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Slow Cooker Tuscan Garlic Chicken with Spinach

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Boneless, skinless chicken thighs seasoned with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder — slow-cooked on LOW for four to five hours with minced garlic, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes until the chicken is completely tender and the garlic has mellowed into a sweet, rounded, aromatic depth that permeates the braising liquid. Heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan stirred in at KEEP WARM until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and creamy. Baby spinach stirred through for thirty to sixty seconds until just wilted. Served over pappardelle or fettuccine with additional Parmesan grated over the top and crusty bread for the sauce. The slow cooker Tuscan garlic chicken that is not from Tuscany and is worth making regardless.

  • Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

The Chicken

  • 2 lbs (900g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder

The Sauce Base

  • 6–8 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced
  • ⅓ cup (55g) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup (240ml) chicken broth
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp salt

The Cream and Cheese Finish

  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream — added after cooking at KEEP WARM
  • ½ cup (50g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated — added after cooking at KEEP WARM

The Spinach

  • 3–4 cups (90–120g) baby spinach — added at serving, right before plating

For Serving

 

  • 12 oz (340g) pappardelle, fettuccine, or pasta of choice
  • Additional freshly grated Parmesan
  • Fresh basil, torn
  • Crusty bread

Instructions

  • Season the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs dry and season on both sides with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
  • Build the slow cooker. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Add the minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir briefly to distribute the aromatics around the chicken.
  • Cook. Set to LOW and cook for 4 to 5 hours, until the chicken is completely tender and reads 165°F (74°C) internally. The garlic should be completely soft and the sun-dried tomatoes plump and fragrant.
  • Slice or shred the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and slice into strips or shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker.
  • Add cream and Parmesan. Switch to KEEP WARM. Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine with the braising liquid. Add the Parmesan in two additions, stirring after each until fully melted and smooth before adding the next. Taste and adjust seasoning — salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes.
  • Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta cooking water. Drain.
  • Add the spinach. Stir the baby spinach into the warm sauce at KEEP WARM. Stir continuously for 30 to 60 seconds until completely wilted and bright green. Do not overcook — remove from heat immediately once wilted.

 

  • Combine and serve. Add the drained pasta to the slow cooker and toss with the sauce, adding a splash of pasta cooking water to help the sauce coat the pasta. Alternatively, divide pasta into bowls and spoon the chicken and sauce generously over the top. Finish with freshly grated Parmesan, torn basil, and crusty bread alongside.

Notes

  • Six to eight cloves of garlic is correct — do not reduce. The dish is called Tuscan garlic chicken and is designed around a generous quantity of garlic that mellows and sweetens during the slow cook. Under-garlicked versions taste like a generic cream sauce with chicken. The slow cooker transforms the raw pungency of six to eight cloves into a rounded, sweet, pervasive garlic depth that is the dish’s defining character.
  • Sun-dried tomatoes are essential — do not omit. They are the ingredient that most distinguishes this cream sauce from any other. Their concentrated, slightly sweet, slightly acidic tomato note provides the contrast that prevents the cream and Parmesan from becoming one-dimensional. The dish is a different and lesser thing without them.
  • Cream and Parmesan at KEEP WARM. The same instruction that applies across every cream-and-cheese sauce recipe in this series. Added during the slow cook, they can separate or become grainy. Added at KEEP WARM temperature, stirred gradually, they produce the smooth, glossy sauce the recipe requires.
  • Spinach wilts in thirty to sixty seconds. It does not need to cook. The KEEP WARM temperature is sufficient to wilt baby spinach immediately. Stirring it through the warm sauce for thirty to sixty seconds is all it needs. Remove from heat immediately — further time turns it from vibrant green to dull olive.
  • Grate your own Parmesan. Pre-shredded Parmesan in a bag does not melt cleanly into cream sauce. A block and a fine grater produces a categorically better sauce.
  • Reserve pasta cooking water. The starchy water helps the sauce cling to the pasta — the same technique as the Alfredo, the pasta sauce, and every other pasta dish in this series.
  • The dish improves overnight. The garlic and sun-dried tomato flavors continue to develop in the refrigerator. Day-two Tuscan garlic chicken, reheated with a splash of broth to loosen the thickened cream sauce, is consistently more complex than the freshly made version.
  • Author: Elle
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4–5 hours (on LOW)
  • Category: Dinner, Main Dish
  • Method: Slow Cooking
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online: https://slowcookerrecipes.us/slow-cooker-tuscan-garlic-chicken-with-spinach/