Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
by Chungah
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Juicy, tender chicken and potatoes, sneaked-in greens and the most irresistible garlic parmesan cream sauce! Budget-friendly and impressive!
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 you’ll love Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
- 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 cream sauce. This is a cream sauce made of dreams – rich, silky, garlicky 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 Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Make the cream sauce. Firstly, make the garlic parmesan cream sauce until the desired consistency is reached (heavy cream will yield a richer sauce). If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of half-and-half.
- Prep the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken. Cook the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy, working in batches as needed to avoid an overcrowded pan.
- Wilt the spinach. Stir in the spinach until wilted in the pan juices.
- Bake. Add the chicken, potatoes, spinach, and cream sauce to a 9 x 13 baking dish, baking until the chicken is cooked through (165°F) and the potatoes are fork-tender (larger-sized potatoes will take longer to cook through).
- Serve. Lastly, spoon over some of the leftover sauce on the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty bread or dinner rolls for sopping.
What cuts of chicken work best in this recipe?
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs: This is the gold standard in a recipe like this, yielding the most flavor as the skin will naturally self-baste the meat as the fat renders, preventing the chicken from drying out.
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts: This is a great option for those who prefer white meat, but will require a longer cook time.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts: This will cook much more quickly than bone-in, but without the skin (baster) and bone (retains moisture), there is a higher risk of drying out and becoming tough and rubbery when overcooked.
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 and 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 excellent subs.
How can the potatoes be done at the same time as the chicken?
If using baby potatoes, cut them in half. If using larger potatoes, cut them into small 1/2-inch pieces. For those who prefer softer potatoes, parboil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the baking dish.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce
Juicy, tender chicken and potatoes, sneaked-in greens and the most irresistible garlic parmesan cream sauce! Budget-friendly and impressive!
Video
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, patted dry
- 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 bake 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.
Equipment
Notes
- Bone-in chicken will be juicier. While boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used with a shorter cooking time, bone-in will be juicier and have extra flavor.
- Pat the chicken dry. Use a paper towel to thoroughly dry the chicken, blotting on all sides before seasoning. Wet chicken will cause it to steam, making it impossible to form that golden brown crust.
- 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.
- Parboil the potatoes (optional). If you prefer ultra-soft potatoes or larger-sized potatoes, parboil for 5-10 minutes before adding to the baking dish.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in added nutrition 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!
Did you make this recipe?
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Can this recipe be made with chicken breast? My family does like thighs.
Yes, absolutely.
Delicious flavor and I will definitely make it again with some adjustments:
First, I had to increase the cooking time by quite a bit. The potatoes need to be cut into bite-sized pieces so they don’t come out hard. I’d double the spinach next time and decrease the butter a bit. I love butter as much as anyone, but it seemed a little much…
I liked the fatty, sauciness of it, but I can see why it’d be too much for some. Served with ciabatta, or some other crusty bread, I love it.
Evening at the improv over here.. Really wanted to make this recipe tonight but had to do some subbing. Still came out really good. Didn’t have fresh parsley used dried, found that the box of chicken stock in the pantry was open (did I do that?) so threw it out and used whatever pan juices and water. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Since I had much less liquid, I only used one tablespoon on flour. Also a splash of good Chardonnay to deglaze. Frozen spinach instead of fresh which may have helped the liquid situation…Lastly I had to sub the break-in-case-of-emergency grated parm in a can but it was still fine. I had Yukon gold potatoes on hand, cut them into bite size pieces (8ths) and roasted them on a sheet pan with olive oil and salt and a little parm till they had a little color and would release from the pan. I felt they wouldn’t cook in time in the chicken pan and wanted a little texture so this worked really well for me. I added them in for the last five mins or so, so they could soak up the flavors. I used a cast iron skillet btw. So really didn’t change the bones of this recipe, and even my picky five year old liked it.
I made this without the spinach (I ran out!) And the color, as expected, was very bland. But the dish wasn’t! The only thing I would do differently is boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes before baking it. Definitely adding to the recipe book!
Hi, I have made this twice now. Excellent. I used nice new potatoes from the garden. I like the spinach in it even though it’s not my favourite . I added some sun dried tomatoes I had the second time and that was great as well.
I like a lot of your recipes, but this one didn’t work for me. Way, way too much butter and like other posters, the potatoes were nowhere near done after 20 mins. Suggest halving the butter (both when sautéing the chicken and especially for the sauce) and boiling the potatoes or microwaving them, something, before putting in the oven.
I’ve made this today and I have to say this was mind blowing! Just divine. Definitely a keeper! Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe.
Tried this today. Hard potatoes and bland. Do not put the spinach in after the chicken, add it to the sauce after the Parmesan melts. Definitely boils potatoes first and longer cook time
Greasy, soupy mess, though I followed the recipe precisely. I had to up the cooking time, though I cut my potatoes into 1/8ths. Decent flavor but probably won’t make again. My 4 & 7 year olds liked the flavor of the chicken, but the soupy cream sauce (which was perfect on the stove top) was a huge turn off for us all.
Next time I will probably just cook the chicken separate from the potatoes & top with the cream sauce at the end so it’s not broken
I made this last night, it was a hit . So much flavor. I just kept making everything in the same pan to keep all those juices for cream sauce.
AMAZING!!!!!
I would love to make this dish but I do not understand what half and half is, or am I being thick.
Hope someone can help.
Thanks
Anne in the UK.
The UK equivalent seems to be half cream or single cream. You can read more about it here. Hope that helps!
This recipe was amazing!! I doubled it for 8 people, with 16 thighs,used my large electric skillet to do the whole thing, the
bottom of the pan was scraped clean! This one is a keeper! Thanks!
I added a large onion and it was great!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
I made this last weekend and it was oh so good and delicious!!! I had some green beans with it to make a complete meal. Might try with skinless chicken and half butter to see if that will be just as tasty. Very easy to prepare and not much clean up. I gave numerous copies to my friends and will be making this again tonight! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!!
I want to make this so badly but I am not a fan of parmesan cheese. I don’t like the smell. Can I substitute it?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Just made this today and it was great. I never seem to do a recipe without changing something. I omitted the Italian seasoning and just added more basil, more pototoes and fresh mushrooms. The variations were good
Prepared this one over the weekend. YUMMY! Everyone enjoyed it and said it is a repeater! Thank you again! Looking for the next one to try! So many GREAT choices!! I’ve been asked to do the salmon with sriracha sauce again. 🙂
I made this chicken dish tonight OMG first I made some bacon this morning so I saved my bacon grease to cook the chicken in and then I followed the recipe step by step except for spinach I used fresh green beans cooked them like the recipe called for the spinach what an amazing dish I can not wait for my husband to try this tomorrow. This will be a monthly dinner dish for us .
I made this yesterday and my family loves it. Thanks for your amazing recipe which has high success rate and so easy to follow.
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.