Pan fry chicken then smother it in a cream sauce with tomatoes and spinach for an easy meal using only one pan and 20 minutes!
Jump to Recipe“The best-laid plans… often go awry.” That could be the quote of the week for our kitchen. Some nights, no matter how hard we try with the meal plan and calendar reminders and thawing meat ahead of time, dinner just doesn’t happen the way we want. That’s how we ended up with our meal of chicken with tomato and spinach cream!
Those nights of “I know we planned this meal but I really don’t feel like cooking/eating that” tend to be when we come up with some of our best experiments! And this meal came from such a night.
I had taken some chicken out of the freezer to thaw and make Chicken Fried Rice, but that sounded like so much work that night. So we started with the idea that we would make a chicken meal so it doesn’t go to waste. We searched the refrigerator for any other leftovers that needed to be used up.
We found some grape tomatoes, spinach, and heavy cream. Add in some parmesan cheese, seasonings, and chicken broth and we had the start of a decent meal here.
In the end, we realized this meal is similar to Chicken Basil Cream, only we didn’t use basil. We joked about calling it “chicken parsley cream” since parsley is our main herb, but that would be too confusing. So, we went with the longer but more descriptive Chicken with Tomato and Spinach Cream.
Since we weren’t quite sure what the end results would be as we were making it up as we went along, we did not end up with any sides. In the future, I would make it with some noodles (to put the sauce over) or a loaf of French bread to dip in the sauce.

Chicken with Tomato and Spinach Cream Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley (divided)
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
- 5 oz spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
Preparation
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pan, then season with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of parsley. Cook the chicken, flipping as needed until it’s cooked through.

Meanwhile, cut about 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes in half. Chop the spinach if you prefer it smaller in the cream. I like to use my kitchen shears to quickly and easily cut the spinach leaves into pieces.

When the chicken has finished cooking, remove it from the pan. Saute the spinach for about 2-3 minutes, until it has wilted, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn to the pan.

Add the grape tomatoes and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Stir occasionally until it’s warm, about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of parsley and bring to a boil.

Whisk in the parmesan cheese. Lower the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. until the cheese has melted and the cream thickens slightly. Return the chicken to the pan and flip to coat. Serve immediately while it’s warm.


Recipe
Originally Published On: January 14, 2019
Last Updated On: July 27, 2023

Chicken with Tomato and Spinach Cream
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley (divided)
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
- 5 oz spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet
- Place the chicken in the skillet and season with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp parsley and cook until done, flipping as needed
- Meanwhile, cut the grape tomatoes in half and chop the spinach if desired
- After chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan
- Saute the spinach for 2-3 minutes, until it has wilted, stirring constantly to prevent burning
- Add the tomatoes and stir for 1-2 minutes
- Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream
- Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp of parsley and bring to a boil then lower to a simmer
- Add the parmesan cheese and parsley
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese and let the cream thicken slightly
- Return the chicken to the pan and flip to coat both sides and serve immediately
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
That looks absolutely delicious! The chicken is probably so moist! I love that this is what you came up with when dinner didn’t just fall into place. When I do that I end up with spaghetti… again lol
We’ve had spaghetti many nights, too! But we had the chicken thawed and needed to use it up before it was out too long. The sauce keeps the chicken very moist!
This looks so tasty!! Have been searching for new chicken recipes – this is definitely getting pinned!
It’s such an easy chicken meal, too, since it’s all done in one pan.
I love making meals out of what we have in (rather than following recipes)… you can create all sorts of yummy dishes, which you clearly did!
I have to admit, my husband is the one who is really good at this! He tells me his ideas for the food we have on hand and I help him tweak it a bit to be something we will all eat.
I’m not big into cream sauces, so I’m not sure this one would be for me. But sounds like you like it!
I always prefer creamy sauces over tomato sauces. But, everyone has different tastes, so it’s wonderful that there’s such a large variety of foods available!
This looks so delicious! I love how you improvised with what you had on hand!!!
Some of our favorite meals have come from “winging it” with leftover ingredients from other meals!
DELICIOUS! I have been in search of a new chicken dish and CANNOT wait to give this a go!
I hope you enjoy it! The meal is so easy to make and comes out delicious.
Oh yum! This kind of reminds me of Tuscan Chicken minus the Italian taste. It sounds amazing! And super easy too!
I don’t know if I’ve ever had Tuscan Chicken. I’ll have to look up a recipe if it’s similar because I do also enjoy Italian taste!
This looks like such a delicious dish. I’m sure my family would love it.
I hope you and your family enjoy the meal!
I love finding new things to do with chicken. This sounds delicious!
We do too, chicken is one food that my entire family always agrees on.
Great recipe. I search out to cook something for the weekend. I will try Chicken with Tomato & Spinach Cream. Looks very tasteful
Thanks, I hope you like it!
This looks like the perfect meal to use up the remainders of fresh ingredients. I make my own wet dog food and we tend to have a ton of spinach leftover. There are only so many salads I can eat and smoothies I can drink before I’m tired of them! And we always have grape tomatoes for snacks. Thanks for this inspiration!
I understand that! I’ve tried sneaking some spinach in smoothies when I make them for my boys and it changes the texture just enough that they won’t drink them. So that’s not even an option for us!
I love to create recipes using scraps from the fridge, too! Youre right, it always makes the best meal!
The meals are always good, and it saves money since you aren’t buying new ingredients and prevents the food from being wasted. It’s a winner all around!
I love creamy sauce and this one looks so good. I also only enjoy simple recipes like this one that I will make soon. Thanks for sharing.
The creamy sauce was the best part of this meal! I hope you and your family enjoy this if you get a chance to make it.
I could PROBABLY make this deliciousness with coconut cream, don’t you think?! Cause I really do want to make it!
I’ve never tried it with coconut cream before, but I would love to know how it turns out! I have a good friend who has a severe dairy allergy so it would be a great option for her, too.
I think those are the best kinds of recipes right?? When things don’t go as planned and you have to improvise 🙂 It looks delicious and yes, I’d love it paired with some pasta.
We’ve come up with quite a few recipes that way! It’s also a great way to use up leftover food.
I currently have chicken fricassee on the stovetop. As I was cooking it I mentioned to my husband that I needed to find a dish similar to it but with spinach in it. Like all of your recipes, I know I’ll be making this!
It’s so funny how that happens, then you find the right recipe! I hope this one works out for you and gives you that flavor you’re looking for.
This Chicken with Tomato and Spinach Cream seems delicious! I have all the ingredients so I will be making it this week.
Perfect! I hope you enjoy the meal!
This looks amazing! I love cooked spinach, so this is something I would really enjoy.
I have been learning to like cooked spinach more now that I’ve used it in quite a few recipes over the past few years.
I’m going to the store today to make this for dinner tonight. We love chicken. I love the spinach and tomatoes in this recipe. Yuum!
It helps add a few healthy ingredients to balance out all the heavy cream!
Oh my gosh this sounds so so good! I need new recipes so bad! We are so bored with our dinners!
We’ve been there. That’s part of why I started this blog and made more new recipes to share. It makes us try new meals as well.
omg i want this nowwww!!! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe, i can’t wait to try it.
It’s a delicious dinner, and so easy to make. I hope you enjoy the meal!
This looks so good! I just love anything with spinach. And cheese.
I agree, the two make so many yummy meals together!
An ideal recipe for a lunch or dinner. Love cheese and spinach so this is a good one for our family for sure xx
We’ve had it for both meals before and it’s great because you only need the one pan so clean-up is quick.
The photos of your chicken dish look so inviting so I can only imagine how tasty it is too. Yummy
Thank you! It’s a delicious dinner and only one pan means a quick cleanup, too!