Eleven ingredients and forty minutes, one skillet, and eight slices of toasted garlic bread that are part of the recipe rather than an afterthought.
There is no tomato in this and no pesto either — step 5 rules both out. What makes the sauce pale yellow-green is Italian seasoning and a generous amount of parsley.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning the chicken only until nearly cooked leaves room for it to finish gently in the sauce.
- Thirty seconds of garlic and dried herbs on reduced heat opens them without scorching.
- Two minutes of broth before the cream lets the fond dissolve into the sauce first.
- Parmesan stirred into cream thickens it without any flour.
- A third of a cup of parsley is enough to colour the sauce rather than sit on it.
Ingredient Notes
- Parsley
- A third of a cup, chopped, and the recipe says heavily. Against three quarters of a cup of cream it is enough to tint the sauce rather than decorate it.
- Heavy cream and Parmesan
- Three quarters of a cup and a third of a cup. Together they thicken the sauce; there is no flour in this recipe.
- Toasted garlic bread
- Eight slices, two per serving. Named in the recipe as part of the serving, and visible at the edge of the finished bowl.
- No tomato, no pesto
- Neither is in this recipe, and step 5 says so. The sauce is opaque and pale.
How to Make It
Brown to nearly cooked
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown in olive oil over medium-high heat until nearly cooked through.
Garlic and Italian seasoning
Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and Italian seasoning for 30 seconds.
Broth, then cream and Parmesan
Add broth and simmer 2 minutes, then stir in cream and Parmesan.
Finish the chicken to 165F
Return chicken to a gentle simmer until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the sauce turns pale yellow-green from the herbs.
Parsley, bread, and no tomato
Finish heavily with parsley and serve with toasted garlic bread. Do not add tomato or pesto.
Where the Green Comes From
A pale green creamy sauce on chicken usually means pesto. This recipe rules pesto out by name, so the colour has to come from somewhere else - and each layer below adds a little of it.
Fond
Nearly cooked, not done1 1/2 lb of chicken breast in large pieces, seasoned with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and browned in 1 tbsp olive oil until NEARLY cooked through
Colour and the browned base of the sauce. Nearly, not fully: the chicken comes back later and finishes gently in liquid, and browning it through here would leave it dry by the time it reaches 165F.
The first green
30 seconds, heat down first3 garlic cloves and 1 tsp Italian seasoning, on REDUCED heat
Thirty seconds in the fat. Dried Italian herbs are the first thing tinting this sauce, and they need fat and gentle heat to open up - on the medium-high heat that browned the chicken they would scorch in the same half minute.
Dissolve
Simmer 2 minutes1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Two minutes of simmering before any dairy, which lifts the fond off the base. Cream added straight onto a browned pan never dissolves it as cleanly.
Body
Gentle simmer to 165F3/4 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
The opacity. The Parmesan is the thickener - there is no flour anywhere in this recipe - and the chicken returns here to finish at a gentle simmer until it reads 165F.
The second green
1/3 cup of chopped parsley, HEAVILY
The rest of the colour. A third of a cup into three quarters of a cup of cream is enough to tint the sauce rather than sit on top of it, and it is the reason the finished bowl reads pale yellow-green without a spoonful of pesto anywhere.
Then tasteServed with 8 slices of toasted garlic bread, two per bowl. And the recipe's own closing instruction is an exclusion: do not add tomato or pesto.
Success Tips
- Take the chicken only to nearly cooked in the browning stage; it finishes in the sauce.
- Let the broth have its two minutes before the cream goes in.
- Add the parsley generously — it is doing colour work as well as flavour.
Serving Ideas
Four white bowls of the browned chicken in its pale yellow-green creamy sauce, heavy with chopped parsley, with two slices of toasted garlic bread propped at the edge of each.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there pesto in the sauce?
No. Step 5 rules out pesto and tomato. The pale yellow-green comes from Italian seasoning and a generous third of a cup of chopped parsley.
Is the garlic bread part of the recipe?
Yes — eight toasted slices are in the ingredient list and it is visible at the edge of the finished bowl.
How is this different from the creamy pesto chicken?
That one carries coarse pesto on top and roasted cherry tomatoes in a thin pan sauce. This is an opaque cream sauce with no pesto and no tomato in it.
