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!
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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!
Video
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.
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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!
Have yet to find Dutch potatoes. What can we substitute and do we need to change cooking time etc?
You can substitute with baby (or the smallest) potatoes you can find. Cooking time will vary if the potatoes you use are larger than standard Dutch potatoes.
The instructions stated that the vegetables and sauce were to go on top of the chicken. All the pictures show chicken nestled in the veggies. I realize it seems like a crazy question but it seems like it could make a difference.
OK, gotta tell you I am truly a believer now!!! I was always telling friends to not really expect what they made to come out looking as good as they see on the internet. Everything is always photoshopped or fixed to look better than possible. But you girl, you have won me over. Yes – your photography is wonderful and makes everything look really luscious. Well, I started trying some of your recipes and O.M.G.!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your fantastic gift with all of us! And today’s chicken recipe is spectacular!
Have a question…my hubby wants new chicken recipes and I found this one….but he says he’s not a fan of spinach. What else would be tasty to put in instead of spinach? (and I don’t think he’ll like kale either!)
You can omit if you would like. Although I do think kale would be a great substitute! 🙂
I made this tonight, but the dear boyfriend bought boneless, skinless chicken thighs, so they were cooked quickly in the pan during the browning phase. I was concerned about the thighs being overcooked in the oven while the potatoes cooked, so I fried them in a pan until they were crusted on the outside, and mostly cooked. Then I threw everything into the pan, covered it with foil and put it in the oven. For the sauce I used the really good shredded parmesan you get at the fancy cheese counter in our local grocer.
It was amazing! It’s so good I want to make it again next week. I do think I will substitute kale instead of spinach, just because I don’t really like spinach. Also, my sauce separated a teensy bit in the oven so I scooped the food with a spoon with small holes so the sauce didn’t drain out but the oil did.
I am having an issue with my sauce separating when it comes out of the oven. It’s oily on the bottom. Any suggestions?
It’s hard to say – are you making any substitutes?
No, I am following the recipe exactly.
Made this last night after a deep-dive on Pinterest and WOW, it was so delicious! The flavor of the sauce was incredible, and this was almost a one-pot meal, which never hurts!
For those that had some trouble, I made a few tweaks to the process that ensured all my ingredients were cooked the right way:
– I browned my bone-in chicken thighs in a little butter for about 5 minutes on each side (longer than the recipe suggests) to make sure I had a nice, golden brown, crisp skin
– After transferring the chicken to the baking dish, I browned the potatoes in the same pot (in whatever liquid was left in there from browning the chicken) and made sure I seasoned them with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
– After transferring the spinach and potatoes, which now were a little golden brown and not absolutely rock hard, I made the sauce in the same pan, again with whatever liquid was left from the previous round.
– For those claiming the sauce was bland… always, ALWAYS season with salt and pepper whether the recipe calls for it or not. I honestly couldn’t believe HOW FLAVORFUL the sauce ended up being… also the perfect consistency.
Super impressed with this one, and also a great dish to make for dinner parties, as it will be super easy to scale up and minimal pot usage/clean-up. <3
Do you think i could use corn starch or gluten free flour? My husband is gluten free.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Nicole – I made this last night using the 1 to 1 gluten free flour ( I like the pillsbury brand) and it turned out beautifully !
Wow! We just made this tonight and it was delicious!!!! It was very easy and actually fun to make. The flavors are very balanced and satisfying. I’m definitely adding this recipe to my dinner rountine. The whole family raved about it. Thank you!!!
This recipe was very good. I did do a little more, I am Haitian so I can’t just use salt and pepper on one side. I marinated my thighs over night with homemade Haitian seasonings, so the chicken can be flavorful throughout. Then I made the cheese sauce as instructed and baked it at an hour. Came out smelling good, tender and DELICIOUS.
I made this yesterday exactly as above recipe except I accidentally bought a package of 4 chicken breasts instead of 6. It WAS delicious however I would make some modifications next time. I would not bother with skin on, all the seasonings went on the skin which ended up being discarded. I think I would prefer with breast meat rather than thighs, so I would change that up. The potatoes were nice, but I think this would also be really good over pasta so I might try that next time. Finally, my sauce was a little too oily so I’d probably use less butter.
I saved your chicken casserole recipes on my FB page and just finished the chicken and potatoes with garlic sauce. My oven’s mother board went capture last nite so I improvised this dish by cooking it on top of my stove in a deep sided pan with lid!
I read through most of these recipes and really like them. The ingredients you list and ease of preparing/cooking appealed to me. I work very long hours back to back so these recipes sound delicious and easy. I’m going to check your cook book out now on Amazon:)
Loved this recipe. Added salt to potatoes and spinach lightly before hand. Turned out Fab! Thank you!
Definitely my households favorite recipe! I use this at least once a month! Thanks so much!
This recipe looks particularly yummy – is there a way of making it for my daughter who can’t have dairy or sugar ? Maybe some substitute suggestions ??
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I really like the recipe, however I had to double the amount of spices. I automatically doubled the spices because that’s what I normally do with most recipes. I’m Puerto Rican and black so I need me some flavor! And I cooked it for about 50 minutes and had no issues with potatoes or meat.
We love this! I doubled the sauce and skipped out on the potatoes for angel hair pasta!! So good!
Experienced the same thing as many other people here. I quartered my baby potatoes and still after 30 minutes they were hard. Many you should really specify in the instructions that the potatoes have to be cut up very very small or to boil them before hand.
Absolutely delicious! Next time I’ll add triple the spinach amount. Will definitely be making this again!