There are dishes that feel like they took hours of effort — and then there's Tuscan chicken, which actually does take hours, but your slow cooker does all the work. This is the kind of recipe you set up before you leave the house and come home to something that smells like an Italian trattoria.
Rich with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and a silky cream sauce, this dish is comfort food that punches well above its effort level. It works equally well over pasta, rice, mashed potato, or crusty bread — your call.
Why the slow cooker works here
Low-and-slow heat is ideal for chicken thighs — the collagen breaks down gradually, keeping the meat tender and juicy rather than dry and stringy. The cream sauce has time to absorb all the aromatics, and the sun-dried tomatoes mellow into something almost sweet. You simply can't rush this one, and that's the point.
Ingredients
- 800g chicken thighs, skin-on or skinless
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup thickened cream
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed, drained and roughly chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
- ¼ cup parmesan, finely grated
- Fresh basil to serve
Method
- Season the chicken — Pat dry, season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian herbs.
- Layer the slow cooker — Add chicken thighs, then scatter over garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour in the chicken stock.
- Cook low and slow — Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours or HIGH for 3.5–4 hours, until chicken is fall-apart tender.
- Add the cream and spinach — In the last 20 minutes, stir through the cream and spinach. Replace the lid and allow the spinach to wilt.
- Finish with parmesan — Stir in parmesan just before serving. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve — Over pasta, creamy mash, or with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
Tips for the best result
- Chicken thighs over breasts — Thighs are far more forgiving in a slow cooker and stay juicy over a long cook. Breasts can dry out.
- Don't skip the sun-dried tomatoes — They add a concentrated umami richness you can't replicate with fresh tomatoes.
- Add spinach last — Adding it too early turns it to mush. The last 20 minutes is all it needs.
- Sauce too thin? — Mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water and stir through in the last 30 minutes with the lid off (HIGH setting).
Variations
- Dairy-free — Swap cream for full-fat coconut milk and skip the parmesan (or use nutritional yeast)
- Add white beans — Stir through a can of drained cannellini beans with the cream for extra protein and substance
- Make it spicy — Add ½ tsp chilli flakes with the garlic
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