This creamy Chicken Florentine features golden brown chicken breasts in a delicious garlic parmesan cream sauce with spinach. It's rich and decadent and SO tasty, in under 30 minutes!
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Why this recipe works
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are great for quick weeknight meals, but they can be a little boring on their own. This Chicken Florentine recipe livens them up with an indulgent garlic parmesan cream sauce with spinach for some added nutrition. It's an Italian comfort food classic that's rich and creamy and loaded with flavor!
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Spinach
- Heavy whipping cream
- Onion
- Garlic
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter
- Flour
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
How to prepare the chicken breasts
- For large, thick chicken breasts, cut them in half crosswise to make thinner cutlets. Pound out the chicken with a kitchen mallet to around ½ inch thick.
- Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then dust with the flour to lightly coat on both sides. Shake off any excess flour.
How to cook the chicken
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and wipe the pan with paper towels.
How to make Florentine sauce
- Melt butter in the pan, then add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly to avoid burning the garlic.
- Add cream and bring to a low simmer. Add the cheese in batches and stir until melted, then repeat with the remaining cheese.
- Add the spinach and cook until just wilted and the sauce is thickened.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the chicken is warmed through then serve.
What to serve with this dish?
This dish goes great with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes to soak up every bit of the delicious parmesan garlic cream sauce. Zucchini noodles or mashed cauliflower are other good options for something low carb! A simple side salad or green veggies like green beans would also be a great choice.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
To reheat large portions reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat and cook until warmed through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave.
Add a splash of cream, white wine, or chicken broth to loosen up the sauce when reheating if needed.
This dish does not freeze well due to the creamy sauce.
Most traditional Chicken Florentine recipes use white wine for a more complex flavor, but since I'm cooking for kids I usually leave it out.
If you want to try it with the wine, reduce the amount of cream to 1 cup and add ½ cup of dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc to the pan before adding the cream. Let it cook for a minute or so to burn off the alcohol then add your cream.
You can also use thawed frozen spinach in place of fresh. Just be sure to drain it and thoroughly squeeze out as much water as possible to avoid watery sauce.
I cook the chicken breasts to a temperature of 160°F to ensure they are juicy and not overcooked. The temperature will continue to rise a few more degrees while the chicken rests to around 165°F.
This sauce is also amazing on seafood like salmon or shrimp and is great on pork chops too!
More weeknight chicken dinners
- Mediterranean Chicken Orzo with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Spinach
- Cast Iron Roasted Chicken Breasts and Potatoes
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (Without Soup!)
- Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
📖 Recipe
Creamy Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus additional for topping
- 3 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- Pound out the chicken breasts to an even thickness of around ½ inch using a kitchen mallet. Note: If using large, thick chicken breasts you may want to cut them in half, crosswise into thinner cutlets before flattening them.
- Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then dust with the flour to coat on both sides and shake off any excess.
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan then add the chicken. Cook on each side for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through then transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Wipe the pan with paper towels then add the butter. When melted add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
- Add the cream and bring to a low simmer, then gradually stir in the Parmesan cheese. Once the cheese has melted add the spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the chicken is warmed again, then serve.
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
Sharon
I wonder if I can swap out the chicken with steak just no flour... Have any ideas?
Scott
Hi Sharon, yes, you can substitute the chicken if you want. It's essentially a creamed spinach sauce and should pair well with most meats. For steak, I'd recommend you season with salt and pepper, pan sear or grill it to medium rare (or your desired temp), then top with the prepared sauce. Let me know how it goes!