Easy Italian Chicken Skillet

This Easy Italian Chicken Skillet is one of those easy one-pot meals that you can make any night of the week! Tender pieces of chicken cooked with onion, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, basil and parmesan cheese, and best of all – it’s ready in no time at all!

This recipe pairs chicken with fresh vegetables for an easy meal. If you’re looking for easy chicken dinner recipes, this is the perfect entrée for an easy dinner at home or a weekend get together.

Made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, this recipe is a go-to for last-minute dinner ideas.

SKILLET CHICKEN RECIPE

This is a recipe you can almost commit to memory.  It’s one of my favorite healthy chicken dinner recipes to make for dinner, and clean up is a breeze!

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• Onion
• Garlic
• Heirloom cherry tomatoes
• Fresh baby spinach (you can also use frozen spinach if you don’t have any fresh on hand)
• Basil leaves
• Parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

HOW TO MAKE SKILLET CHICKEN

This skillet chicken comes together in about 20 minutes start-to-finish.

1. Cook chicken:  Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through.  
2. Saute onion and garlic:  After you’re done cooking chicken in skillet, set the chicken aside on a plate.  Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is tender and slightly golden-brown.
3. Add chicken and tomatoes:  Add the chicken back to the skillet and toss in the tomatoes.  
4. Wilt spinach:  Add the basil and spinach and cook just until the spinach is wilted.
5. Add parmesan cheese:  Stir in the parmesan cheese
6. Seasoning:  Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

BENEFITS OF SPINACH

I love all of the spinach in this dish.  Spinach is a great superfood! One cup of spinach provides about 40 percent of the recommended daily serving of magnesium (which can help regulate blood sugar).  Spinach is also loaded with the potent antioxidant  alpha-lipoic acid (which also regulates blood sugar levels).  Spinach, like kale, lettuce, and chard, is rich with carotenoids (potent antioxidants  that work to eliminate free radicals).   And we all know that spinach is a rich source of iron.  Just one cup of cooked spinach contains about  6 milligrams of iron.  It’s suggested that women intake about 17 milligrams of iron daily.  I like to freeze spinach in ice cube trays so I can conveniently add it to soups, stews, smoothies and skillet recipes like this one.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS DISH

Serve this Easy Italian Chicken Skillet with plenty of  extra parmesan cheese, some crusty garlic bread and A a big gorgeous salad. You could also serve it with a side of quinoa, pasta or garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.

• Mediterranean Chickpea and Cucumber Salad
• Everyday Tossed Salad
• Kale Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
• Italian Chopped Salad

MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS

These are some of my favorite healthy dinner recipes to make!

• Chicken Marsala
• Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Chicken
• Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken
• Garlicky Chicken Chow Mein
• Chicken Chermoula
• Enchilada Style Baked Chicken
• Tuscan Chicken with White Beans
• Garlic Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
• Thai Chicken with Black Beans
• Mediterranean Chicken with Garlic Tomato Sauce

Originally published 8.2018 – updated 8-2020

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Yield: 4 servings

Easy Italian Chicken Skillet

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This Easy Italian Chicken Skillet is a delicious and healthy one-pot meal to make any night of the week!

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lenghtwise
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from skillet.
3. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is tender and slightly golden-brown.
4. Return chicken to the pan.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the basil and spinach and cook just until the spinach is wilted.
7. Stir in the parmesan cheese
8. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.