Tomato Basil Chicken is easy and quick to prepare, and bursting with fresh flavor. Cooked in a single pan, it has even simple ingredients and takes less than 40 minutes. It’s a crowd pleaser!
On the hunt for ways to use up some fresh garden tomatoes? Then look no further than this Tomato Basil Chicken recipe. It’s one of my favorite low carb, high protein meals. Especially in late summer when fresh tomatoes and basil are at their finest!
I grow my own tomatoes, and every year around this time, it’s a veritable tomato explosion. Ripe, red, and so incredibly juicy and sweet. They all seem to start ripening at once, so I need all the healthy tomato recipes I can get.
I always roast a bunch and freeze them for Keto Tomato Soup. And I like to can my own tomato sauce for recipes like Shrimp Creole or Keto Meatball Casserole.
And goodness knows that tomato and basil go together like… well, like tomato and basil! So it was time to create a delicious skillet dinner that made the most of those wonderful flavors.
Why you must try this recipe
This recipe for Tomato Basil Chicken is so flavorful, you might be tempted to drink the sauce. I’ve been known to stand there, spooning it into my mouth right from the pan.
And what’s so lovely about this meal is that is comes together quickly and easily, with only 7 ingredients. When you use produce at the peak of freshness, you really have no need of extra flavors or fancy techniques.
It’s simple enough for a weeknight meal, but delicious enough to serve to guests. And with 31g of protein and only 4g carbs per serving, you know you’re doing your body good.
Reader Reviews
“My husband raved about this dinner– it was nice to use some fresh basil from the garden. We took Carolyn’s advice on having it with the Grilled Vegetable Salad. This combo will be a top-10 favorite this Summer!” — Lee
“Absolutely delicious and a great way to use up some of my summer bounty! I’ve made it a few times and will definitely continue to do so. I cannot imagine getting tired of eating it. It’s so bright, fresh and delicious!” — Darcy M.
“Oh The Flavor!! This was fantastic – so simple but the fresh basil really elevates it. This is definitely going in the rotation! Thank you!” — Tena S.
Ingredients needed
- Diced fresh tomatoes: I highly recommend fresh garden tomatoes for the best flavor. But if you simply can’t access them, you can make this with canned tomatoes. Be sure to drain off the liquid before you blend them up.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: You can use boneless chicken breasts, but they are quite large and take longer to cook through. I recommend cutting them in into thinner cutlets by slicing through the middle.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will give this dish the best flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream: To make this dairy free, you can use canned coconut cream (the thick part from the top of the can) instead.
- Fresh basil: Please do not use dried basil in this recipe! If necessary, you can get use some of the frozen basil cubes sold in some stores. But this is really best with fresh garden basil.
- Finely grated parmesan: I highly recommend a good Parmigiano Reggiano for the tangy contrast it provides with the sweet tomatoes. To make this dairy free, you can use nutritional yeast instead.
- Pantry staples: Avocado oil or olive oil, salt and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
1. Prep the tomatoes: Make sure to remove as much of the seeds (and the liquid from the seed pockets) from the tomatoes as you can. Place in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Prep the chicken: Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook the chicken: Add the oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken and cook until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
4. Stir in the tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and garlic to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the cream and basil.
5. Warm the chicken through: Add the chicken back int to heat through, about 2 minutes. Top with grated parmesan.
Tips for Success
Seed the tomatoes. The seed pockets of tomatoes contain a great deal of liquid. By removing the seeds and the associated liquid, the sauce will be thicker and required less cooking. Simply cut the tomatoes into sections and run your fingers down the seed pockets to push them out. Then you can dice them nicely after that.
Blend the tomatoes. Blending up the tomatoes first helps break them down so you can get dinner on the table that much faster.
Sear the chicken. Get the oil nice and hot, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Make sure they are cooked through and not showing any pink before you remove them from the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tomatoes sometimes get a bad rap when it comes to the keto diet, but they are actually quite low in carbs and high in fiber. The confusion seems to stem from the fact that many processed tomato products like sauce include added sugars. Additionally, tomato paste is cooked down so much that it concentrates the natural sugars and should be uses sparingly.
But fresh tomatoes are an excellent choice. A medium red tomato has only 4.8g of carbs, and 1.5g of fiber. And they contain plenty of antioxidants and Vitamin C. Since this creamy Tomato Basil Chicken uses fresh tomatoes, it makes the most of all that wonderful nutrition.
This easy keto dinner recipe has 4.0g of carbs and 0.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.1g net carbs per serving.
I didn’t try but I can’t see why not. Both cooked chicken and tomato sauce freeze well. I’d leave off the Parmesan until you’re ready to serve.
What to serve with Tomato Basil Chicken?
Looking for some delicious keto sides to round out your meal? Here are a few of my favorites.
Tomato Basil Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups diced fresh tomatoes seeds and liquid removed
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil lightly packed
- ¼ cup Finely grated parmesan
Instructions
- Make sure to remove as much of the seeds (and the liquid from the seed pockets) from the tomatoes as you can. Place in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken and cook until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add the tomatoes and garlic to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the cream and basil.
- Add the chicken back int to heat through, about 2 minutes. Top with grated parmesan.
Brenda Velez says
My hubby made this recipe tonight and it was delish. The kids were raving about it. He followed the recipe and did not make any substitutions.
Asha jadhav says
Supper testy
Allison says
Love the overall flavors and the lightness of using fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.
Eric E says
Can’t wait to make this, as I have a tsunami of both tomatoes and Basil coming out of my garden right now. Question: do you peel the tomatoes before processing them, or leave the skins on?
Thanks
Carolyn says
Leave it on! The only time you really need to remove skins is when you are canning or freezing, as they can become tough and bitter. They are fine in fresh recipes.
Katy Walker says
I used probably 2x the amount of fresh basil from my own garden and it just really did nothing for me. Chicken was tender but we ended up tossing it after the first meal.
Carolyn says
Why on earth would you toss out perfectly good food? What a waste! Even if you didn’t love the flavor, you could have saved the chicken and used another sauce.
Pat Q says
This was delicious, easy, fast, and satisfying. The family loved it. Going into regular rotation on my menu plan. Thank you for a winner dinner recipe!
Anu says
Supremely delicious! My husband bought bone-in skin-on chicken thighs my mistake, but this still turned out so beautifully, and so quickly too! We crisped up the chicken skin first in the skillet for about 4 minutes, flipped over and cooked the other side for 2 minutes, and then transferred the chicken onto a roasting dish and to the preheated oven at 180 C fan (around 400 F in a convection oven), and cooked it while we made the sauce on a low heat, for around 15 minutes more – perfect! This was so delicious, it was hard not to eat the whole thing, but thankfully we’ve saved leftovers for dinner tomorrow night… yippee! Thank you so much for yet another marvellous, foolproof recipe, Carolyn, this was truly wonderful :)))
Teresa says
One of my family’s favorites. I tweak it a little, I add some smoked paprika and some cayenne. So good.
Kell McKenzie says
Delicious! Saved the recipe a couple days ago after you shared it on Facebook. Made this for dinner last night and it was inhaled. The fresh tomato and basil sauce is divine. Served it with some roast, parmesan crusted cauliflower.
Lois says
Had this for dinner tonight with chicken breasts versus thighs. It was incredible!!!!! The chicken breasts weren’t dry, at all! As you recommended, we cut them to make them thinner.
I was able to purchase some fully-ripe, beefsteak tomatoes at a local grocer. He brings in fresh produce from wherever it’s prevalent at the time. I also found some organic basil plants. I’m really glad were able to get the plants because this recipe is going into our regular rotation. I’m going to need it until we can grow it in our garden again.
Thanks so much for all your amazing recipes!
Vicki Burke says
So good! I used large thighs so it took much longer to cook initially. You can’t go wrong with this recipe. I doubled it and all the ingredients. I had lots of sauce to chicken ratio. So…what ever sauce I had left got some more shredded parm and separated into a couple containers for a couple tomato cream soup lunches!!!
Darcie Moncrief says
Absolutely delicious and a great way to use up some of my summer bounty! I’ve made it a few times and will definitely continue to do so. I cannot imagine getting tired of eating it. It’s so bright, fresh and delicious!
Bobbie Benge says
I have tomato basil soup I have canned from last year’s tomatoes…it I think it will work great for this recipe!
Paula Hargrove says
I am definitely going to try this.
Tree says
I made this tonight using chicken breasts since that’s what I had on hand. This was so easy and super delicious! I added a little onion and sautéed them in the pan before adding the tomatoes and garlic. Served it all over your mashed cauliflower for a perfect keto comfort food dinner.