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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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!! 🙂
Cooking times may vary quite a bit depending on your chicken thighs. I must’ve got some big ones because they’ve been in the oven almost an hour and they’re still not done. Our oven cooks hot too so I raised the temperature. I’m sure the sauce is going to be well overdone by now. Not happy.
This is sooo good! Especially with that sauce over rice
LOVED this recipe! I see there are many comments, but didn’t see anything about coconut milk as a substitute for the heavy cream (I apologize if I missed it). I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk as a healthier/lactose free alternative and it worked great. I also added maybe a tsp of sugar to help balance any acidity of the tomatoes. Finally, I cooked the sauce separately while baking marinated chicken breasts. Everything else was executed exactly as explained and the texture and flavor was unbelievable! Thank you!!
I made this and it was delicious!! I added spinach as well and it was a great addition!
Made this a while back and has become one of our favorites.
Love the idea of this. How would I adjust the cooking time if I used bone-in chicken breast, since I don’t like dark meat? Many thanks.
Cooking time may have to be extended as needed.
Just started making this and we love it! Has anyone tried making it in a crockpot!?!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I serve on a bed of linguine pasta. I use chicken breasts instead of thighs, and I put chicken on the grill briefly before baking in the oven – just enough to produce grill marks. This accomplishes two things – it puts grill marks on the chicken which taste delicious, and it cooks the chicken just enough that once placed into the baking dish the chicken juices do not dilute the sauce. DE-LISH!!!
I’ve made this many times and each time delicious! I was just wondering if feta could work in place of the parmesan cheese for a variation of this dish?
Yes, absolutely. What a great idea!
A SAUCE TO DIE FOR!! THANKS ALOT!
Another quick and easy recipe that was a hit with everyone. (Even though yours looked much prettier) I served it with polenta and salad for a filling autumn supper. Thanks!