Name: Baked Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ to 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 large breasts); 1 Tbsp avocado oil; 1 large yellow onion (finely chopped); 5 cloves garlic (minced); 1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk; ½ cup chicken broth; 1 Tbsp cider vinegar or rice vinegar; 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (drained); ⅓ cup kalamata olives (finely chopped, optional); 2 tsp Italian seasoning; 3/4 tsp sea salt (to taste); 4 cups baby spinach (optional); 1 to 2 Tbsp tapioca flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour (as needed for thickening); ⅓ cup fresh basil (chopped)

Baked Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken with fresh basil and garlic is a comforting dinner recipe, perfect for those who love their chicken saucy! This dairy-free, gluten-free recipe is rustic and dreamy! Serve it up with your choice of side dishes (steamed or roasted veggies, rice, noodles, etc.) for a winning meal!

Baked Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken - dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, whole30, delicious

First recipe of 2022, and it feels so good!

Whether you’re making changes to your diet or are maintaining your lifestyle, you’re going to LOVE this month’s recipes.

We’re focusing on whole food, simple meals that make you feel great and are everything but boring.

I mentioned in my most recent Paleo Meal Plan that meal prepping (or at least knowing what you’re going to be eating in advance) is a great way of staying on track with any diet-related goal long enough to get the habit to stick.

This removes the guesswork around mealtimes and prevents the cycle of becoming overly hungry then overeating the most convenient food in grabbing distance.

After healing my gut a couple of years ago, I stopped following any specific diet (although I’m still gluten-free and dairy-free because I don’t do great with either), but I know how easy it is to go off the rails and wind up riding the sugar highs and lows roller coaster of atrocious mood and low energy doom.

So this January is all about whole food meals that can easily be made ahead of time or on the spot lickety split (think 30-minute one-pot meals) to keep life simple and meals enjoyable.

I present to you a dish that is not only boisterous in flavor, but also low-inflammatory, high protein, and satiating.

This Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken, my Creamy Mushroom Chicken, Dairy-Free Sausage Gravy, Creamy Pesto Chicken and my 30-Minute Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken all have one thing in common.

They utilize full-fat canned coconut milk to generate the creamy sauce in place of half & half or heavy cream.

This easy creamy sun-dried tomato chicken is a great main dish for anyone who loves saucy chicken.

Personally, I find chicken breasts to be a snooze if they aren’t smothered in something sultry, so if you feel the way I feel about chicken breasts, this one’s for you.

Dairy-free, grain-free, paleo and low-carb, this simple yet flavorful dish is designed to make you feel satiated and energized!

Let’s discuss the ingredients.

Ingredients for Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: The main event and the reason we’re all here! You’ll want to pick up 1 ½ to 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless chicken thighs if you’d like!

Onion & Garlic: Everyone’s favorite flavor makers. Onion and garlic add to the richness and rustic flavor of the dish.

Avocado Oil: Used for sautéing the onion and garlic, we use avocado oil because it has a high smoke point and neutral flavor.

Coconut Milk: Full-fat canned coconut milk is a great dairy-free replacement for a thick cream sauce! You may have noticed I use coconut milk frequently in my recipes that entail a creamy sauce, or in any application to replace cream or butter (I use it in scones often!).

Be sure to use full-fat canned coconut milk, as coconut milk from the carton will not contain the same fat content, flavor or consistency. It’s the fat that provides the creaminess and rich flavor.

Chicken Broth: To add more volume to the sauce, I use chicken broth. Any type of stock or broth will work. If you’d like to use more coconut milk instead of broth, you certainly can do so.

Cider Vinegar: It may sound strange, but a touch of acidity provides a nice tang to the sauce, which makes the flavor more reminiscent of a traditional cream sauce. You can replace the cider vinegar with rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, or lemon juice.

Tapioca Flour or Gluten-Free Flour: Used to thicken the sauce, 1 to 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour or a gluten-free flour blend is useful in generating that thickness we all love so much in a cream-based sauce. Tapioca flour keeps it grain-free for those who need it. If you aren’t gluten-free, you can use regular all-purpose flour.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Bright, cheerful sun-dried tomatoes bring a deep flavor to the sauce that is completely unparalleled!

Kalamata Olives (Optional): Adding briny flavor to the sauce, kalamata olives add to the flavor profile of the meal. While I love the addition of kalamata olives for more flavor, they aren’t necessary, as the sun-dried tomatoes go a long way in providing flavor.

Italian Seasoning: Dried herbs add that earthy flavor to any chicken dish. I like using Italian seasoning because it contains a variety of herbs, but you can easily replace it with dried oregano or parsley.

Sea Salt: Used to enhance the flavor of the dish. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to the salt content they enjoy so add it to your personal taste. If you feel the dish tastes bland, add more sea salt – it does wonders to bring out the flavors and make a dish taste rich and inviting.

Spinach: Providing a boost of Vitamins, baby spinach is an easy addition to bring a powerful nutrient punch to the meal. It also provides some additional rustic vibes.

Basil: Serving the chicken with chopped fresh basil adds a marvelous brightness to the dish. Go big with the basil if you like it!

Let’s make it!

How to Make Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Baked Chicken:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat the avocado oil in a thick-bottomed pot or skillet over medium-high heat and add the chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, Italian seasoning and sea salt and bring the mixture to a full boil. Transfer the spinach to the pot and cover it for 1 to 3 minutes to allow it to wilt before stirring it into the sauce.

Stir in the tapioca flour (or gluten-free flour) and whisk the sauce well until the clumps of flour are out. Continue cooking the sauce at a boil, stirring frequently, until it has thickened substantially, about 5 to 10 minutes total. Taste the sauce for flavor and add more sea salt and/or vinegar to taste.

Transfer the chicken breasts to a large casserole dish and sprinkle them lightly with sea salt.

Pour the sun-dried tomato sauce over the chicken breasts and give everything a little stir until the breasts are well-coated in sauce.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Serve the chicken with your choice of side dishes. My Caramelized Onion Roasted Garlic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes is an amazing side kick!

Here are some more serving ideas.

Serving Suggestions:

What to eat with sun-dried tomato chicken? If you do rice, my Lemon Garlic Rosemary Rice is a great companion as it is flavorful in its own rite and soaks up the delicious sauce.

If you’re like me and you eat veggies at every meal, my Garlic Herb Roasted Vegetables or my Easy Sautéed Vegetables are perfect go-to side dishes for any meal.

Fan of keeping it low-carb? My Jalapeno Ginger Cauliflower Rice or my Spanish Cauliflower Rice are lovely keto friendly sides.

Enjoy!