Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
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A complete meal in one! Baked crisp-tender chicken with potatoes and spinach, so good!
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 i love this recipe
- 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 garlicky Parmesan cream sauce. This is a cream sauce of dreams – rich, silky 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 this impressive yet easy peasy chicken and potato dinner
- Make the garlic parmesan cream sauce until the desired consistency is reached (note: heavy cream will yield a richer sauce)
- Season the chicken and sear until the skin is golden brown and crispy
- Cook the spinach until wilted in the pan juices
- Add everything to a baking dish, roasting until both the chicken and potatoes are cooked through and tender
- Serve, spooning over some of that leftover sauce on anything and everything
tips and tricks for success
- Bone-in is ideal. While boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used with a shorter cooking time, bone-in will be juicier and have extra flavor.
- 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.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens 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!
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/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 great subs.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
A complete meal in one! Baked crisp-tender chicken with potatoes and spinach, so good!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 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
Equipment
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 roast 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.
Video
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This looked so delicious. The sauce was nice and creamy, but separated once I cooked it. Chicken was floating in a greasy mess. As everyone else said, the potatoes were not cooked at 30+ minutes. Sad because it looked good and easy.
O em GEE! This dish was a hit! I had no problem with making it. I cooked it for 35min in the oven and it was cooked perfectly. If you quarter the potatoes then you should have ZERO problems them cooking in that amount of time. Highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you for sharing with us Jessica! So glad you liked it.
This meal was definitely a win! I carefully combed the comments and found some helpful suggestions:
1. Par-Boil/pre-cook the potatoes or they will never be cooked in 30 minutes.
2. Over-season because the chicken can be a bit bland.
A lot of people had difficulty getting their chicken to cook through but I didn’t have any trouble after getting them good and brown in the skillet first.
I adjusted the recipe to replace the chicken thighs with chicken breasts. I excluded the spinach since my other half won’t touch it. Instead, I added green beans to my half and they turned out to be my favorite part. I think lemon juice would compliment the recipe well. I also didn’t add the fresh parsley because, quite frankly, I don’t care what it looks like and didn’t miss the flavor one bit. I also used Parmesan from the shaker bottle in the fridge because that’s how I roll. It tasted great even though it wasn’t “freshly grated.”
Please disregard my question. I did not read the recipe correctly.
Step 8 in the recipe says, “165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.” Is that the correct temperature to bake it at?
Thank you.
Followed the recipe to a tee, I would suggest boiling the potatoes a bit before it goes in the oven. Had to roast about a hour before it was done. Excellent taste, but for me it was very time consuming.
Made it tonight we loved it. I Will add more spinach next time a big hit. Thank you for sharing
Made it tonight, recipe sounded really good but my family didnt care that much for it. For our taste buds the thyme was way too over powering almost like a dirt flavor. If I try it again I would try 1/4 tsp or perhaps some other spices and leave it out. It was not bland thats for sure!. As others have commented you need to pre cook the potatoes so they are done along with the chicken. I cut them in bit size pieces and microwaved for 4 minutes and they were perfect after baking the dish for 35 minutes. I also added mushrooms and zucchini for more veges and a complete meal. This made the sauce a bit runny so next time I will really thicken it with more flour to start.
This was delicious! Great recipe for more fatty cuts of chicken. I used thigh and leg pieces so I had to cook it closer to 40 minutes. I also parboiled the potatoes as suggested by another commenter and they were perfectly soft and tender when cooked with the chicken.
Made this a few nights ago and it was delicious! We used thin sliced chicken breast instead of chicken thighs. After reading previous comments, I made sure to cut the potatoes into small bites and it cooked perfectly! That garlic parmesan cream sauce is amazing! Added some brussel sprouts in the pan as well. Will definitely make again!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! Even my two picky kids liked it. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this recipe a few days ago EXACTLY as written and it was delicious!! I’ve never made anything like it and the robust flavors were amazing. I added salt and pepper to my liking, like the recipe states (which means a good amount of both for me). I used bone-in, skin-on thighs and cut the baker potatoes into thirds or fourths, per the recipe’s suggestion. It cooked perfectly in the time it said and the potatoes were tender and full of flavor from being in the sauce. YUM. It was amazing and I’m making it again this weekend when company comes over. (I plan to double the spinach- that was SO good! We sopped up the sauce with bread and the spinach and sauce on bread was my favorite part!) Thanks for the great, simple recipe that tastes AMAZING!!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I used chicken breasts and I used Italian seasoning in the cream sauce as well since I didn’t have the other spices and i thought it was great! Due to other comments, I did end up cooking for closer to 50 minutes to make sure it was cooked through. Very flavorful and agree with another comment that the cream sauce would be good over pasta.
Yummy, I was worried that it wouldn’t cook until the time suggested but just an extra five minutes and it was all good!! Added some cherry tomatoes just because they were “on the way out” and added a light freshness to it. Best Pinterest recipe I’ve made, I’m not usually very good at converting from American to British.
Defo a keeper!!!
Thanks so much for raw chicken and uncooked potatoes! This recipe couldn’t be more inaccurate!!
Cooking times in recipes are simply an estimation. Please account for larger-sized chicken and potatoes to ensure they are cooked through completely.
I’ve used the recipe a few times and it always comes out amazing! I was also wondering if there is anyway to use the same sauce recipe but with shrimp instead?
I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!
Yes, absolutely! You can try this recipe of mine that uses shrimp and this cream sauce:
https://damndelicious.net/2016/12/17/shrimp-and-gnocchi-with-garlic-parmesan-cream-sauce/.
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try it!
I made this last night and while yes I did have to cook it more like an hour+, I thought the flavor was SO delicious! The spinach and potatoes were really tasty. I would make it again! Thank you! 🙂
Made this tonight but used boneless/ skinless chicken breasts and doubled the sauce (only bc my family loves sauce) & it was delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Chungah, I made this for dinner tonight. It was simple, delicious and easy. Your recipes are the best. Always work as described. Many of your recipes are part of my regular rotation. Keep your chin up and ignore the negative people. Keep sending your great recipes. Hi to Butters.
Happy New Year.
I agree – people are SO mean, yikes! It was so good 🙂
Made this for supper. It was SO good! I used the worlds’ best Italian seasoning, Chef Prudhomme pizza and pasta seasoning. Lots of flavor. I am watching my carbs these days, so I subbed cauliflower for the potatoes. Husband and I both loved it.
Hi, just wondering what Dutch potatoes are? I’m trying this recipe this week. My family of four consistently loves every single recipe I’ve ever made from your site. Thank you!
These are round baby potatoes with distinct yellowish-white skins. Hope that helps!