Creamy Chicken and Cauliflower
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This creamy chicken and cauliflower is made with tender, juicy chicken in a dreamy cream sauce with roasted cauliflower and leafy greens!
Featured Comment
Just plated this meal. Two bites in and I had to stop to leave a comment. It’s fantastic!!! The only thing I did differently was that I used boneless skinless chicken thighs because that’s what I had on hand. I just used the lowest numbers in the cooking time ranges. It’s perfect. And the baguette to sop up the sauce is a must!!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Why you’ll love this Creamy Chicken and Cauliflower
- The chicken comes out so juicy. The chicken is unbelievably juicy and tender, served alongside a Parmesan-garlicky-cream-sauce that is simply pure gold.
- Great way to sneak in veggies. Yes, this chicken dinner really has it all, including sneaked-in roasted cauliflower florets and all the baby spinach (or leafy greens) for extra hearty goodness. Even the pickiest of eaters won’t know what hit them.
- Best served with all the crusty bread. You can serve with all the crusty bread or skillet dinner rolls for sopping and dunking – we can’t have the sauce go to waste!
How to make Creamy Chicken and Cauliflower
- Prep the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower into similar-sized florets, then place in a single layer onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, avoiding any overcrowding or overlap. Stir in olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
- Roast the cauliflower. Roast the cauliflower at 450°F until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
- Season the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, then season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken. Sear the chicken, skin-side down, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, letting it cook undisturbed until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Flip and continue cooking the other side until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Work in batches if needed to avoid an overcrowded pan.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the shallot and cook until tender. Then stir in the garlic and thyme until fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour. Stir in the flour until lightly browned – this will allow the sauce to thicken while also removing the raw, starchy taste.
- Deglaze the pot. Stir in the chicken broth and wine, lifting up the caramelized browned bits (fond) stuck to the bottom of the pot. Then return the seared chicken thighs back to the Dutch oven.
- Simmer. Reduce the heat and bring the chicken to a gentle simmer, letting the chicken cook through (165°F), about 15-20 minutes. Set the chicken aside and keep warm.
- Make the cream sauce. Stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and half-and-half until the spinach has wilted, then stir in the roasted cauliflower until well combined and warmed through. Return the chicken back to the Dutch oven.
- Serve. Serve warm, spooning the sauce over on top of the chicken and cauliflower.
what to serve with chicken and cauliflower
Tools For This Recipe
Creamy Chicken and Cauliflower: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use dried herbs instead?
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh thyme = 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
Do I have to use white wine?
Additional chicken broth can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
What can I substitute for the spinach?
Kale, cabbage, swiss chard, and collard greens are all great alternatives.
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.
How can I store leftovers?
Store leftovers 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.
Creamy Chicken and Cauliflower
This creamy chicken and cauliflower is made with tender, juicy chicken in a dreamy cream sauce with roasted cauliflower and leafy greens!
Video
Ingredients
- 5 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium shallots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ½ cup half and half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Place cauliflower in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
- Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Using paper towels, pat both sides of the chicken dry; season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside. Drain excess fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in the Dutch oven.
- Add shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth and wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken has completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 15-20 minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm.
- Stir in spinach, Parmesan and half and half until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in cauliflower until heated through, about 1-2 minutes. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Cut cauliflower into similar-sized pieces. Dice the cauliflower florets into similar bite-sized pieces to ensure even cooking.
- Skip lining the baking sheet. Lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil makes for easier clean up, but this will also serve as a physical barrier. Skip lining the baking sheet for deeply browned, crispy, caramelized edges on the cauliflower florets.
- Use a heavy pot. A heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, is ideal here for even heat distribution.
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The skin crisps up perfectly in this recipe, and the bone-in allows for deeper, meatier flavors.
- Cook in batches. An overcrowded pan can lead to uneven cooking and poor browning. Work in batches to maintain high heat for a good sear and a golden brown crust on each chicken thigh, yielding juicier, tender meat.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Swap the wine for broth. Substitute chicken broth for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
- Deglaze the pan. Deglaze the Dutch oven with chicken broth and wine (if using), lifting up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan to capture maximum flavor and to build a rich pan sauce for the chicken and cauliflower.
- Choose your dairy. Heavy cream will yield a richer cream sauce whereas whole milk will yield a lighter, thinner sauce. Half-and-half is ideal for a mild, creamy consistency.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover chicken can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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So gooood! I added mushrooms as suggested in the comments and used cottage cheese blend instead of cream and this recipe is delicious, even my kids loved it!
This was SO amazing!!!
Yes to more garlic and smoked paprika..adding red peppers to the roasting pan takes this delicious recipe to the next level!
My family absolutely LOVES this dish. It really is comforting. I’m sharing with my family. I can’t wait to make it again
The flavor was great but my chicken thighs were still bloody when I cut into them after searing and cooking them in the sauce. Any tips?
I suggest you buy a meat thermometer
This was the bomb!!! So yummy and veggie heavy. My only substitution was fresh rosemary from thyme. My family ate it up!
Delish!!! I didn’t have shallots so I substituted whites of green onions, made a thin rue and didn’t ad milk. Topped with Parker and green onions and they bomb! I’ll make this for thanksgiving since I’m not a turkey fan!! It’s that delicious! I may just pan fry the cauliflower next round with all the sides being in the oven.
Is good, thanks!
Omg this is fantastic. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe. Fantastic
Even my picky kids who are not eating cauliflower appreciated it and give it 10/10. Recomend!
This was a hit. I had boneless skinless chicken thighs and some sad cauliflower. I added mushrooms. I don’t love cooking with cream but we had some from pizza last week. Next time, I would add more herbs, roast some fennel and maybe some Dijon mustard.
2 adults exhausted after work enjoyed this, we don’t have kids. Husband ate it on a bed of greens for texture.
This seems like a good base recipe to improvise. I’m wondering if you could do coconut milk and switch the thyme to basil? And no flour?
I’d love to hear if someone successfully tried coconut milk? I had the same thought.
This is positively delicious, and quick and easy to make on a weeknight. I added mushrooms, because let’s face it, everything is better with mushrooms. Will definitely make again soon. Would love more recipes with roasted cauliflower.
Rave reviews! Soooo delicious. My guy absolutely loved it and he praised each bite, and he’s a major foodie and excellent chef himself.
I took advice here and added more spinach and sautéed mushrooms, and I still had plenty of sauce (though I only cooked 5 thighs.) This would be great over rice or noodles.
A huge advantage to home cooks like me is that the recipes I find here are ALWAYS forgiving. Add something, delete something you don’t have, cook a little too long and you’ll still hit it out of the park.
Serving this recipe will be a proud moment for you, as well.
Thank you, dear Chungah and Damn Delicious staffers. You will always be my cooking gurus.
I want to preface this by saying that I LOVE this site and I love all the recipes that I’ve used on this site and I will continue to turn to this site whenever I need to make something delicious! That said, I was a teeny tiny bit disappointed with this recipe. Maybe it’s a “me” thing and I’m just not a fan of chicken thighs being soupy? But it didn’t turn out as creamy for me as I had hoped and it was actually quite runny and almost soupy. My gut was actually telling me to go with heavy cream instead of half and half and I’m sure that would have made all the difference, but I wanted to be healthier and went with half and half as per the recipe and it was a little too runny for my taste and made the chicken sort of mushy. Anyway, again, the flavor was still great and this site is great! Just wanted to include this review just in case there are others who might have a weird thing with wet chicken/skin! If you’re not weird like me then absolutely go for it! 🙂
Made it exactly as described including the stock for wine substitute listed. Added gnocchi to the plate as a side and it was amazing with the sauce! Hubs and 14 yo gave it 9/10, 16 yo gave it 7.5/10 cause it’s heavy and very filling (not a bad thing in my opinion). My suggestion is to prep all your ingredients, start browning the chicken then pop the cauliflower in the oven so it all comes together at the same time. I used a very small head of cauliflower and ran out because everyone loved it. This is going in my regular rotation! Easy enough to add more and expand the recipe for meal prep too.
5 Stars! Have made this several times and always gets great reviews. Thank you for this delicious meal recipe.
WE all loved this one! Super easy and I added a whole head of broccoli in addition to the cauliflower. I also doubled up on the spinach so it was super veggie! I used sour cream instead of the cheese and cream and it worked well. Also added paprika and some chili flakes for more flavour.
Thank you for commenting about extra veggies. It gave me the confidence to add more, and not a bite went to waste.
I love all these skillet chicken thigh recipes. They are on regular rotation in my meal planning. the roasted cauliflower was a nice addition. yum!
I am wondering if I can leave out the parm cheese without losing the flavor of the dish?
This was delicious! I made it with boneless skinless thighs since that’s all I found at the store and served over farro from Trader Joe’s.