A one-pan (or skillet) recipe that’s comforting, full of delicious flavor, AND dairy-free? Yes, please! Chicken in a creamy sauce, with a little bit extra for topping off rice, pasta, or any side dish. Serve the chicken breasts whole or cut into cubes to make it go a little further for the family. Either way, this Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken recipe is one of the BEST for a healthy weeknight dinner!
RELATED: Easy Dairy & Gluten-Free Dinner Recipes
Table of Contents
Ingredients
One thing I love about this recipe is how flexible it is. It’s all about the sauce, so you can really adjust the chicken and veggies to your own personal taste and use what you have on hand! Here are a few notes for ingredient variations and substitutions:
Chicken – Halved chicken breasts or cubed chicken is best for this recipe!
Avocado Oil – I used avocado oil since it’s versatile, but olive oil or vegan butter work great, too.
Onion – Freshly topped onions really take this meal to another level! However, feel free to use dried onion or onion powder in the sauce and with the mushrooms to give them flavor.
Mushrooms – Sliced mushrooms not only add delicious texture and nutrients, but they also add SO much flavor!
Cashew Butter – Trust me on this one. It might sound crazy, but cashew butter is the base of the sauce and it gives it a creamy, cheesy taste and texture!
Unsweetened Almond Milk – You’ll definitely want to make sure you grab unsweetened, unflavored almond milk for this recipe. Unsweetened/unflavored cashew milk works well also.
Chicken Broth – Vegetable broth is another great option.
Almond Flour – It’s best to use finely-ground almond flour (instead of almond meal, which is a bit more grainy in texture). You can also just use regular flour, if that’s what you have on hand!
Seasoning – The seasoning is a mix of garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. You can make your own Italian seasoning with a mix of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and/or marjoram.
Spinach – If you and/or your family aren’t a fan of the texture of spinach, feel free to chop the spinach instead!
Sun-Dried Tomatoes – The sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe REALLY bring it to life! You can also use freshly halved grape tomatoes instead, but I would still highly recommend using sun-dried tomatoes if you can.
How to Make Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken
Here’s how to make Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken in 6 easy steps:
- Cook the chicken in a pan or skillet.
- Cook the onions and mushrooms.
- Whisk together the sauce.
- Pour into the pan and whisk over medium heat.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.
- Add everything else back in!
Time-Saving Tips
On a time crunch? These tips will help you knock out this delicious Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken recipe in no time at all!
- Use pre-cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
- If cooking the chicken, you can bake it instead of cooking on the stovetop. Save time by cooking the onions and mushrooms while the chicken bakes in the oven!
- Make sure to whisk the sauce together while the mushrooms are cooking to save time.
Making the BEST Dairy-Free Creamy Sauce
Tip #1:
The creamy sauce comes together pretty easily. But my #1 tip for making the BEST dairy-free creamy sauce for savory recipes like this one is to make sure your ingredients are room temperature! This allows the ingredients to come together smoothly when you whisk the sauce in a mixing bowl.
Even if you can’t have room temperature ingredients for the sauce, be sure to set the ingredients out before you start the recipe so that they’re not as cold!
Tip #2:
The next tip is to make sure that you use a whisk to mix the sauce together. Start by mixing the cashew butter until it’s creamy, then slowly adding the liquid ingredients. Last, add in the seasoning. This method really makes a difference!
Tip #3:
When cooking the sauce, use your judgement to decide how long to cook it. The sauce should thicken and reduce slightly, but not too much! Keep in mind that it will slightly thicken after you remove it from heat. I have found that 2-3 minutes over medium heat (whisking often to prevent clumping or sticking) is the best amount of time!
The Best Type of Pan or Skillet
This recipe can pretty much be made in any type of pan or skillet. My personal favorites to use are a cast-iron skillet or this non-toxic non-stick sauté pan!
How to Store Tuscan Chicken
Store Tuscan Chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. This recipe can also be frozen for up to 3 months!
More Dairy-Free Chicken Recipes
- Hot Honey Chicken Bowls
- Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
- Paleo Chicken Mushroom Casserole
- Cuban Mojo Chicken and Rice
- Honey Balsamic Chicken & Veggies
More Dairy-Free Dinner Recipes
- 30-Minute Healthy Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Creamy Salmon Pasta Recipe
- Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
- Vegan Red Pepper Hummus Pizza
- Sun-Dried Tomato & Arugula Lentil Salad
- Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
- Spicy Southwest Whole30 Stuffed Peppers
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to give it a rating below and tag your photos @jar.of.lemons!
Dairy-Free Tuscan Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (divided)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup cashew butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (room temperature)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons almond flour
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- salt/pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally.
- Add salt and pepper to the chicken (and any other seasoning of choice).
- Place 2 Tablespoons of oil in a skillet or pan and cook the chicken over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Set the chicken aside.
- Place 1 Tablespoon of oil in the pan and cook the chopped onions for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until they are tender.
- Set the mushrooms aside.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, create the sauce by whisking together the cashew butter, almond milk, chicken broth, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning until smooth.
- Place the remaining oil (1 Tablespoon) and almond flour in the pan and whisk for about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the sauce into the pan and whisk for another 2-3 minutes, allowing it to slightly thicken and reduce.
- Add in the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and stir.
- Add the chicken breasts and mushrooms back in, coating with the sauce and letting them heat back up for about 1 minute.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Next-Level Tips:
- On a time crunch? Use pre-cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to save time.
- If cooking the chicken, you can bake it instead of cooking on the stovetop. Save time by cooking the onions and mushrooms will the chicken bakes in the oven!
- Make sure your creamy sauce ingredients are room temperature, especially the cashew butter and the almond milk. If you can’t have room temp ingredients, just take them out of the refrigerator at the beginning of this recipe to make them less cold. This really helps the sauce come together smoothly!
Jess says:
This recipe turned out to be one of the best chicken dishes we’ve had in our home. My husband is severely lactose intolerant. The joy and pride I felt when I was able to surprise him with a creamy dish that was dairy free was a highlight! He’s picky so that’s hard to do. Ended up tasting like chicken Marsala 🙂
Jar Of Lemons replied:
That’s so great to hear, Jess! Thanks for making this and letting me know how it turned out!
Kate says:
I made some substitutes for what I already had in the pantry: peanut butter instead of cashew butter, coconut milk instead of almond milk and I didn’t add any almond flour. The taste and consistency of this dish is amazing! Definitely our new family favourite! Oh I also added the sun-dried tomatoes as a paste instead of chopped up, just because I had some in the freezer. The recipe definitely works even with some substitutions, so you can use up things you already have. Amazing recipe, can’t recommend enough!
Jar Of Lemons replied:
Love to hear this! Thanks for giving it a try!
rhonda ebel says:
I started making dishes for my daughter who is GF, DF….this was my first attempt and it was so delicious!! Even my husband, who is absolutely NOT GF, DF LOVED it!
Jar Of Lemons replied:
Thanks for making this! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
Lexi Hine says:
really good food I love the way that it is so nice and easy to make.
Laura says:
Definitely making its way into our meal rotation. Easy and delicious! I didn’t have cashew butter on hand so I used tahini and peanut butter. 2 parts tahini to 1 part peanut butter so as to not have the peanut butter overwhelm the other flavours. It worked well.
Jar Of Lemons replied:
So glad you enjoyed it!
Clare says:
Could this be made a day ahead?
Christine McMichael replied:
I don’t know that this would be the best make-ahead recipe. I think that the texture of the sauce will definitely change the next day. However, I’ve made it many times and then had the leftovers over the next few days and they were still delicious! Just not as good as when it’s fresh, if that makes sense. So if you really need to make it a day ahead of time, just keep that in mind!
Sonja says:
Due to a dairy allergy, I can’t eat creamy pastas. Until now! This recipe is just wonderful. I made a lot and had a lot of leftovers. I ended up shredding the chicken, adding a little more almond milk, and mixing it all with some penne pasta. My grandkids (who claim to hate anything that says “non-dairy” or “organic”) absolutely loved it. They couldn’t even tell the difference!
Alex says:
Amazing!
Samantha McHugh says:
I made this last night for my mom and I but cut the chicken into cubes instead of sliced breasts and used less mushrooms than required and it was absolutely delicious! The only thing I would do would be to add a little more spinach, more sundried tomatoes and less onions and keep the mushrooms about half how i did. My mom even got a 2nd helping (I already put a bigger portion for myself since I’m breastfeeding my 6 month old son and eat a little more which is also the reason I’m eating dairy and soy free)! Thank you so much for the great recipe! I’ll be making it again for sure
Julie replied:
I don’t eat cashews so can I substitute with almond butter or something else?
Christine McMichael replied:
Yes, almond butter should work great! Enjoy the recipe!
Tiffany says:
Delicious, creamy, and so so flavorful! A new family favorite.. the kids were LOVING it, too!
Lyn replied:
Omg this was amazing!! I always get so discouraged when I try to make GOOD dairy free foods for the whole family since I’m the only one who can’t eat dairy. It was so simple to make, and delicious! Thank you for sharing this meal, this one will be one I make often!