Creamy Keto Tuscan Chicken

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Roasted Poblano Chicken Risotto

This Keto Tuscan Chicken is the perfect combination of tender skillet chicken in a creamy cheese sauce full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and served over a bed of zoodles. Soon to be one of your favorite one pan meals, this nod to ‘Marry Me Chicken’ is a low carb keto friendly recipe ready in just 30 minutes!Creamy Tuscan Chicken is tender skillet chicken in a creamy cheese sauce full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and served over a bed of zoodles . Soon to be one of your favorite one pan meals, this Creamy Tuscan Chicken is a low carb keto friendly recipe ready in just 30 minutes!

CREAMY KETO TUSCAN CHICKEN

This Creamy Tuscan Chicken is now at the top of my 30 minute meals list. Seriously, it gets no better than tender pieces of skillet chicken swimming around in a creamy cheese sauce packed full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and tons of flavor. In my never ending search for a reasonable balance between delicious food and healthy dinner ideas, it’s was just a matter of time before I gave low-carb meals and keto friendly recipes a go. Let me say this, even if I fail to the low carb way of life, this nod to ‘Marry Me Chicken’ will be staying in my weekly chicken dinner rotation .. it’s THAT good!

WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE

So why is this keto friendly chicken dinner my new favorite go-to weeknight dinner recipe? Let me tell you..!

  • Easy – This is a one pan chicken dinner that is served up in just 30 minutes. What is easier than that?
  • Flavor – Tender seasoned chicken, basil, a creamy pasta sauce with sundried tomatoes all served over a bed of zucchini noodles. Seriously, you can taste all that goodness already.
  • Low carb and keto friendly – Low carb and keto friendly dinner ideas are not boring or lacking flavor. This is one low carb chicken dinner that helps keeps you on track and delivers great flavors.

TUSCAN CHICKEN INGREDIENTS

  • Olive oil – Used to sauté the chicken
  • Chicken – Chicken breasts are my go to protein source in this low carb Marry Me Chicken recipe. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chicken tenders or even store bought thin chicken cutlets in this recipe.
  • Heavy cream – The foundation of your creamy sundried tomato sauce.
  • Basil – Basil lends such an Italian inspired flavor to this one pan dinner. Fresh basil leaves are preferred but you can certainly substitute the fresh basil with dried if you prefer.
  • Sundried tomatoes – Sweet and flavorful, sundried tomatoes always deliver the perfect bite. If using sundried tomatoes packed in oil, be sure to rinse your tomatoes before adding them to your cream sauce.
  • Seasonings – Flavors.
  • Chicken stock – Adds a bit of depth to flavor in the cream sauce.
  • Parmesan cheese – Nuttiness, saltiness and a bit of sharp bite of flavor. Also used to thicken the cream sauce.
  • White cheddar cheese – Creamy, sharp flavor 
  • Zucchini – Transformed into a bed of noodles to serve with your Tuscan chicken

SUBSTITUTIONS

  • Basil – If you prefer dried herbs to fresh, simply reduce your ingredient amounts by 2/3. If the recipe calls for a tablespoon of fresh herbs, substitute with 1 teaspoon of dried herbs instead.
  • Chicken stock – Feel free to substitute the chicken stock with chicken broth or vegetable broth for a milder flavor.
  • Zucchini – Instead of zucchini noodles, this keto Marry Me Chicken recipe is perfect served over a pasta, rice or even mashed potatoes.

TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE

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HOW TO MAKE LOW CARB TUSCAN CHICKEN

To make this Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe, start by making your zoodles.

  • Using a spiralizer or veggie peeler, ‘zoodle’ your zucchini in to long ribbons. 
  • Lay out a large baking tray and cover bottom with paper towels.  Add your zoodles to the pan and spread out in an even layer. 
  • Cover generously with salt and then lay another layer of paper towels on top of your zucchini and then add another pan on top of the paper towels to weigh it all down.  Set aside.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken bowl of zoodles

  • Next, prepare the chicken.  Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat. 
  • Slice your chicken breasts on the bias and add them to your oil, cooking them for 5-6 minutes.
  • Continue to cook until your chicken has browned slightly and is no longer pink on the inside.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken in a skillet

  • Remove the chicken from your skillet and add in the heavy cream, chicken stock and spices. 
  • Bring to a low boil and then whisk in your parmesan cheese and sharp cheddar. 
  • Whisk until your cheese has melted, reduce heat to medium low and add in the sun dried tomatoes, basil and return your chicken back to the pan.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken ingredients

  • Let simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. 
  • As your chicken is simmering, move your zoodles to a large strainer and run under cold water to remove the salt. 
  • Pat dry again and then serve up your zoodles in a big bowl with your Creamy Tuscan Chicken on top. 
  • The heat from the sauce will warm the zoodles perfectly!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken in a pan

WHAT ARE ZOODLES?

So… what are zoodles??? Zoodles hold the secret to life, my friends. 

As a chick who is down with eating raw zucchini on occasion, the thought of eating a ton spiralized zucchini ribbons of it instead of delicious, carb filled pasta really didn’t strike me as anything to get too excited over.  I like pasta.  Pasta likes me.  Me and pasta got a lot of love for each other…. until ……   (zoodles!)

Talk about a huge life changing moment… zoodles are amazing … zoodles are incredible … zoodles have next to no carbs, super easy to make and really have NO FLAVOR whatsoever.  So if you are just kind of meh on zucchini, trust me, cover these little zucchini ribbons in your favorite (keto) sauce and go to town, my friend!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken zucchini

HOW DO YOU MAKE ZOODLES?

First, you need a spiralizer or a veggie peeler.  If you are using a spiralizer, simply follow the manufacturers instructions which primary go like this.. cut off the ends of your zucchini, cut the zucchini in half, line up your zucchini with the blade, turn the handle.  The End.  If you are making zoodles with a veggie peeler, make long strokes down the length of zucchini to make long ribbons.  Zoodles are just that easy to make!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken zoodles

WHAT ARE SUN DRIED TOMATOES?

Sun dried tomatoes are just what their name states .. they are tomatoes that lose the majority of their water content due to being treated and laid out to dry out in the sun.  They are sold packed in oil or in a pouch and hold on to their nutritional content while concentrating their flavor.

MORE EASY DINNER RECIPES

Enjoy!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken is tender skillet chicken in a creamy cheese sauce full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and served over a bed of zoodles . Soon to be one of your favorite one pan meals, this Creamy Tuscan Chicken is a low carb keto friendly recipe ready in just 30 minutes!

Creamy Keto Tuscan Chicken

Creamy Tuscan Chicken is tender skillet chicken in a creamy cheese sauce full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and served over a bed of zoodles . Soon to be one of your favorite one pan meals, this Creamy Tuscan Chicken is a low carb keto friendly recipe ready in just 30 minutes!
This Keto Tuscan Chicken is the perfect combination of tender skillet chicken in a creamy cheese sauce full of sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and served over a bed of zoodles. Soon to be one of your favorite one pan meals, this nod to 'Marry Me Chicken' is a low carb keto friendly recipe ready in just 30 minutes!
Heather - A Wicked Whisk
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Serving Size 8

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt .. or Creole seasoning
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 8 ounces sun dried tomatoes .. in oil, drained and rinsed
  • 8 - 10 basil leaves .. chopped
  • 4 large zucchini
  • extra salt for zoodles

Instructions

  • To make Creamy Tuscan Chicken, start by making your zoodles.  Using a spiralizer or veggie peeler, 'zoodle' your zucchini intil long ribbons.  Lay out a large baking tray and cover bottom with papertowels.  Add your zoodles to the pan and spread out in an even layer.  Cover generously with salt and then lay another layer of papertowls on top of your zucchini and then add another pan on top of the papertowels to weigh it all down.  The salt will draw out excess moisture so your zoodles don't get soggy. Set aside.
  • Move on to the chicken. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Slice your chicken breasts on the bias in half in pieces, sprinkle salt or Creole seasoning and add them to your oil, cooking them for 3-4 minutes on each side until your chicken has browned and is no longer pink on the inside. 
  • Remove the chicken from your skillet and add in the heavy cream, chicken stock and spices. Bring to a low boil and then whisk in your parmesan cheese and sharp cheddar. Whisk until your cheese has melted, reduce heat to medium low and add in the sun dried tomatoes, basil and return your chicken back to the pan. Let simmer for 3 - 4 minutes. 
  • As your Creamy Tuscan Chicken is simmering, move your zoodles to a large strainer and run under cold water to remove the salt. Pat dry again and then serve up your zoodles in a big bowl with your Creamy Tuscan Chicken on top. The heat from the sauce will warm the zoodles perfectly!

Nutrition

Serving: 8g | Calories: 551.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.7g | Protein: 40.7g | Fat: 39.1g | Saturated Fat: 23.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.5g | Cholesterol: 186.4mg | Sodium: 829.2mg | Potassium: 539mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2490IU | Vitamin C: 10.5mg | Calcium: 434mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Update Notes: This post was originally published in January of 2019 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in March of 2024.

 

Roasted Poblano Chicken Risotto

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