Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
by Chungah
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Juicy, tender chicken and potatoes, sneaked-in greens and the most irresistible garlic parmesan cream sauce! Budget-friendly and impressive!
Featured Comment
I have been using this recipe for years! At least 5! I have tried this with all sorts of chicken (boneless skinless thighs are our favorite, but mostly for ease of cutting with 4 younger kids), but what I came here to say is TRY THIS WITH SWEET POTATOES! We like it with regular, but we substituted one time because it’s all we had and we never went back! Sooo yummy. We dice ours into smaller cubes and layer at the bottom of the dish, making sure chicken and sauce cover/coat the potatoes, and we don’t have a problem with undercooked. It’s delish!
Why you’ll love Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Complete meal-in-one. This hearty chicken dinner has it all! And the potatoes and spinach (or any other leafy greens) are baked right in, soaking up all the flavors of liquid gold (aka pan juices).
- Includes the most heavenly, dreamy cream sauce. This is a cream sauce made of dreams – rich, silky, garlicky and just so so good, coating the chicken and potatoes oh-so-perfectly.
- Impressive and budget-friendly. Using bone-in chicken thighs is inexpensive and so impressive for weekend company or visiting family (added bonus: dark meat is much more flavorful and juicier than white meat).
- Plenty of leftover sauce. The gift of leftover sauce can only mean one thing – you can toss with pasta, toss with rice, toss with all of the things. Or sop with all the crusty bread (my personal favorite).
how to make Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Make the cream sauce. Firstly, make the garlic parmesan cream sauce until the desired consistency is reached (heavy cream will yield a richer sauce). If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of half-and-half.
- Prep the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken. Cook the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy, working in batches as needed to avoid an overcrowded pan.
- Wilt the spinach. Stir in the spinach until wilted in the pan juices.
- Bake. Add the chicken, potatoes, spinach, and cream sauce to a 9 x 13 baking dish, baking until the chicken is cooked through (165°F) and the potatoes are fork-tender (larger-sized potatoes will take longer to cook through).
- Serve. Lastly, spoon over some of the leftover sauce on the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty bread or dinner rolls for sopping.
What cuts of chicken work best in this recipe?
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs: This is the gold standard in a recipe like this, yielding the most flavor as the skin will naturally self-baste the meat as the fat renders, preventing the chicken from drying out.
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts: This is a great option for those who prefer white meat, but will require a longer cook time.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts: This will cook much more quickly than bone-in, but without the skin (baster) and bone (retains moisture), there is a higher risk of drying out and becoming tough and rubbery when overcooked.
pro tip
Use baby potatoes.
Baby potatoes are ideal here to ensure that they cook through at the same rate as the chicken, yielding evenly cooked, crisp-tender potatoes. Baby potatoes also require minimal prep time and do not require peeling. If using larger potatoes, cut into smaller, uniform pieces to ensure even cooking until soft and tender.
what to serve with Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use fresh herbs instead?
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
What is half and half?
Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.
What can I substitute for the spinach?
Kale, cabbage, swiss chard, and collard greens are all excellent subs.
How can the potatoes be done at the same time as the chicken?
If using baby potatoes, cut them in half. If using larger potatoes, cut them into small 1/2-inch pieces. For those who prefer softer potatoes, parboil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the baking dish.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
Juicy, tender chicken and potatoes, sneaked-in greens and the most irresistible garlic parmesan cream sauce! Budget-friendly and impressive!
Video
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, patted dry
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 16 ounces baby Dutch potatoes, halved*
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the garlic parmesan cream sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth, or more, as needed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ cup half and half*
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet. Stir in spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to wilt, about 2 minutes; set aside.
- Place chicken in a single layer into the prepared baking dish. Top with potatoes, spinach and garlic Parmesan cream sauce.
- Place into oven and bake until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
For the garlic parmesan cream sauce
- Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in chicken broth, thyme and basil. Cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in half and half and Parmesan until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more half and half as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Equipment
Notes
- Bone-in chicken will be juicier. While boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used with a shorter cooking time, bone-in will be juicier and have extra flavor.
- Pat the chicken dry. Use a paper towel to thoroughly dry the chicken, blotting on all sides before seasoning. Wet chicken will cause it to steam, making it impossible to form that golden brown crust.
- Brown the chicken first. This will add all the extra, deeper flavors here, sealing all the juices inside, and keeping the chicken nice and crisp while baking.
- Parboil the potatoes (optional). If you prefer ultra-soft potatoes or larger-sized potatoes, parboil for 5-10 minutes before adding to the baking dish.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in added nutrition for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Make it richer (or lighter). Heavy cream will have a higher fat content than half and half or milk, yielding a thicker consistency. Swap out the half and half for heavy cream for a richer sauce, or whole milk for a lighter sauce.
- Freshly grated Parmesan goes a long way. Pre-packaged shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can hinder their ability to melt smoothly. Freshly grated cheese is always best, melting more smoothly and evenly, and creating a far superior cream sauce.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
Did you make this recipe?
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This was amazing! Delicious and very fast to put together.
After baking, my sauce was not thick and creamy and was more the consistency and color of melted butter. I followed the recipe and it was very thick when I poured it over the chicken. Any suggestions as to how to avoid this next time? We enjoyed it very much, but I would have loved the creamy sauce.
Was lacking inspiration, found this wonderful recipe. What can I say, it was absolutely delicious and will be repeated. I think it would be a lovely dish to serve to visitors with sweet carrors and French beans. Thank you.
Made this last night. Delicious. Based on previous reviews, I par boiled the potatoes gently for 12 minutes in salted water before incorporating them into the dish. Perfect.
I loved this dish, easy to make and very tasty, but I can’t find the nutritional information, can you provide?
I want to cook this but in the garlic Parmesan sauce you say to add half and half …. Please explain what half and half is so I can make this recipe which looks delicious
You can make it yourself with a recipe (it’s just equal parts milk and heavy cream) but most stores sell it in the dairy section pre-made.
Tried it but it tasted good
Put it on my black sauce tonight, never tasted better!
This time instead of spinach and potatoes I stir fried veggies and used chicken thighs and cooked spelt noodles and mixed together with the sauce. Tasted great!
I have been using this recipe for years! At least 5! I have tried this with all sorts of chicken (boneless skinless thighs are our favorite, but mostly for easy of cutting with 4 younger kids), but what I came here to say is TRY THIS WITH SWEET POTATOES! We like it with regular, but we substituted one time because it’s all we had and we never went back! Sooo yummy. We dice ours into smaller cubes and layer at the bottom of the dish, making sure chicken and sauce cover/coat the potatoes, and we don’t have a problem with undercooked 🙂 it’s delish!
Yum, Yum, Yum! So delicious and easy. I did use skinless and boneless thighs, still browned and just delish. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Husband loved it! Will make again – but will par cook the potatoes as they needed way more time and I didn’t want to overcook the chicken.
Delicious dish! I actually don’t bake it-I let it cook, covered, on the stove. SO TENDER & JUICY My only qualm is that the 10 minutes prep time is laughable (but that could be because of my ingredients). I used fresh spinach, so removing stems, washing, patting dry. I grated fresh parm-OMG SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE SHAKER STUFF! My half & half was in the fridge, so I slowly warmed it up to room temp. I held off until there was about 10 minutes left in the cooking process to add the spinach. Allow about 30 minutes to prep-if you’re quick in the kitchen . Give yourself more if you prefer a not hectic pace
Great flavours! I used boneless skinless thighs 8. I agree would hold salt for flavouring chicken as enough salt in the Parmesan. I also needed to cook for 50-60 minutes and next time I’d also add mushrooms like someone suggested. The three of us gave it 5/5!
I made this recipe with chicken tenderloins and it came out just as good! The only thing I would say is to add extra time for the potatoes but otherwise, it’s DELICIOUS. Add some garlic powder to the chicken and potatoes and season them up…it makes it so much better! I LOVE the cream sauce and can’t wait to make it again.
This was a hit with our whole family! Simple and delicious!
Absolutely delicious! Loved this meal!
Is this cooked in the oven covered or uncovered. It didn’t specify, so it’s in the oven now covered.
I’m rating for 6 different people and we all have it 5 stars! This was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be cooking it again! I love that you basically use 1 pan so not a messy clean up! So much flavor and so savory! I highly recommend this dish to anyone who wants a savory delicious meal!
Very tasty. Next time I will double the sauce.