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!
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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I made this today with a few adjustments based on reviews that were posted and it was amazing, I will definitely be making it again. I added minced garlic to the butter that I seared the chicken in and in addition to the salt, pepper and Italian seasoning I added garlic powder. I parboiled the potatoes for 10 minutes before placing them around the chicken so they were perfectly tender. In hindsight, I would have used more spinach, 3 cups of spinach isn’t very much once it’s been sautéed. All in all it was delicious.
This was simple and outstanding! My husband said it’s his favorite chicken now!
This was easy to make and a hit for Father’s Day dinner!!
This was a hit!
I took a whole chicken ,cooked it a bit in the crockpot then poured double the sauce over! Amazing! Ty
So good! My husband said it was restaurant quality! I did use boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I have a child who doesn’t like chicken thighs) and cooked the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes ahead of time. We also doubled the sauce! Definitely a recipe that will be a staple in our rotation!
Made this last night and followed the suggestion to start the potatoes spritzed with olive oil while preparing the rest. Also after sautéing the spinach and setting it aside, I decided to add the spinach to the garlic Parmesan cream sauce. Turned out spectacular.
It was soo yummy! Made 1.5x worth and it came out tasting so great! The sauce was a bit thick so i should have added a bit more half and half. So the chicken took a bit longer to cook in the oven (extra 10 minutes). But still yummy. Will definitely make again!
OMG! It had great flavor, and since there were only 2 of us, I used 3 thighs but made the full recipe for the sauce. It didn’t look as pretty as the pictures but it did taste amazing.
Absolutely delicious. I normally don’t leave reviews but this was a fantastic dish. Sauce was over the top. I will be adding it too My Faves. Next time I will double the sauce plus maybe some mushrooms. Thanks for the recipe. You have never failed me….
It’s in the oven did,t follow the directions to the tree I cut the potatoes small and seasoned them and added spinach cream parmesean paprika Italian seasoning and chicken broth and put it in the oven while I pan seared the chicken then added in the oven making eggnoodles to go with ith
Loved this dish! So did my husband . Only wish that Nutritional info was included..
Love this meal! Flavor is outstanding, the only thing I changed – added double spinach. I have also made this with shredded brussels sprouts instead of spinach.
I make this alot. I Love this, its really Good!
This was really tasty! I thought the sauce would be too rich but it was just right! And I even made the mistake of not adding enough butter when making the sauce. Thank you for the recipe!! The only thing I had to do different was use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
I make this without potatoes. It’s delicious and everyone loves it
You need to drizzle diced potatoes in olive oil and bake at 425 for 15 mins at least prior to adding to casserole dish w rest of ingredients! And double the amount of garlic. Will try again!
Just finished eating this delicious dinner. The sauce was to die for and even though the recipe had several steps it was easy to do. I did use skinless breasts instead of thighs and pounded them thin so they cooked faster. I also partially cooked the potato cubes in water in the microwave just to get them going. This is good enough for company and I’ll definitely be making regularly. Thanks!
Saw this on instagram this week and decided to give it a go. It’s amazing! I used stock instead of broth as I didn’t have broth on hand, and used closer to 3/4 cup of half & half. Will definitely make again!
Saw this in my email this week. Made it last night – used chicken breasts (what I had on hand) and while I was concerned they’d be dry, they were ver moist. So delicious and definitely company worthy! Thanks for such a great recipe.