was a perfect substitute! I did use more of all of the ingredients as I had company for dinner, it turned out fantastic. You cannot taste the coconut at all. Creamy, flavorful, tender, juicy chicken. Served over rice with a green salad. Huge hit, will make again.
So happy to hear this one was a hit! Thanks for giving our recipe a try and for coming back to leave a review. We love hearing it was loved by all! 🙂
I have made this recipe twice now and it is delicious. My husband is not a big chicken fan 😆 but he loves the dish. It was great when we had guests for dinner. It’s presents beautifully. Thank you!
So happy to hear this one is a hit for you guys! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a review! 🙂
I am new to eating Whole 30 and I absolutely loved this I recipe. I am not a big fan of coconut and was worried it would overpower the dish and have too much of a coconut taste in a recipe that is meant to be more Italian in flavor. It’s as PERFECT!
Thank you so much for creating such a great recipe! Can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers for lunch!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this Jamie, thanks for coming back to leave a review!
Delicious! My entire family loved this chicken. Next time I will make a larger batch. Reheats well.
So happy your family enjoyed it! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review. We appreciate it so much! 🙂
Super easy and healthy recipe! I used corn starch, organic coconut milk, and chicken broth. I also added extra garlic because you can never have enough. Thanks for the recipe!
Haha! We’ve been known to throw in some extra garlic, too! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try and sharing on IG too. We appreciate your support. 🙂
Can this be made to freeze?
Yes, this could be made and frozen. The coconut milk might separate when frozen, but the sauce will mix back together when it is reheated.
This was so “creamy” without the cream! I swapped cornstarch for the arrowroot (1:1 ratio) with no issue. I added some arugula in addition to the spinach which I liked a lot. Make sure you use full-fat canned coconut milk for the right thickness of sauce. If i had used the bottled stuff this would have been too thin. We had it for leftovers and it was just as good, if not better, the next day! It reheated well.
One thing that wasn’t my favorite was the chicken- it lost its “crust” and was easily overcooked when simmering in the sauce. If I were to make it again, I would still add chicken but I would do it on the grill or blackened in a pan and then add it on top of the pasta at the end. I bet grilled shrimp would be nice too. Will be keeping this in my regular rotation!
It was pretty darn good would make again. I went without the arrowroot starch. One thing I would recommend is add more coconut milk and chicken broth, if you want enough to cover your noodles or rice. It was so good and healthy.
Just made this last night!! I used the corn starch-for-arrowroot-starch sub. This was completely incredible – so delicious! I could not believe something so creamy could have been made without cheese or heavy cream! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will 1000% be making this again.
So happy to hear that, thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review 🙂
Hi!! This is a great recipe! Quick question. I’ve searched for an answer online with no luck. When I use arrowroot, I find that the sauce is a little “slimy” or stringy and I cannot figure out why. I’ve made it again without it so the sauce was a little thinner but overall still fine. Any ideas on what I may need to do differently?
Hey there – we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, the arrowroot does kind of just do that to the sauces. They tend to be best when eaten right after you make them. We’ve noticed what you’re talking about most often with the leftovers. Did you mix the arrowroot and broth mixture up again before adding it to the pan? Another tip to try is to mix up the arrowroot and broth in a jar and really shake it up before adding it to the rest of the ingredients in the pan. Hope that helps! Otherwise, you’re right that you can totally make it without the arrowroot and just have a runnier sauce that still tastes great! Thanks so much for reporting back how it went. 🙂
Made yesterday, tasted like gravy
Made this tonight and really liked it! The sauce was slightly more like a gravy with a very comfort food vibe. We followed the recipe exactly except for one small change: we bought thin sliced chicken breasts which saved the time and effort of pounding down chicken breasts. Our daughter, who is very hard to please, ate two pieces of chicken! Always a huge win in our book! 😆
That is a big win, so glad your daughter ate it up 🙂
I made this tonight with a number of changes. I added more spinach and also sliced mushrooms. I diced the chicken and used a vegetable oil since I cannot have ghee. It is a huge hit here and we will definitely be making it again. This one is going into my personal use cookbook for sure!
So glad you made the recipe work for your needs! Thanks for coming back to to leave a rating and review, we appreciate it 🙂
Really good! I didn’t have any ghee so I used grass fed butter and olive oil (not restricting anything so I didn’t mind). Also added some garlic powder, garlic salt, and mushrooms. Served it with spaghetti squash. Turned out creamy and DELISH! Thanks for the recipe!
So happy it was hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and share what you did and how it worked out! 🙂
Wow, this was SO delicious! Lots of flavor. I added some garlic powder. I served it with brown rice and oven roasted zucchini.
Glad you enjoyed it Cynthia, thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review 🙂