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!
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 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.
Did you make this recipe?
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I love this but the cream sauce makes my thighs start screaming! I lightened it up by replacing the cream sauce with puréed steamed cauliflower and mixed that with the chicken broth, Parmesan and garlic. It made a great ‘cream’. ahhhhmazing!!
Fantastic recipe! My husband loved it. Sauce was amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I plan on making this dish this weekend. What do you suggest for a side dish.
Thanks!
You actually don’t need a side dish since you have the potatoes and spinach baked right in – that’s the beauty of this dish! 🙂
I made this last evening. I could have eaten the Parm sauce in a bowl with a spoon all itself it was that good. I’m already thinking of using this sauce for a chicken parmesan pot pie. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi… Chicken broth? = Stock? Or tin chicken soup I’m a bit lost with your terminology … TIA…
Tracy, here is a great resource discussing their differences. Hope that helps!
Chungah!! Omg!!! This recipe was SO amazingly delish!! My 4yo and husband absolutely LOVED it! And the sauce?!! HOLY SAUCE!!! It was perfection! This recipe will DEFINITELY be on repeat in our household! Thank you for sharing, you truely have a gift!!
Thank you for the quick response, I have this ready for oven now. I”m new to your site but I love what I see.
Are you supposed to cook this covered or uncovered?
Uncovered. Recipes will typically specify if a cover is needed.
This was amazing ! My 1, 3 and 9 year old ate it too !
Thank for sharing
I’m so glad! 🙂
I made this tonight and the potatoes were not cooked enough. I cut the potatoes bite sized too. Flavor was great. I will parboil the potatoes if I make this again.
Awesome dish definately a keeper the parmesan garlic cream butter they are all friends well done ….loved it
This looks amazing. Is the Italian seasoning the dry Italian dressing seasoning or the Mccormick Italian seasoning blend?
McCormick Italian Seasoning can be used.
Even after following your blog site for years, I just noticed that you put the required ingredients & directions side-by-side, making the prep a whole lot easier. Thank you, dear Chungah!
Not a fan of spinach either. I think I will sub sauteed mushrooms and will try low-fat evaporated milk for the cream. Sounds absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try.
I made it last night and it was a HUGE hit. My super picky son asked for seconds yay! Thank you!! <3
Love this, don’t love spinach… If I omit it do you think any other components of the recipe will have to change too or should it be ok?!
Yes, you can omit the spinach and leave the recipe as is. You can also substitute kale if you’d like. Might as well sneak in as many veggies as possible! 🙂
I’m always frustrated by comments because everyone is excited to try the recipe but never come back and say how it turns out. I have to say, first, that you are my GO TO place for recipes and everyone at work thinks i’m this amazing cook based on all of my leftover-lunches. THANK YOU for all you do – my tummy greatly appreciates it!
that being said… this particular meal was a total flop. the sure kept seizing into a gravey-like substance, and even though i used FIVE cloves of garlic, and “heaping” measurements of spices… it had next to no flavor. If I were to try it again, I might use more 1/2 and 1/2 and butter, less milk, and skip the flour (healthy, I know).
That being said…. (again) i’m making another of your recipes tonight CAN. NOT. WAIT.
I did not cook this recipe, but my friend did. She shared the recipe and the leftovers at work. It was delicious. I am making it tomorrow.
I made this a few days ago and I also thought the sauce had no flavor. And my potatoes were still too hard even though I cut them up into tiny pieces. My husband said he liked it, but I don’t think I’ll make this one again. There are plenty of other recipes on this blog that I love so I’ll stick to those instead (like the Lemon Butter Chicken, which is a definite keeper!).
Use double the fresh thyme, basil and parsley. Add a little salt,
Pepper and sugar to the sauce. It makes a HUGE difference, the sugar. Brown the thighs well and make sure they are seasoned beforehand with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. This is out of this world! You have to tweak the sauce and quarter the baby potatoes.
I added 1/2 c dry white wine to the sauce, did a lot for the flavor!
I made this tonight and, granted, did make a few adjustments prior:
– boneless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, cut into strips
– seasoning the chicken with Montreal chicken seasoning
– fresh herbs in lieu of dried, including adding rosemary
– parboiled potatoes to avoid hard potatoes
– sautéed broccoli in addition to spinach
– Additional half and half, chicken broth, garlic (I really, REALLY love garlic) and butter to taste and desired consistency
The outcome was… pretty spectacular! Definitely a recipe worth playing around with a bit to put into the regular dinner rotation.
HI. How long was the cooking time with the breasts
Well I made it tonight, and it sucked. I’m upset at the poorly written recipe. I don’t appreciate Chunga’s haughty attitude on the FAQs saying it is my fault if it fails. I have been cooking for 2o years, and I even write and blog my own recipes.
I should have known that 25 minutes is in no way long enough to cook a pound of raw potatoes and almost raw bone-in chicken thighs. I had to double the cooking time, and I know it is not my oven.
Also, I could tell the sauce was going to be bland, so I added lemon zest, juice, and chicken broth. I salvaged what seems more of just a vague inspiration from the recipe at that point.
Yes, sometimes the home cook is at fault. But this is not the case here. It’s obvious that the recipe wasn’t tested properly, and a less-seasoned cook may have ended up with $15 of ruined, raw, bland food.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
Also
I think modifying the recipe to at least suggest that the potatoes may take extra cooking time would prudent. You do have a lot of good feedback, but there were also a LOT of commenters who wound up with raw potatoes. I noticed you didn’t respond to them. If you modified the recipe to at least mention this, everyone wins.
Thank you for your feedback, Sara! The notes (below the recipe) actually include this:
*Potatoes can be cut into thirds or fourths to ensure quicker cooking time.
I 100% agree with this. The potatoes came out raw and there is no way you can cook potatoes in the oven for 25 minutes and expect them to come out cooked through. I should have trusted my instincts and precooked the potatoes before adding them to the oven.
To make matters worse, the chicken and the sauce came out really bland. I would not recommend this recipe at all.
I’m sorry that you’ve had such difficulty with this recipe. However, potatoes can actually be cooked in 25 minutes if they are the appropriate size. But as always, please do what is best for you and your taste preferences.
Take a deep breath and choose kindness…its JUST a recipe.
I disagree with you. I used all fresh herbs, generously, so the sauce was not bland. I just intuitively knew that I had to cook the chicken and potatoes l9nger than 30 minutes, so after the 400* for 30 minutes, I turned the oven down to 375* for 20 more minutes. Chicken was moist and spinach and potatoes were great with the parmesan sauce.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time, say a day or two?
Unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
do you drain the chicken fat from the skillet before moving on to step #4?
Yes, if there is excess fat, please feel free to drain as needed.
Do you think sweet potato would be an acceptable substitute?
Yes, absolutely.
Great, thank you!
Oh why ruin it!