Creamy chicken thighs and spinach are insanely delicious! You can't go wrong with these easy pan-seared, oven baked chicken thighs drenched in creamy garlic and spinach sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes and made using one skillet, this is the perfect weeknight recipe!
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What You'll Need
- Chicken thighs: Boneless and skinless.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Coat chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Garlic: I always keep a jar of minced garlic in the refrigerator. So convenient!
- Unsalted butter: Adds delicious flavor. Use it to sauté your garlic.
- Heavy cream: The velvety base for cream sauce.
- Flour: Just a touch to thicken sauce. I've also tested this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour and it worked great!
- Salt, pepper, bay leaf & Italian seasonings: A simple combo that adds a lot!
- Chicken broth: Adds depth to cream sauce.
- White wine vinegar: For a little bit of tang!
- Spinach: Tasty, nutritious greens.
Making Creamy Chicken Thighs
Keep scrolling for complete recipe and instructions. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place an oven safe skillet on the stovetop and turn heat to medium.
- Add olive oil to your pan, sprinkle thighs with salt and pepper. Sear meat for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Reduce stovetop heat to low, transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Whisk heavy cream, gluten free flour and seasonings (except for bay leaf) together in a small bowl.
- Place butter in skillet and add garlic, sauté for about 30 seconds, until aromatic.
- Add sauce mixture and stir until it begins to thicken, then add white wine vinegar, broth and bay leaf.
- Stir spinach into sauce and until it cooks down a bit.
- Place chicken thighs back in skillet and baste with sauce.
- Bake for about 20 minutes and then broil on high for 2-3 minutes for some nice brown color on top. Use a food thermometer to check that chicken is fully cooked through. Once internal temperature has reached 165°F, it is done.
- Take skillet out of the oven and remove bay leaf. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Handy Tips
- Be sure to use heavy cream in this recipe as white wine vinegar may cause lower fat content substitutions (such as half and half) to curdle. Higher fat content helps to prevent this.
- This is my favorite oven safe skillet! It's PERFECT for one pot / one pan meals and is dishwasher safe. One dish that I can throw in the washer? Now that's the kind of clean up I'm looking for!
Sides For Chicken Thighs
- Easy Garden Salad Recipe
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes
- Roasted Broccoli And Cauliflower
- Honey Feta Roasted Carrots
- Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
- Slow Cooker Potatoes
- Sautéed Sweet Potato
- Mashed Cauliflower "Potatoes" (or rice - both are great for pairing with extra sauce)!
- If you need a super quick and easy side try making microwave asparagus!
Creamy Chicken Thighs And Spinach
Pan seared, oven-baked skinless, boneless chicken thighs drenched in creamy garlic and spinach sauce. Made in just one pan and ready in 30 minutes, perfect for weeknight cooking!
Servings: 5
Calories: 375kcal
Ingredients
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream *see note below
- 2 teaspoons flour *both regular and gluten free flour work in this recipe *see note below
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic *see note below
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups spinach
Recipe notes:
Heavy cream: Avoid substituting heavy cream for something with lower fat content (like half and half). White wine vinegar may curdle a lower fat content replacement. Flour: I have tested this recipe with gluten free flour and it worked great! I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour. Garlic: Mince up 2-3 large cloves or keep a jar of garlic in the refrigerator (I highly recommend doing this, it's so convenient)!Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place an oven safe skillet on the stovetop and set heat to medium.
- Add olive oil to your pan.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear meat in olive oil for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Reduce stovetop heat to low, transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Mix up your sauce: measure heavy cream, flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasonings into a small bowl and whisk ingredients together. Set aside.1 cup heavy cream, 2 teaspoons flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- Place unsalted butter in skillet, add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until aromatic.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Add sauce mixture to the skillet and stir until it begins to thicken. Whisk in your white wine vinegar, broth and bay leaf.½ cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 bay leaf
- Add spinach to sauce and stir until it cooks down a bit.2 cups spinach
- Nestle chicken thighs back into skillet and baste with sauce.
- Transfer skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes and then broil on high for 2-3 minutes to get some nice brown color on top.
- Use a food thermometer to check that chicken is fully cooked through. Once the internal temperature reaches 165°F, it is done.
- Take your skillet out of the oven and remove bay leaf. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/5th of recipe | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 30g | Fiber: 1g
Did you make this recipe?!
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Karen says
Perfect summer recipe…..I was looking for a recipe that is not complicated and not a lot to clean up!
stacey_olson says
That's my favorite part! Super easy clean up!
Kimberly J Snyder says
this looks so yummy! can't wait to try it! thanks for sharing!
stacey_olson says
Thank you so much, Kim!!
Melba says
This is one of my favorite recipes you have done! Yum! and your photography is stunning!
stacey_olson says
Awwwe thank you so much!
Paula@SweetPea says
This sounds so good! I'm looking forward to making this very soon.
stacey_olson says
Thank you, Paula!!
Cindy says
This sounds delicious and looks pretty too. Trying this recipe soon.
Pinned!
Libbie says
Oh, now this looks yummy! Pinned for later.
Rosemary Palmer says
I think this will be on the menu next week. A local store has their thighs on sale on Weds, so I missed it this week. I love one pot meals.
stacey_olson says
Oooo perfect! Let me know how it goes. I also love one pot meals, so convenient!
Kim D G says
Great recipe, cooks up quick and has great flavor!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your rating and review!
Kim Waldorf says
My family loves chicken! This looks amazing. I would love to try it. Thanks so much for sharing!
stacey_olson says
Of course! Thanks, Kim!
corine Mapes says
I love any recipe that is one pan, and this looks amazing! Can't wait to try it.
stacey_olson says
Thank you, Corine! I love one pan meals, too!
Cindy Rust says
That cream sauce looks so good - heavy cream is the best :). Pinned!
stacey_olson says
I agree! I LOVE a good creamy sauce. 🙂
Shelby Quintanilla says
Can we substitute white wine vinegar with white vinegar?
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi Shelby, I haven't tried making this recipe with distilled white vinegar so I can't say for sure. I think it should work fine! I would use less than a tablespoon. Maybe try adding one teaspoon at a time and see how it tastes, let me know how it goes!
Tammy says
This recipe looks incredible. I love easy one pan recipes. Keep them coming!
Nicole Swanson says
Can I use white wine instead of vinegar?
Garlic Salt & Lime says
You could but it will change the flavor some! It won't be as tangy.
jochen says
How is this presented as a healthy dish? It is literally bathing in cream...