Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Crisp-tender chicken in the most amazing cream sauce ever. It’s so good, you’ll want to guzzle down the sauce!
I know Thanksgiving is in a few days but I just needed a break from all the turkey-stuffing-sweet potato-brussels sprouts taste testing and try something fun with something completely unrelated to Thanksgiving. Like chicken.
But this is definitely not your ordinary chicken dish. It’s better. Way better. After all, how can you go wrong with a sun dried tomato cream sauce with the most crisp chicken thighs?
The cream sauce is just so good, you’ll actually want to just skip the chicken and eat the sauce with a spoon instead!
Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Crisp-tender chicken in the most amazing cream sauce ever. It's so good, you'll want to guzzle down the sauce!
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ cup basil leaves, chiffonade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof 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 tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.
- Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.
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Saved this a while ago and was looking for something different to do with chicken thighs tonight. It was delicious. I drained most of the chicken fat off after browning and used a gravy separator after baking. Will probably not drain the fat the first time for more flavor and only skim after roasting. Will also use less salt on the chicken when browning. Will probably try it with shrimp sometime as well.
Im pretty picky about what I add to our regular rotation. It really has to be outstanding. THIS is definitely getting added our our regular rotation! I did tweak a few things. I used only 5 boneless skinless thighs. 8 seemed like way too many for me, because I like a lot of sauce with my chicken, and boneless skinless was what I had on hand. I think I added a touch more cream. I was concerned about what other reviewers said about the sauce separating – I didnt know if they meant curdling, or the oil coming out, but it was also hot AF that day, so I did it all stovetop (only do-able because I didnt use bone-in thighs), and reduced the broth first, before adding the cream to be careful. I served it with gnocchi. Thank you so much! I may even double the sauce part next time because it’s SO amazing! I’ll be trying more of your recipes for sure!
I was so happy with the results. My husband said in the 7 years we have been married, that this was the best meal I’ve ever made and it came out very aesthetically pleasing. I will definitely be making this again.
Hello! Do I put the lid on the skillet (I used a dutch oven) when I put it in the oven? Thanks!
No lid needed here. 🙂
Can this be made with chicken breast? Does the cooking time need to be adjusted?
Yes, and yes!
I made this with shrimp instead of chicken. Used Trader Joe’s Red Argentinian shrimp and sauteed them in just a bit of butter first for less than a minute a side, then set them aside in a bowl. Then followed the recipe for the sauce (definitely use low sodium chicken broth or I used about 1/4 of a good quality bullion cube in one cup of water). Added shrimp WITHOUT the juice from the bowl and heated through at the end. BTW, I think the sauce reduces better if you do it BEFORE you add the Parmesan cheese. Served over rice and super yummy but how you get 8 servings of the sauce from this recipe is beyond me. Four max. Also, I live on a boat so used Trader Joe’s UHT whipping cream. Delicious.
Another winner. But the star of the show was the crispy thighs, not the sauce so much. Mine turned out quite salty for some reason, think it was my chicken broth. I made double the sauce, which I didn’t end up needing so now have some sweet leftovers for some shrimp pasta later in the week. The whole thing was very good and husband was impressed. Thanks Chungah, you’re the best.
Hi. I made this last night. Fantastic tasting sauce. I used a finely diced fresh red chilli (no seeds) instead of the chilli flakes and I skimmed the fat off the sauce before serving. Everyone loved it, served with Jersey Royals and Broccoli. I will make this again.
Jim
Made this for dinner tonight. I doubled the broth and cream but forgot to double the seasoning. Still came out delicious! Because Parmesan is salty I was going to leave it out but after tasting several times I realized that the sauce really needed it. I also had to thicken it with cornstarch. My market doesn’t carry ‘heavy cream’; I had to use heavy whipping cream which is probably why the sauce did not thicken on its own. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for another great recipe! (For Mothers Day I made your ‘Shrimp Boil’….BIG Hit with the family!)
I only saw “sweetened” heavy cream at my grocery store. Is this the same thing or comparable?
Thanks!
Tatiana
I’m not too sure – I’ve never had sweetened heavy cream. Sorry!
I made this last night and it turned out fantastic. I only had half n half and it still was so good. This is my second recipe that I have used and both will be repeated. The first one was the PF Chang lettuce wraps and I make these weekly .
This is the second thing I’ve tried from this site and the second home run. I doubled everything, so we can have it again tomorrow night. I also maybe tripled the dry seasonings, just because.
I happened to have a frozen bag of leg quarters, so cut them into thighs and legs. Excellent.
And of course, a little Chardonnay for the chicken, a little Chardonnay for the cook ….
I made this and it was very good. I do, however, have a few suggestions to make this really stand out. First, let’s reduce the fat significantly—skin the chicken first. Chicken with skin is great on the grill, but not in this recipe. I know aesthetically it looks nice to have grill marks on it—but your heart will thank you and the sauce will come out much nicer.
Now, about the sauce. Milk/cream will break (separate) if you add an acid (tomatoes) and heat at the same time. I would suggest not using cream and substitute whole milk. Do not try to reduce the fat any further by using less than whole milk. Lower fat dairy will tend to break faster with lower fat in it. Also by adding some flour as a thickener you will protect the protein molecules from separating from the fat molecules. I stirred in about a half cup of water, with a tablespoon of flour mixed in, slowly and then simmered. Meanwhile have a, room temperature, half cup of milk ready to stir in after you remove the sauce from the burner. Slowly add this to the sauce, with the chicken removed, and whisk in well. Never add cold milk from the fridge to a hot sauce—that’s just asking for it to break. Add the chicken back in and just keep warm—not too hot. Now, your fat has been greatly reduced and the sauce will be smooth and creamy without breaking.
I made this recipe last night for our 3 year anniversary dinner. I have never made a recipe like this where you sear the chicken and then put in the oven but I got out my cast iron skillet, and I will say the chicken was so tender and juicy. My hubby cleared his plate and thanked me about 4 times for dinner. I am definitely keeping this as a go to meal and making for a friend who is having a baby in 2 weeks. I also shared the recipe with a coworker who is really excited about it. This recipe is amazing!
I have made this 2 times now and it turns out great never had the seperation problem some have talked about I added just a bit of the pasta water from my Penne Rigate noodles and it turns out perfect each time.
I made this recipe today and everyone loved it! thank you very much!! 🙂 the cream did not separate but i was left with no sauce i think i should’ve covered the pan with some foil, will do next time!
thanks a lot, will try more of your recipes soon and let you know how they turn out <3
Delish! I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and added a little spinach (chiffonade) at the end – just to let it wilt. Served over orzo, our favorite pasta.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I substituted thighs for chicken breasts and half and half cream for heavy cream.. Definitely going to make it again…Tomorrow to early? Lol
Made it many times, easy & quick. Kids love it!
I use boneless thighs easier with kids and
I doubled the ingredients for the sauce, served it over spinach pasta.
I have also served it with coucous.
Fantastic!
Do I put the lid on the oven proof skillet before baking in oven?
No, you do not.
oh thanks, I didn’t see ur reply
I am just going to assume that the word, “roast” implies, no lid!! 🙂