This creamy Tuscan chicken recipe consists of crispy, juicy chicken lathered in a luxurious and creamy sauce with fresh basil, garlic, and tomatoes. This dairy free dish can also be gluten free. Put in as much, or as little effort as you would like!
The Method Behind The Madness
I am no dietician or nutritionist. I am just a girl who started a long, tough journey with AIP many years ago. It was one of the most difficult lifestyle changes I have ever done. However, it taught me a new way to appreciate what I put into my body, and how food can actually make me feel.
I no longer adhere to a strict AIP diet, because at a certain point I felt it to be too restrictive. Also, it’s really freaking hard! I definitely don’t have the time or energy to make every single meal from scratch. The planning and prep involved requires a significant amount of work.
My body did learn a lot from my AIP journey, and I do not at all regret giving it a try. What I focus on now is recreating typical recipes into more AIP friendly ones. I try to limit as much inflammation into my body as I can, because my body is really good at being dramatic. My goal is to recreate typical, comforting recipes with a healthier spin. I’ll make substitutions where I can, and lessen the prep work with some premade ingredients. That is the premise behind this creamy Tuscan chicken recipe.
Recipe Versatility
There are many variations to this recipe to make it gluten free, diary free, and as simple or as involved as you would like. When I first came up with the idea, I had this grand plan of slicing and dicing fresh ingredients and going above and beyond. I had created the best dish ever in my mind.
However, come game time I had no motivation to cook. I needed to cook so my ingredients wouldn’t go bad, but I definitely did not want to put in the extra effort. Here is a list of what I ended up using along with some substitutions to fit your needs and mood day of:
- Chicken Broth – Really no replacement here
- Coconut Cream – Heavy cream
- Grape Tomatoes – Jar of sundried tomatoes
- Garlic – Chop your own fresh or used the minced jar like me
- Onion – Chop your own fresh or just omit all together
- Nutritional Yeast – Parmesan cheese
- Red Pepper Flakes – I really think this makes the sauce, but you can omit altogether
- Basil – Dried basil
- Spinach – Thrown in so I wouldn’t waste it, but you can omit it altogether
- Mushrooms – I used canned, because low energy. You can use fresh or omit.
- Chicken – I think this dish would also taste amazing with shrimp!
- Breadcrumbs – I did use panko with some seasoning for my dish. However, for gluten free option you can skip the breading all together and just pan fry or grill. OR you can coat in seasoned arrowroot for a gluten free, crispy coating.
Was that too confusing? It makes sense in my mind, but I also tend to expect you to know what I am thinking! I will put my exact ingredients in the recipe below, but you can refer back to the checklist for any substitutions.
Let me take a time out to talk about nutritional yeast. It sounds disgusting, I know. However, it does provide a cheesy goodness. If you can get over the fact that it looks like fish food, you will not regret adding it to your dishes for a cheesy flavor sans cheese. There are so many non-dairy variations of cheese now, I’m sure you can find a good substitute as well.
Tuscan Chicken With A Side Of…
This recipe can also be very versatile by switching up the sides. At the last minute, I decided to boil some pasta to add to my creamy Tuscan sauce. You can easily serve with pasta, cauliflower rice, orzo, over some roasted vegetables, or just solo over the chicken. Whatever is in the pantry and whatever you are in the mood for. Sorry if I am giving you too many options! I am so indecisive.
I’m going to tell you what I did, and what not to do! I decided to make the sauce first, and let it simmer while I cooked the chicken separately in the air fryer. I wanted maximum crispiness on the chicken. What I really did was just create more of a mess for myself. What I would do in theory, is cook the chicken in one skillet first, then set it aside before making the sauce. Adding in the chicken broth could help deglaze the pan, and then you have a little extra added flavor to your creamy Tuscan sauce.
This way it becomes a potential one pot meal. Less mess is best!
Energy Level = 3-4/5
Moderate – High
Can be involved depending on technique and ingredients used
Dairy Free Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Description
This creamy Tuscan chicken recipe consists of crispy, juicy chicken lathered in a luxurious and creamy sauce with fresh basil, garlic, and tomatoes. This dairy free dish can also be gluten free. Put in as much, or as little effort as you would like!
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
For the Sauce:
Instructions
- In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs OR arrowroot and seasonings.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper then coat with olive oil.
- Heat skillet to medium high heat and add avocado oil
- Coat chicken with bread crumb mixture on both side and place into heated skillet
- Cook 4 – 5 minutes per side depending of thickness of chicken
- Set aside on a separate plate when thoroughly cooked
- In the same skillet, add more oil if needed and sauté onions and garlic until fragrant
- Add red pepper flakes and tomatoes cooking until blistered, lightly smashing throughout. If you are adding fresh vegetables such as mushrooms or artichokes add them now and sauté until cooked to likeness
- Once vegetables are cooked, add in chicken broth, coconut milk, and nutritional yeast
- Stir until all ingredients are combined, and let it simmer of medium low heat to thicken
- Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency, stir in basil. Add in spinach to wilt
- Return chicken back to skillet with sauce allowing it to reheat.
- Serve alone, over pasta, rice, or vegetables!
For The Chicken:
For The Sauce:
Video
Notes
- Lots of substitutions are available for this recipe to make it for your liking. See checklist above for options
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