Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce (2024)

5 from 12 votes

• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup white wine
• Juice from one lemon
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging the chicken, use cornstarch for gluten-free
• ¾ teaspoons sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 or 4 chicken breasts, pounded thin for even cooking
• Salt and pepper
• 3 to 4 tomatoes, sliced to ¼" thickness
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 Tablespoons fresh basil, more if desired
• More Parmesan cheese, to taste
• Add some toasted pine nuts at serving, optional

• Heat oven to 250F degrees.

Start the sauce:

• In a medium sauce pan, heat 1 cup chicken broth and ¼ cup white wine over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced by one third, about 5 minutes.

• Reduce heat to medium-low, add lemon juice and 2 cups cream. Heat to a slow simmer and then add 2 Tablespoons butter, one Tablespoon at a time. Lower heat a bit and continue on a very low simmer, whisking occasionally while you make the chicken and tomatoes.

Prepare the chicken:

• After chicken has been pounded to an even thickness, heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a 12" skillet on medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup flour to a plate with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, stir to combine. Lightly dredge chicken in the flour mixture, shaking extra flour off before placing chicken in the pan. Heat chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Place chicken on an oven-safe plate, cover with foil and place in the oven to keep warm.

  See Also

  Fall-Apart Caramelized Cabbage

Caramelize the tomatoes:

• In the same pan you cooked the chicken (do not wash out the pan), add the last Tablespoon of oil and lower heat to medium. Add the tomatoes in a single layer, adding salt and pepper as desired. Let cook until tomatoes start to disintegrate and caramelize, about 5 minutes.

• Stir tomatoes and add 2-3 garlic cloves. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally. At this time, while the tomatoes are continuing to cook, you can use tongs to remove the tomato skins, if desired. We don't mind the skins so I leave them. The tomato mixture will stick to the pan a little. This is what you want, because it means they're breaking down correctly and the tomatoes natural fructose is working. Turn heat to low while you finish preparing chicken and sauce.

Combine everything and finish:

• Remove chicken from oven and slice on diagonal, about 1" thick slices. Add chicken to the skillet and lightly toss with tomatoes.

• Add ½ cup Parmesan cheese to your cream sauce now and stir until melted. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and lightly stir all ingredients together.

• Sprinkle with fresh basil and more Parmesan cheese. The meal is ready to serve now, or it can be covered and returned to the 250 degree oven for up to 40 minutes while you prepare side dishes, etc. When you remove from the oven, the sauce needs a quick stir to incorporate back together. (In the recipe photo, you can see that the yummy tomato infused olive oil and cream have separated a bit.)

• Leftovers are delicious the following day.

• If you're looking to lower the saturated fat content in the recipe, whole milk may be used in place of whipping cream.
• The nutrition facts for this recipe show a very high fat quantity based on the sauce (which again, can be reduced using whole milk). However, if you use less sauce on your portion, that will also reduce the fat content and calories, if you're wanting to do so. The sauce is nice and rich, so a little can go a long way.

Nutrition Facts

Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 428Calories from Fat 369

% Daily Value*

Fat 41g63%

Saturated Fat 23g144%

Cholesterol 126mg42%

Sodium 629mg27%

Potassium 254mg7%

Carbohydrates 10g3%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 1920IU38%

Vitamin C 12mg15%

Calcium 156mg16%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.