Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
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Crisp-tender chicken baked to absolute perfection with potatoes and spinach. A complete meal in one!
Au revoir, Paris! It’s been an amazing week, but it’s time to get home so that I can burn off all these macarons, baguettes, hot chocolate, and falafels. Not to mention that massive Nutella-banana street crepe I had in the middle of the night.
But before I head to the airport for a 12-hour flight back home, I really need to share this with you: my newest chicken recipe yet with a garlic Parmesan cream sauce that will blow. your. mind.
You also have your potatoes and spinach baked right in for a complete meal in one. See, aren’t you happy that I’m coming back? This just means I’m making more chicken recipes the minute I hit LA.
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
Kale, cabbage, swiss chard and collard greens are all great subs.
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
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
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
Notes
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AMAZING! Very quick and easy and I felt very full and satisfied after. I had some leftover and I was able to reheat by throwing everything in a skillet and allowing the sauce to liquefy. I am hooked on your recipes.
Made this for dinner and it was awesome! Didn’t do the spinach cause we aren’t spinach fans. Also did regular baking potatoes and just parboiled. Will probably do skinless thighs next time! Thank you so much that sauce was delicious!
OH, and I made with skinless boneless thighs and it worked totally fine. Browned prior to oven. In oven for about 30 minutes.
Soooo good! Flavours were amazing! I parboiled potatoes as per other comments. No spinach but steamed some beans for the side. Really good, would totally make again. Thanks!!
I made this tonight, and it was AWESOME! I cooked it for 35 minutes, as I was doing chicken breast boneless, and cut the potatoes small. It turned out amazing…would not change thing!
Made this tonight with boneless, skinless thighs. I only had Romano cheese in the fridge. I used coconut milk (just because I had a can open and it needed to get used). Subbed water for the chicken stock and deglazed pan with a splash of vinegar. I know I made subs, but I wanted to let you know how it worked and was still quite delicious. I might only use 2 cloves garlic next time. I usually like garlic so it could have just been the new head of garlic being extra flavorful. Once it came out of the oven and I gave it a taste I realized my husband wouldn’t like it. It was just too…flourery??? I grew up in the upper midwest with creamy, soupy casseroles and meats so it was fine for me, but I’ve learned in our 11 yrs married that he completely refuses to eat anything like that. I should have known so in my think fast mindset I dumped in some red pasta sauce and W.O.W! Winner, winner chicken dinner!! I think the pasta sauce also helped with the overly garlic flavor I ended up with too. And DO PARBOIL the potatoes. My potatoes needed at least an hour to cook. Thanks!!
Can you use spinach in a can instead of fresh? It’s all I have. Would it change the recipe time or anything?
Yes, canned spinach can be used. Cooking time may have to be reduced accordingly.
I rarely comment on recipes but this was absolutely delicious! My family loved it! I did take the advice of others and placed the potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes while I was searing the chicken and making the cream sauce. It was perfection! Tender potatoes and juicy chicken! Thanks for a new family favorite and one I feel I could serve to company!
Could I use chicken breast instead ???
Yes.
I found that it took 45 minutes to cook this up to my liking and preferred potato stiffness. It was not a difficult thing to figure out. I have read some hateful comments directed towards you when this recipe did not fare well for some and it disappoints me, especially since something as trivial as underdone potatoes can be remedied by simply putting the dish back in the oven for a bit longer.
Thank you for posting! My mom and I loved it! Would be great for company!
Possibly because if you’re planning to serve dinner to your family a turkey a certain time on a weeknight, and it takes twice as long to cook as it’s supposed to, your night kinda goes down the drain. By the time you eat, everyone is grumpy and starving. It’s as simple as testing the recipe, which was clearly not done. It’s lifted almost verbatim from another blog, and I bet was only made once to photograph. I also bet the chicken wasn’t cooked in the photos, either.
This was actually an original recipe of mine, and I’ve made it at least 10-20 times at home. It is a weeknight staple at my house. But thanks for your feedback!
No it’s not original- you “adapted” it from the Kitchen Magpie
It isn’t original– it’s literally copied from the kitchen magpie
o…m….g!!!! I am far from a chef but when I tried this recipe last night for the family and I, I sure felt like one. this was so delicious awesome recipe, thank you so much for sharing.
Good recipe with a little tweaking. I recommend parboiling potatoes first and if using the bone in thighs, an increase in cooking time will most likely be needed. My chicken needed an extra 10-15 minutes and the potatoes were still not tender. If this happens, an easy fix is to remove the potatoes, put them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave them a few minutes until tender. I did not find the sauce to be bland,but used really good parmesan cheese and I am not skimpy with salt and pepper and tend to add salt and pepper to each step in a recipe. My husband and son enjoyed this very much. Next time, I think I will use boneless thighs and use more spinach and potatoes.
I have made this recipe every week for the past month. I love it so much! I’ve substituted the spinach with frozen and fresh green beans, frozen broccoli and cauliflower, and frozen mixed vegetables. I’ve substituted the meat for chicken breasts and tenders, pork, and duck. That sauce and seasoning just makes everything delicious. I’m probably going to make a half sauce recipe and try to just make a vegetable side out of it for he next holiday. It even reheats tasting is as good as when it was fresh!
This good meal makes me have the mood of having them right now so badly. Looks so delicious and juicy.
This was delicious! Made it for dinner tonight and tweaked it an it using gluten free flour for my daughter so she couldn’t have a gluten free meal (which I’ve been really struggling with since this new diet started. Also, I didn’t use quite as much italian seasoning as I find it to be extremely overbearing and left out the thyme. I didn’t have any spinach (shame because I love spinach). BUt still turned out amazing! So thank you!
We have a dairy allergy in our family–is there any substitution that could be used for the half and half? (Perhaps unsweetened coconut milk, soy, etc?)
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I am so thankful that I still have one grandma with us – she’s 93 and feisty as ever! haha These pork chops look delicious!!
I made this the other night and devoured it! The sauce is so, so yummy! I had left over sauce (I only had 4 thighs), and poured it over some pasta. Yum yum! Will definitely be making again.
Thank for sharing the recipe, it looks so delicious !
The potatoes should be par-cooked. I used very tiny baby potatoes sliced in half and they weren’t done after 30 minutes. I covered the whole thing with foil and put it back in the oven checking every 10 minutes. It took a total of 30 extra minutes to cook the potatoes through.