Healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet

Healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet is a one-pot, 30-minute meal with an addictive creamy sauce (but no heavy cream) that’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!

This post is sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety Education. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I hope you all had a great weekend! It was a long, 3-day weekend for us here in the U.S. for Labor Day, and wow, I was glad for every minute of it!

The kiddos had a great first week of school but we were ready for some family down time, spent mostly at the pool and playing around at the house. (We just got Connect Four and Checkers – both big hits!)

And now that I’m full up (literally – we grilled and ate all the delicious cookout foods over the weekend), I’m reluctantly ready to dive back into a week of work and school and activities and errands.

But I’m also secretly eyeing next weekend and glad it’s already Tuesday. But on to the FOOD!

So, I may be a tad bit obsessed with today’s recipe.

As in, I’ve made this healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet at least 6 times in the past month and a half. 😳

I just can’t get enough!

I love that it’s a one-pot recipe, that it’s ready in 30 minutes and that it uses some pretty basic ingredients that I almost always have on hand.

But mostly, it’s the sauce. I’m so in love with the sauce! ❤️

It’s one I keep coming back to, really, in different forms.

First it was my chicken breasts with jalapeño cheese sauce. Can you say YUM?

Then I made a creamy chipotle chicken version that has all the smoky flavor.

And today, I’m going with an Italian flair. We’ve got Italian seasoning on the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes in the sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top and the creamy, delicious sauce to coat every single bite.

(But you know me, it’s all lightened up and of course, there’s no heavy cream here at all.)

I’m also excited to share this recipe alongside the Partnership for Food Safety Education.

September is Family Meals Month, and I so love how they want to promote family time around the table and the ease of cooking a family meal. 🙌

I mean, that’s what I’m all about!

Cooking does NOT have to be hard or intimidating or scary. It doesn’t have to be stressful or dreaded. If you can get the hang of a few basics and find a few recipes your family will enjoy, then you’re good to go!

And if you are a bit of a clean freak like me in the kitchen, you’ll be happy to know that the Partnership for Food Safety Education also has tons of tips on how to reduce food borne illness and ensure safe cooking every time with the core four.

(Hint: The core four are to clean, separate, cook and chill. Read more here.)

So if you are ready to tackle family dinner time, now’s the time to start!

A few notes on this healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet:

• I use low-sodium chicken broth for the liquid here, but you could certainly substitute a dry white wine if you prefer or if you have it on hand.
• If you want to add a veggie to this, you could either do some sliced mushrooms (sauté them with the onions) or add in some green peas at the end to get them warmed through.
• This is creamy enough on its own, but you can add a little sprinkling of Parmesan cheese at the end if you’d like. (It’s listed as an optional ingredient in the recipe below.)
• I also love it with some fresh herbs (parsley or even basil) to add a bit of freshness at the end. 👌
• We mostly serve this over steamed brown rice, but you could also serve it with cauliflower rice, pasta or quinoa. You just want something that will soak up some of that yummy sauce!

I hope you give this healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet a try soon, and I hope it becomes a favorite in your house too.

And be sure to learn more about food safety by checking out the Story of Your Dinner website.

Wishing you happy cooking and happy family meals – this month and always!

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Check out the VIDEO I made for this recipe:

Healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet

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Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 25 minutes Total Time 30 minutes

Serves 4     adjust servings

Healthy creamy Italian chicken skillet is a one-pot, 30-minute meal with an addictive creamy sauce!

Ingredients

• 4 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or use a dry white wine)
• 4 oz. plain reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

For serving

• Grated Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

Wash hands with soap and water.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Season chicken breasts with the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. (Do not rinse raw poultry or meat.) Add to the pan and sear for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Wash hands with soap and water.

Remove chicken breasts from the skillet to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. (They will finish cooking later.)

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining teaspoon olive oil to pan. Add diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until softened.

Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté for 30 more seconds.

Add chicken broth and cream cheese and stir until melted. Return the chicken breasts to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices, and turn to coat them in the sauce. Top the chicken breasts with the mozzarella cheese (about 1/4 cup for each one).

Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 7-9 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 F on a food thermometer. (Exact cook time will depend on how thick your chicken breasts are.) 

Serve chicken breasts with extra sauce spooned over the top and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

If you want to add a veggie to this, you could either do some sliced mushrooms (sauté them with the onions) or add in some green peas at the end to get them warmed through.

We serve this over steamed brown rice, but you could also serve it with cauliflower rice, pasta or quinoa. You just want something that will soak up some of that yummy sauce!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 454kcal Calories from fat 224
% Daily Value
Total Fat 25g	38%
Saturated Fat 11g	55%
Transfat 0g
Cholesterol 180mg	60%
Sodium 671mg	28%
Carbohydrate 9g	3%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Sugars 5g
Protein 48g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g