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!
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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Loved it. I mixed thighs and breast and also covered with foil to bake. Potatoes cooked great!
My kids loved it! I did boneless skinless chicken breasts and skipped browning and it was still incredible. The sauce is amazingly good.
4 stars for the recipe as is, 5 stars if you par boil/pre cook the potatoes – they really do need it.
We also replace half the potatoes with Cauliflower, and put it on top so it’s crispy and cheesy – delicious!
The dish tastes really good! However, I cut the potatoes in to pieces that were smaller than quarters and they still were not cooked in time. Next time, I will probably put the potatoes in while I prep the rest so they cook enough. Hopefully, that will work.
We followed the recipe pretty closely, but with gluten free flour. We liked it, but it didn’t seem to work well as an all-in-one meal. The chicken never got crispy because it was under the sauce. The spinach was somewhat slimy, and the potatoes were underdone. I took the done chicken out, and continued to cook the potatoes a while longer. They were pretty tasty. The chicken itself was bland, and it took some creativity to get so much grease out of the cheese sauce. I would make this again as just a potato dish, with the chicken cooked separately.
I made this before & it was delicious next time will add more spinach & precook the potatoes. I was wondering any insight on preparing the night before & then just cooking the next day for dinner?
This is such a delicious meal! The sauce is restaurant quality! I’m planning on making a pan of this to bring to a family member who recently loss her spouse. If it’s going to go right in the freezer, do you recommend I cook it ahead of time or should I give it to her uncooked to freeze?
You are so so sweet, Kelli! Also, I am terribly sorry for your family member’s loss.
In regards to your question, unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Do you have suggestions on freezing leftovers?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This was great! Of course, I made a few minor modifications…. used chicken breasts instead of thighs, included the juice of 1 lemon and did not use potatoes but cooked pasta on the side and drizzled the cream sauce over it. Delish! Thanks for the recipe!
This was fantastic! I used chicken breasts instead of thighs, 5 cups of spinach (because I love it!) and the juice of 1 lemon. Instead of potatoes, I just put everything in the baking dish and then cooked some noodles on the side. Once the chicken/sauce was done (about 25 mins) I just drizzled the gravy over the chicken and noodles. Awesome recipe and thanks for sharing.
Ok, I admit that I am pretty hopeless at following recipes, adding stuff, increasing stuff as I go and I was under pressure to equal an expected traditional English Sunday roast which I am getting so bored with, So I read through every comment on this recipe to absorb every suggestion. Firstly, the cooking times in the original recipe were perfect for my oven. Other than that I did the following based on other posts and my own bits…added some diced red capsicum and fried that up in the hotter pan before adding the spinach. Before adding the chicken broth to the roux I reduced about 1/2 cup of dry white wine. I probably used about 1.5 cups chicken broth to get a consistency I was happy with, before using about 1/2 cup of full cream milk and 1/4 cup of thickened cream to the pan with the stock and herbs (we don’t have half and half) I also used about 3/4 cup of parmesan. As the skin on the chicken was so golden and crispy I was very careful to place the baby potatoes (which I had cut into quarters and steamed in the microwave for 7 minutes) around the chicken along with the spinach and capsicum and then poured the cream sauce around the chicken rather than on top so that lovely skin was still exposed After the dish was cooked I added zest from 1 lemon over the entire dish with the parsley. Very, Very happy with the end result.
Great tasty recipe ,I added button mushrooms , my husband loved ,it so will certainly be making again, thank you .
It was delicious. I left out the spinach. My potatoes weren’t all the way done so I threw them in a bowl with some parmesan cheese. I than threw them back in the chicken for the sauce. It was awesome. I wish I had made more. My family wanted more.
Can I use crockpot robin
I love this. I make it all the time. Tonight however I realized I had chicken stock not broth. Will that work too?
Sure!
This meal was BOMB! I read some of the comments about the potatoes and the overall cooking time for the chicken, so I increased the time to 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees. I did microwave the potatoes for a few minutes beforehand just to make sure it would be cooked through in the oven. I also added some chili flakes to the sauce and mixed in the cooked spinach before pouring it all over the chicken and potatoes and everything came out perfect!
HELP and unsure ☹️ My chicken was bland. I find when I season chicken with skin that often happens ♀️
My creamy gravy turned into a watery mixture when the dish was done. I don’t see how the gravy being a “watery”/thin substance won’t happen from the grease that comes from chicken with the skin. Any suggestions. I followed the recipe perfectly. Thanks girl!!
Hi Victoria! You can always drain the excess fat and season the chicken a bit more, to taste. Hope that helps!
Could you sub sour cream for the half & half?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. I used skinless, boneless chicken, omitted the spinach ( and I used Gluten free flour) but followed the recipe for the rest. Will double the sauce recipe next time as we like A LOT of sauce 🙂
I used the tiny red and white potatoes and they were cooked through in the indicated baking times. Looking forward to trying the chicken with sweet potato one next !
I have had this recipe since 5/12/16 and have made several times. I was getting ready to make this week. I noticed that garlic parmesan sauce is different now. It didn’t call for chicken broth. Which way is the best way to go?
Hi Sarah! The recipe has not been changed but thanks for checking!
This is a delicious meal. My husband told me to be sure to save this. Better than a restaurant meal that costs a lot more.