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Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook vertical

I am obsessed with easy skillet chicken recipes lately. There’s just something about an entree you can prepare in under 30 minutes with simple ingredients. Something ahhhhmazing.

Today’s recipe is Creamy Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken. My inspiration for this one is my 30 Minute Dairy Free Tomato Basil Soup.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook horizontal(1)

It’s really all about this sauce, friend. It has the same layered richness of tomatoes, basil, and garlic that you’ll find in the soup.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook horizontal side

Plus there’s a lot of it so I recommend serving this with pasta, zoodles (pictured below), or spaghetti squash. You can even serve it on top of simply prepared veggies. That way you take full advantage of the creamy tomato basil goodness.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook horizontal with zoodles plate

I experimented with different kinds of tomatoes and even with using canned tomatoes. In the end fresh roma tomatoes won the day. I also toss in a few cherry tomatoes while the sauce is simmering. They’ll remain whole but soften and burst in the heat.

Creamy Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook horizontal with zoodles side

I use four chicken breasts sliced horizontal to create eight thin chicken breast cutlets. If you have a small skillet you can leave your chicken breasts whole. You’re also welcome to use chicken thighs if you prefer.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken by The Whole Cook horizontal

This dish is ready in under 30 minutes. Yes, ma’am! Who doesn’t appreciate a quick meal you can whip up on a busy weeknight?

If you love tomatoes and basil this one is going to be a favorite of yours. It’s quickly become a favorite of mine.

More recipes like this:

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4.89 from 17 votes

Creamy Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken

By Christina
You're going to love this Creamy Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken! It's all about the sauce over perfectly sauteed chicken. Plus it's surprisingly dairy free, gluten free, and Whole30!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients 

Chicken

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • salt & pepper

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

  • 7 roma tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk
  • 2 garlic cloves, or 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 10 large fresh basil leaves
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

To Finish

  • handful cherry tomatoes
  • 5 oz fresh spinach
  • chopped fresh basil
  • 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot flour
  • 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp cold water
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Instructions 

  • Slice your 4 chicken breasts horizontally to create 8 thin breast cutlets. (If you have a smaller skillet you can leave the breasts whole. I like them thin to soak up more sauce and cook faster.)
  • Add olive oil to skillet. Heat to medium high heat.
  • Add chicken to hot pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and dried basil on top of each breast. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip chicken. Cook until remaining side of chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. (It can take less time if you're using smaller cutlets so keep an eye on them.)
  • Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
  • Add all sauce ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour blended sauce into the pan. Add spinach and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Stir until spinach is mixed in with sauce. Add your chicken back to the pan. Reduce heat to medium low or low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes so sauce is heated through and cherry tomatoes are softened.
  • To thicken sauce, turn off heat. Shake together 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour and 1 tablespoon cold water in a small jar. Pour flour slurry into the sauce and stir. Sauce will begin to thicken quickly as you stir. If you want an even thicker sauce, repeat steps with another 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot flour and 1/2 tablespoon water. (Be sure not to add the arrowroot flour directly to the sauce or you'll end up with clumps. It must be shaken with equal parts water before being added to sauce.) Sprinkle chopped fresh basil on top of chicken before serving.

Notes

Do not use any coconut milk other than canned unsweetened coconut milk. I get this question a lot. Canned coconut milk is thick and not as watered down as the kind you'll find in the refrigerated section of the store. I prefer Thai Kitchen (make sure it says unsweetened and does not say low fat) but there are other brands that work well too!
Nutritional information is for 1 chicken breast plus 1/4 of the sauce. If you slice each breast in half and end up with 8 thin cutlets remember that 2 of those cutlets is the equivalent of 1 breast. If you only have 1 thin cutlet then you'll need to 1/2 the nutritional info.

Nutrition

Serving: 1chicken breast + 1/4 sauce, Calories: 431kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 51g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 145mg, Sodium: 779mg, Potassium: 1415mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 4345IU, Vitamin C: 28.9mg, Calcium: 77mg, Iron: 3.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Recipe Rating




26 Comments

  1. Emily says:

    This looks so delicious and comforting, right up my street!

  2. Lisa says:

    Doesn’t using coconut milk make it taste coconutty?? What if you used cashew cream instead.. just wondering

    1. Christina says:

      The amount of canned unsweetened coconut milk in this dish doesn’t make it coconutty at all. I haven’t tried cashew cream but I imagine it would work.

  3. Andzela says:

    First time making one of your recipes. Made last night but the sauce was really on the thin side. Had to add a little of tapioca flour to thicken. Flavor on point! Will definitely make again and again. Now I want to try all of your recipes!

  4. Clare says:

    So tasty! I only had 4 Romas so that’s what I used. And I added a touch of arrowroot to thicken the sauce up a bit.

  5. Jessica says:

    Tasted great, but is a very thin sauce. Definitely needs to be thickened. Could probably use a few less tomatoes too as it made a lot of sauce.

    1. Christina says:

      Feel free to thicken with the arrowroot flour. It does a great job!

  6. Najem Hasan says:

    Made it today. Absolutely delicious! I added some deseeded chopped green chilli to add a bit of a kick and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe 🙂

    1. Christina says:

      Sounds awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!

  7. Miranda says:

    seriously so amazing!!! Better than eating at a restaurant. My kids and husband loved it. 

  8. Allison Davidson says:

    Made this tonight. Super easy. Super delicious. Served it with cauliflower gnocchi and my husband gobbled it up! Will definitely be making again. 

  9. RICK RICARD says:

    Hi there, this looks great and will definitely try it. I’m just wondering, do you put the whole tomato in the blender, or do you skin it at all or anything? Thank you!

    1. Christina says:

      I don’t remove the skin. It gets very soft as it simmers before blending!

  10. Todd says:

    So many comments about it “looking good”, however we actually made it. Thanks to everyone for your fluff comments. You’re all correct, it WAS delicious and my kids DID love it. Wouldn’t change a thing about the recipe. Doing whole 30, served over baked potatoes instead of pasta.