Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken Recipe (Keto & Low Carb)
This Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken is one of my favorite indulgent skillet meals! Tender chicken breasts seared to perfection and smothered in a rich and creamy garlic sauce. I can guarantee you won’t miss the carbs in this one! 
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Recipe With Garlic (Keto & Low Carb)
I can’t resist one-skillet meals. They are just so easy and convenient, plus it saves a lot of time when cleaning up at the end of the night. This creamy, cheesy garlic chicken reminds me of going to a local Italian restaurant like Olive Garden or Carrabba’s, but a lot cheaper than those restaurant prices and made with NO pasta, so its keto-friendly!
Using a cast-iron skillet gives the chicken a nice brown sear while locking in those juices. The chicken breasts are seasoned with Italian herbs and served in a deliciously creamy, garlicky sauce. There’s so much flavor in one skillet! I have no doubt you’ll be going back for seconds…or maybe thirds!
What Is “Tuscan Style” Chicken?
Tuscan style chicken is simply chicken breasts (or thighs) seasoned with classic Italian herbs. The seasoned chicken is served in a garlicky cream-based sauce, similar to Alfredo sauce, with added Parmesan cheese. In this recipe, I also added Gouda cheese!
Fresh spinach leaves and tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried) are often added to the cream sauce as well.
What Herbs Are In Italian Seasoning?
The typical herbs you will find in Italian seasoning are:
- dried basil
- crushed rosemary
- dried thyme
- sage
- fennel seeds
Spice blends are a quick way to infuse a lot of flavor in little time. If you don’t have an Italian spice blend already in your spice cabinet, you can make your own! Here is an Italian herb recipe you can make at home. Remove or add whatever you like to make it your own. You can add garlic powder or onion powder too.
How To Make Tuscan Chicken In A Cast Iron Skillet
*If you’re unfamiliar with cast iron, you may want to check out these six benefits to using one!
I love my cast iron skillet! It is such a great item to have in your kitchen that makes a huge difference in cooking! The cast iron holds in heat better than most skillets, which means your chicken, or whatever your cooking, will cook more evenly. So if you have one, I definitely recommend using it!
Here is a quick summary of what I did. See the full recipe below!
Step 1: Season, your chicken with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Add to a skillet over medium and cook it until evenly browned. Set it aside on a plate. You want to brown your chicken without burning it or overcooking it.
Step 2: Remove chicken, but do not clean your skillet. We want to allow the flavors to develop.
Step 3: Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices and de-glaze with chicken broth. All the flavors will start to come together. Cooking time may vary.
Step 4: Add your heavy cream, cheeses, and spinach and let simmer until the spinach starts to wilt. Add chicken back to garlic sauce. Serve hot!
See the FULL recipe below for added notes and details!
Can I Make This Skillet Meal Ahead of Time?
Can I Make This Skillet Meal Ahead of Time?Yes, but you want to make sure you do not dry out your chicken!
If you want to make this meal a few hours ahead of time or even the night before, follow the directions as you normally would but when searing the chicken, remove it when its internal temperature reaches 155-160 degrees F. Since the internal temperature of chicken should be 165 degrees F, undercooking the chicken a little will keep you from overcooking the chicken when you reheat it later on.
Then, about 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, cover with tin-foil and place the entire oven-proof skillet or cast iron pan in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
What Can You Serve With Keto Tuscan Chicken?
Since this keto chicken is made without pasta, you may want to serve a side with it. I recommend something lighter since the sauce itself is very rich. Zucchini noodles would be a great substitute! This roasted cauliflower would also be delicious. Or you can try a side of these southern green beans. Both are keto-friendly and would pair well with the creaminess of this dish!
More Easy Keto Chicken Recipes:
- Monterey Chicken
- Low Carb Chicken Philly Cheesesteak
- Keto Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli Bake
- Comforting Keto Chicken Pot Pie
- Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken
How to Make Keto Creamy Tuscan Chicken Recipe:
Creamy Tuscan Chicken (Keto & Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thin cut)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1.2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated + 1/4 cup for garnishing (optional)
- 1/3 cup Gouda cheese, freshly grated
- 1 cup grape tomatoes. halved
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Season chicken with Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper.
- In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil.
- When the skillet gets nice and hot, add your chicken and sear on both sides until brown. Put a lid on the top to help the chicken cook. Don't overcook the chicken. The internal temperature should reach 165°F. (Use a thermometer to help.) Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add butter, garlic, onion, and diced tomatoes to pan with Italian seasoning and paprika sauce for 5 minutes stirring occasionally on medium/ low heat.
- De-glaze pan with chicken broth. Scrape the pan to remove the bits that might have stuck to the bottom. Make sure to keep them in the pan as they add incredible flavor.
- Add heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, Gouda, and spinach and simmer on medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick. (It took mine approx seven minutes.)
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, and simmer on low heat for two minutes.
- Add remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese on top of chicken if desired.
Video
Notes
- Using a cast-iron skillet will help sear your chicken more evenly and also develop the flavor better.
- Use full-fat heavy cream to get the most out of the flavor and your keto diet.
- Gouda cheese adds a nice flavor to the sauce, so try not to leave this out!
- Fresh spinach is preferred in this dish as opposed to frozen.
- You may substitute sun-dried tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes in this dish is you prefer.
Nutrition
I made this last night for my non-keto family. They had it with pasta and it was a HUGE hit. It was super easy to throw together and, as usual for a Kasey Trenum recipe, super flavorful. I’m putting this recipe in our regular rotation!
That’s awesome, Trudy! It’s so great when your family loves what you’ve fixed them.
This was delicious! I will definitely make this again!
That’s awesome! Glad you enjoyed it.
I only used about a 1 1/2lbs of chicken because the full recipe would have been too much for my iron skillet. I also used smoke paprika and smoked gouda. I made this for a group of teenagers who cleaned their plates. Delicious recipe! I will try with salmon too! Thank you for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it!
2nd time I’m making this.. I just love it. And keto too!!!! Can leftovers be frozen?
So glad you loved it. Typically dairy ingredients such as heavy whipping cream, cheese, and cream cheese don’t usually freeze well as the texture can get grainy.
Absolutely loved this recipe! My grandson who is a picky eater had two helpings! The sauce is amazing!
Awesome! So glad he enjoyed it.
I had creamy Tuscan chicken in a restaurant years ago and loved it. Have never found a recipe that compares since then until tonight. The absolute key Which I didn’t realize is the Gouda!! This was amazing and the best meal I’ve ever made and my family loved it. Going to try it with Shrimp as well. Thanks for sharing!!
Wow! That is amazing. Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it.
Tried and TRUE!! This was DELISH!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this Tonight and it was Fabulous
Great! I am so glad you enjoyed it.
This is definitely going in the favorite box to make again! The hubs loved it. I love the idea someone else mentioned about adding mushrooms. Thank you!
Fantastic! So glad you loved it.
Made this tonight and it was amazing!! Even the kids raved about it and asked when we could have it again!
So glad you loved it.
This was an excellent recipe! I subbed oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for the grape tomatoes (all I had on hand). Many Tuscan recipes do not call for the Gouda, and all I had was smoked Gouda, so I worried a bit about it being too overpowering.
Not at all! It provided a richness to the sauce. My picky husband took a second helping — which is a WIN-WIN in this home.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Hey Kim, so glad y’all loved this dish!!
Let me just say this is freaking amazing. Definitely my new favorite meal. I added gnocchis to it because I’m not one he kept diet, and it was the perfect addition to really enjoy the sauce. I could eat this every day of the week.
Fantastic. Glad you enjoyed it.
This was amazing!!! My whole family loved it.
Fantastic. So glad you enjoyed it.
I made this tonight for the first time and oh yeh, this recipe is a keeper! I added more spinacj and tomato which made the sauce a bit too runny but will adjust accordingly next time. Still, the taste was amazing!
Hey, Barb, so glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!!! I added a package of Palmini Hearts of Palm linguine during the final heating with the chicken and it was great with “pasta”!
Perfect! It sounds delish.