Tuscan Garlic Chicken is as decadent as it gets–tender chicken in a garlic parmesan cream sauce, but under 200 calories!
Are you sick of copycat recipes yet? That seems to be a majority of the requests I get from readers, and I’m happy to oblige. The Olive Garden version of this dish comes in at 38 points! Yikes.
I’m pretty sure they don’t have it on their menu anymore, so if you’re looking to recreate this meal with the added bonus of cutting some calories, then you’re in the right place!
Lightening it up
I tend to gravitate towards cream sauces when I eat at restaurants, and this sauce blows just about every other one out of the water.
Of course I love Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Chicken, and Skinny Alfredo is a staple in my home. But I love that I can sneak some leafy green in here without really tasting them. And the colors are gorgeous!
The key to lightening up cream sauces, I’ve found anyway, is a combo of almond milk, full-fat half and half, cornstarch to bind it all together, and parmesan cheese to add extra flavor. This technique always results in a luscious sauce that is lighter but doesn’t sacrifice flavor and texture.
What do i serve with Tuscan Garlic CHicken?
Even though the chicken is juicy and tender, the real star if, of course, the sauce. So serve this with something you can use to mop up all of that deliciousness.
One full serving is about 1/3 cup of sauce, so you could definitely serve this over plain pasta. That’s how I did it the second time around, and it was like a more complex chicken fettucine alfredo. Yuuum.
The first time around, I served it with Crispy Smashed Potatoes (a recipe that I’ll share next week). But plain roasted or mashed potatoes would be divine, too.
Even rice would work. Basically, anything starchy is what I’m getting at here. Lol. Pair it with a side salad or some roasted veggies, and you’re ready to serve dinner in just about 30 minutes.
What about Leftovers?
The leftovers reheat really well in the microwave or over the stove. Another advantage of skipping out on the heavy cream and butter in this sauce is that it won’t get oily and separate when you reheat it.
I’m not so sure about freezing these leftovers, though. I haven’t tried it myself, but I would think that the sauce might get too watery when you thaw it out. But if you give it a try, let me know in the comments how it goes!
More recipes like Tuscan Garlic Chicken
- One-Pot Louisiana Chicken Pasta
- Baked Goat Cheese Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Chicken
- Skinny Alfredo Sauce
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breast cutlets (or 2 large breasts cut in half lengthwise)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- cracked pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fat free chicken stock
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk
- 1/3 cup half and half
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best, or the kind in the refrigerated section)
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes NOT packed in oil*
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add olive oil and a spritz of cooking spray to the pan. Swirl oil around to coat. Add chicken and sear until golden brown and mostly cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Lower heat to medium. Add garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken stock in to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together almond milk, half and half, and cornstarch. Add this mixture to the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Mix basil, oregano, and sundried tomatoes into the sauce. Continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add parmesan and spinach. Stir until cheese is melted into the sauce and spinach is just wilted. Place chicken and juices back in the skillet and simmer until chicken is heated through. Taste sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Let rest for 5 minutes off the heat, so chicken can rest and the sauce can thicken a bit more.
Geri does it again!! My whole family loved this recipe. Served it with smashed potatoes and it felt like such an indulgence. Yum!
Isn’t that the best combo?? Thank you for the support!
Oh. My. God. Amazing! I was a bit sceptic but I decided to try it because this is a light version. It was quite possibly the best dish I’ve had in a while (and we love good food). I will add this to my regular repertoire for sure!
Can I use skim milk instead of almond milk? We have allergies and can’t use almond milk.
Sure! Might increase the points but 1 or 2 per serving, but it will taste delicious.
So good! Do yourself a favor and double the recipe! And you definitely won’t be sad if you serve it with the smashed potatoes.
One of the best recipes! Thank you so much :). It is now a staple in my home. Feels like I’m cheating on my diet but still staying on my points!!
I just made this and it was a huge hit! Service with rice. Thanks! 🙂
I made this tonight for the first time. I ended up doubling the sauce because I had a little more chicken than the recipe called for. It was delicious! I would make this again for sure! We don’t use almond mil so I used two percent milk and it worked well! Thanks for such a delicious recipe, Geri!
This is a great week night diner!! We love it.
This was out of this world. Great flavor & it was super easy to make!
Delicious! We had a fierce thunderstorm roll through just before dinner time and lost power. I prepped in semi-dark while waiting for hubby to get home and hook up the generator, then cooked on portable induction burner. Served it with mashed cauliflower. Power came back on half-way through the meal. Full stomachs and lights back on. Life is very good!
Delicious and easy to prepare! Love to serve over noodles. I make this at least once or twice a month!
Stop absolutely everything you’re doing, cancel whatever your dinner plans for the night were, and make this recipe!! AMAZING!
Do not hesitate to make this! It is SO good! When you taste it you will not believe it is a lightened good recipe. Please do yourself a favor and make extra sauce because it is just that good 🙂
Thank you, Veronica!
I made this last night (despite my husband working late and nobody here but myself to eat dinner) and it did not disappoint. Sent leftovers with my husband for lunch and he texted, “Lunch is really good for diet food.” Saving this to make again – so delicious, easy, I had all the ingredients on hand, and a full tummy when dinner was done.
Love hearing that, Judy! It’s always a win when we can impress our family with “diet” food haha.
I’ve been dying to try the Tuscan Garlic Chicken and it did not disappoint! The recipe was super easy. I didn’t have fresh spinach so I used what I thought was the equivalent amount in frozen & it probably turned out a little too ‘green’ (haahaa….my bad), but it certainly didn’t detract from the flavor. Yummy!!!
Don’t sleep on this recipe! It’s sooooo stinking good! I very rarely get a thumbs up on my “ww” recipe choices and this one is a winner! Eas to follow instructions and ingredients that are usually on hand. Definitely adding to the rotation.
I have been dying to try this recipe and finally made it tonight and it was ridiculouly good!! I think my husband would have licked his plate if he could have gotten away with it, lol. I too made the crispy smashed potatoes to go with it and that’s an excellent pairing. Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing your brilliance with us Geri, I don’t know how you do it but I’m so glad you do!!
Apologies for such a late reply, but I wanted you to know how much your comment means to me! Thank you for the incredibly kind words.
This was really good. Next time I will cut chicken in bite size pieces and cook that way. The large pieces didn’t absorb the flavor as easily. Thank you!
Made this tonight… was amazing and served over carbonada noodles. Will definitely make this again.
So glad you liked it!