Baked Tuscan Chicken Casserole with Creamy Garlic Sauce and Spinach
By Pauline Ortiz
15 min
Prep
30 min
Cook
45 min
Total
4
Servings
Easy
Level
Start with boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and slice them evenly to cutlet size to promote even browning in the oven. I prepare a garlic sauce with heavy cream and other vegetables, such as sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, along with chicken and shredded mozzarella cheese on top. I add sun-dried tomatoes to the garlic sauce.
I remove the chicken from the refrigerator 15 minutes before sautéing to allow it to dry and choose a cast-iron or stainless steel pan with a heavy bottom to help maintain heat in the pan when cold cutlets are added. Choose a larger pan to keep the chicken from steaming instead of browning. Sauté each side for 4 to 5 minutes and then bake the chicken.
Garlic sautés for 1 minute over medium heat. Broth is used to deglaze the pan. Spinach is added in large handfuls to the tomatoes. Spinach is cooked until wilted and mixed with other ingredients. Cream is heated to simmering and added to chicken in baking dish. Some chicken cutlets are not covered with sauce.
After baking 15 to 20 minutes at 375°F, broil 2 to 3 minutes to lightly toast mozzarella in spots. Let stand 5 minutes. I eat this dish over pasta, and pieces of toasted bread can be dipped in leftover sauce from the baking dish. A cucumber and beet salad is a good side dish.
What makes this special
- Even chicken cutlets will have some browned portions before the chicken is fully cooked in the sauce and oven.
- Heavy cream keeps the garlic sauce from falling apart when baked with the chicken. It also keeps the sauce from dripping off the chicken.
- Sun-dried tomatoes can add flavor. Use half a cup of sun-dried tomatoes for this recipe.
- Fresh baby spinach cooks fast. Three cups of baby spinach will go into the sauce without taking up too much room in the pan.
- Grate mozzarella cheese, if you can. Pre-grated mozzarella does not melt well on pizza.
- Parsley is added to the cheese after baking and appears as green strands in the cheese.
Ingredients
- •1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (680 g, sliced into cutlets)
- •1 tsp sea salt
- •½ tsp black pepper
- •2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)
- •4 cloves fresh garlic (12 g, minced)
- •1 ½ cups heavy cream (360 ml)
- •½ cup chicken broth (120 ml)
- •½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (60 g, slivered)
- •3 cups fresh baby spinach (90 g)
- •1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese (170 g, shredded)
- •¼ cup Parmesan cheese (25 g, grated)
- •1 tsp dried oregano (2 g)
- •2 tbsp fresh parsley (8 g, chopped)
Instructions
- 1
Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the chicken without overlapping it for 4-5 minutes per side, then transfer the cutlets to a 9×13-inch ceramic baking dish.
- 2
Lower the skillet heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds until fragrant, without browning it. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits, then whisk in the heavy cream and bring it to a gentle simmer.
- 3
Stir the sun-dried tomatoes into the sauce. Add the spinach in handfuls until just wilted, then pour the sauce over the chicken, leaving the cutlets partially submerged.
- 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Scatter the mozzarella and Parmesan over the casserole, then sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes until the mozzarella is bubbly with browned spots.
- 5
Rest the casserole for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
485
Reviews
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