Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I made this tonight and it was a big hit with my family of 5! It was damn delicious! I used boneless skinless breasts, which cooked in 20 minutes. I parboiled the potatoes and they came out perfectly. And I’m not sure why some commenters say the sauce has no flavor. It is outrageously flavorful! I did have to add salt and pepper to taste, of course. Great recipe! Going on Our Favs board.
This is a STUNNING looking recipe – the browned chicken is very prominent once the dish is cooked. This is a time consuming recipe however. Any tips for make ahead? Or can you make ahead and simply reheat? Respectfully yours…..
Yes, you can reheat as needed.
Delicious!!!! Was a hit with the family, I had no left-overs. Will make again soon. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you use all fresh herbs for this recipe or do you have to use the dry ones specified?
Yes, you can absolutely use fresh herbs! The ratio for fresh to dry herbs is typically 3:1.
Thanks for the reply. My family loved it. We took suggestions above and added mushrooms when see sautéed the spinach.
Made this twice and it’s been a hit! Made a couple of substitutions / edits: (1) used chicken stock instead of broth (richer flavor); (2) subbed whole milk for the half and half (sauce is a bit thinner but still very good); (3) added some rosemary to the chicken; (4) pre-roasted potatoes in a little olive oil and italian seasoning for 10 min in oven while preparing rest of dish — helps make sure they’re fully cooked. Could also par-boil as some comments have suggested. Also, I use the bagged Kraft parmesan cheese since that was all i had available — and it still tasted great!
What an amazing simple dish! I bought boneless by accident but turned out great! Just had potatoes night before so made rice on the side& spooned sauce on after, yummy! Thanks so much for turning every day boring chicken into heaven!!
I have made this twice now, and it is absolutely delicious! My husband said it is the best chicken dish he has ever eaten. I used very small gourmet Dutch potatoes as called for in the recipe, so they were cooked through fine. I did use heavy cream instead of half and half, that’s the only thing I did differently.
I have all of ingredients BUT half and half /heavy cream. I do have whole milk. Due to the weather situation we’re having in Louisiana right now, flooded..curfews, I can not leave my home. What can I do/use?
I REALLY want to cook this for supper tonight/NOW.
HELP
You can substitute whole milk.
I made an extra pan of sauce to drizzle over the finished product on our plates. (My husband is a “smothered and covered” kind of guy.) Will definitely make again as well as revisit for more awesome recipes as I’m new to Chungah’s magic!
Love this! Made it for the first time this evening and I’m told by my teenagers that it is a keeper! I made a few changes by doubling the amount of spinach and adding sautéed mushrooms. Also, I made an extra pan of sauce to drizzle over the finished product on our plates. (My husband is a “smothered and covered” kind of guy.) Will definitely make again as well as revisit for more awesome recipes as I’m new to Chungah’s magic!
I made this tonight and it so yummy. I omitted the spinach and used chicken breast instead. I do recommend cutting the potatoes into small bites so they will cook by the time the chicken is finished. Recipe is a keeper!
Can I get an opinion on making this more paleo friendly? I know I could sub cauliflower for potatoes. Do you think coconut flour would sub for the flour? Or do you know of a different substitute? Thank you for your site. My family loves your recipes!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Is it normal for the sauce to separate in the oven or did I do something wrong?
Oh no – that shouldn’t be happening at all! Perhaps your heat was set too high?
My sauce separated in the oven as well.. still very good but oily. I did cook it 20 minutes longer than the suggested cook time because I wanted to make sure the potatoes cooked all the way. That may be what caused it, I will try again and use the suggested cook time to see if that helps.
My sauce separated as well (probably because I had to bake it for 50 minutes for chicken to be cooked through – and quartered potatoes were still under-done). Next time, I will use smaller pieces of chicken breast and throw the potatoes in the oven while I sear the chicken and wilt the spinach. But there will definitely be a next time, because even with the sauce separated, it had fantastic flavor!
Wow this is good! Yummy in my tummy! I added a splash of white wine and some diced onions. I also microwaved the potatoes for a couple mins after reading other reviews.
Excellent, thanks for another great recipe.
I made this for my hubby…I have no idea how long I left it in the oven, but the veggies were cooked and the chicken was a little brown looking, but still tasted wonderful! I didn’t have any spinach, so I added baby carrots and green beans- delish! I was a little worried about the sauce becoming too thick so I added more liquid- that was a mistake. The veggies and chicken released a good amount of liquid, so the flavors of the sauce would have been just right if I had left it alone! I will be making this again- and following the directions more closely!
Very good; I will be making it again!
Absolutely delicious. My only recommendation would be to add the wilted spinach 5 minutes before removing from oven. This will prevent over cooking the spinach and also allowing more baking time (about 45 minutes) so that the potatoes can cook longer. 30 minutes is not enough time to cook the potatoes even though I cut mine about 1″x2″ or smaller. This recipe is definely a keeper.
First of all, I love your recipes! I have this in the oven and this sauce is amazing. I can’t wait to eat the finished product. Seriously, I wanted to drink the sauce like soup before I poured it on the chicken. So good! I found myself wondering what else I could use the sauce for.
I havent made this but hate the frying of the chicken on the stove. Messy. Can the whole thing be baked in the oven for an hour, this would also address getting the potatoes cooked which doesn’t seem to work in the orig recipe.?
Patricia, I find that this is best when the chicken is initially seared, which really allows the flavors to caramelize and come together. But as always, please do what is most comfortable for you to suit your preferences.
I made this last night and both my husband and I loved it. I cut the potatoes into small-ish chunks and it required about 35-40 minutes of oven time. Very good; I will be making it again!