Transform a can of diced tomatoes into this creamy chicken tomato recipe. It’s basically tender chicken coated in buttery tomato sauce with spinach, garlic, and parsley. So easy and so good!
It serves easy over pasta, rice, or Cauliflower Mash for low carb option.
Why Make this for Dinner Tonight?
MADE IN ONE PAN – One-pan meals are some of our favorite dinners during the week. Like Thai Chicken and Cabbage Skillet and Chicken and Quinoa in Mustard Sauce.
Both are easy, quick, and basic. Now we’re adding this creamy tomato chicken recipe to the rotation. Made in one pan for easy cleanup!
QUICK & SIMPLE INGREDIENTS – It’s an incredibly easy recipe with simple ingredients. Perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner.
It’s made with chicken thighs, onions, garlic, spices, fresh spinach, canned tomatoes, and butter. There’s no doubt that tomatoes and butter are the star of this recipe.
Both transform into a velvety, thick, slightly sweet sauce. I mean this stuff is so good. Then when you add some spices, fresh herbs, and bright spinach, you basically get the most perfect meal ever.
ENDLESS SERVING OPTIONS – I honestly love this chicken with crusty bread, especially when dipped into the sauce with a side of Kale Caesar Salad.
It also serves amazing over just about anything that can soak up some of those glorious juices. Like pasta, rice, roasted veggies, cauliflower mash, spaghetti squash, and puréed root vegetables.
MAKES GREAT LEFTOVERS – Who doesn’t love leftovers? I know I do and this chicken with spinach and tomatoes is the ultimate meal to keep in the fridge to enjoy over a few days or you can easily freeze it to enjoy later.
The leftover chicken will last up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or it can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw out the frozen chicken in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Ingredients for Chicken Tomato Recipe
The ingredient list for chicken spinach tomato recipe is short and sweet and you’ll need the following ingredients for the recipe:
- Chicken thighs
- Onions
- Garlic
- Canned tomatoes
- Chicken stock
- Spices – bay leaf, basil
- Honey
- Spinach
- Butter
- Parsley
How to Make Chicken Tomato Recipe
Step 1: Prep chicken – Place sliced chicken pieces into a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss around with a pair of tongs to combine. Set aside.
Step 2: Cook chicken – Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. You can use a non-stick skillet or stainless steel. Add olive oil and when the oil is hot, add the chicken.
Cook undisturbed for a few minutes, then flip and continue to cook until no longer pink and lightly brown.
The goal here is to get the chicken nicely browned on the outside. It does not have to be fully cooked through. Cook in batches if need to. Remove to a plate.
Step 3: Cook onions – Reduce the heat to medium, add another 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions with a good pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are soft and begin to turn color, about 7-9 minutes.
If onions begin to burn, reduce the heat even further. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step 4: Make the sauce – Stir in chicken, tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, basil, and honey. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is reduced by more than half, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 5: Finish off with butter – Add spinach and cook for an additional few more minutes until the spinach is wilted and the liquid reduced to almost none.
You want all of the liquid gone and only chunky sauce-like consistency. Add butter and stir around until melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in parsley.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Lemon Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
- Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Avocado
- Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe
- Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake
- Easy Chicken Vegetable Curry
Creamy Tomato Chicken Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Transform a can of diced tomatoes into this velvety chicken with spinach and tomatoes. Tender chicken coated in buttery tomato sauce with spinach, garlic, and parsley. So easy and so good!
Ingredients
- 3–4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, thinly sliced
- 2 medium onions, yellow or sweet, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, do not drain
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. dried basil or 1 Tbsp. fresh
- 2 tsp. honey
- Fresh baby spinach, two small handfuls
- 4 Tbsp. butter, sliced
- 3 Tbsp. fresh finely chopped parsley
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Place sliced chicken into a bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss around with a pair of tongs to combine. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken and cook undisturbed for few minutes, then flip and continue to cook until browned on all sides, for few minutes longer. The goal here is to get the chicken browned on the outside. It does not have to be cooked through. Cook chicken in batches if need to. Remove to a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions with a generous pinch of salt and cook for about 7-9 minutes. If onions begin to burn, reduce the heat even further. You want the onions soft with slight color to them. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in chicken, tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, basil, and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, uncovered, until reduced by more than half.
- Add spinach and cook for 2-3 more minutes until wilted and liquid reduced to almost none. You want chunky sauce like consistency. Add butter and stir to combine until melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in parsley.
- Serve over pasta, rice, or for low carb, try cauliflower mash. This is also really good over crusty toasted bread. The bread soaks up some of the sauce and it’s the best.
Notes
- Chicken – use boneless, skinless, chicken thighs for best flavor. I do not recommend chicken breast.
- Honey – you can substitute honey for just about any other sweetner. I love using refined free sweetners so I either stick to honey or maple syrup. You basically want something sweet to tone down the acidity.
- Parsley – not a fan of parsley? Try fresh basil or dill.
- Leftovers – leftover chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days when stored properly. Or frozen for up to 3 months.
Keywords: easy chicken skillet, creamy chicken with tomatoes, chicken tomato spinach
Hailey says
HUGE hit in our home! Both my picky SO and Picky daughter devoured this dish!! We served it over polenta and cheese 🤤
Tonya says
Great recipe and sauce! I made it as is and it was tasty.
I also made it with subs for what I had on hand – no spinach- used peas; no honey -used sugar. no chicken broth- used veggie stock. Both versions came out great. One key note- DO NOT skip the butter at the end. I made a plate without it by accident and it was very notably missed. I also think the bay leave is a key ingredient too that should not be omitted or subbed.
★★★★★
Susan says
Loved this recipe so much! Made it two nights ago and I’m making it again tonight! I serve it over buttered gnocchi, YUM
★★★★★
Alfonse says
Very much enjoyed this. There was a bit more liquid than i prefer so we added maybe a tablespoon or so of tomato pastes to thicken. Also, increased the spinach by at least 2 fold. Easy way to “hide” more veggies!
★★★★★
Curt says
As the house cook, I had tomatoes to use before they went bad. So I substituted canned tomatoes with fresh and added a little tomato juice to mimic the juice from a can. My sometimes discriminant wife and I both loved this dish, which offers a pleasant sweetness to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Yes, there is a little butter, which totally elevates the already rich flavor, but the calorie count is reasonable even with the extra fat, so enjoy this one guilt free. Thanks, Katya.
★★★★★
Katya says
That’s great! Thank you.
J. Shields says
What do you think about replacing the spinach with collard greens? I just had some fresh collard greens delivered today and only have frozen chopped spinach. Thanks!
Katya says
I think it should work!
Caroline says
Made this tonight but didn’t have spinach and used dried parsley instead of fresh. It was still delicious! I stirred in some cooked linguine and let it soak up some of the buttery sauce. So good!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you Caroline! So happy you made it work with what you had on hand.
Alison says
Made this and it’s delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you!
regs says
Looks healthy and yummy!
★★★★★