You’re only 35 minutes away from the classic, creamy spinach dish called Chicken Florentine. It’s a classic for a reason – delicious, decadent and easy to make.
Tender pan-fried chicken breast, smothered in a creamy sauce with spinach feels indulgent and fancy, right? But it’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner in disguise, with the entire dish made in the same pan. If you want a chicken dish that tastes amazing without too much fuss, this is perfect for you.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Does Florentine Mean In A Recipe?
Recipes that contain the word “Florentine” refer (loosely) to a dish that features or contains spinach. At least, that’s what it tends to mean in North America. True Florentine style, refers to the spinach being cooked in butter, with a cheese sauce, Parmesan, and browned under the broiler.
But how did Florentine come to be associated with spinach? Catherine de Medici brought her cooks with her from Florence, Italy, when she became the Queen of France. With several stories and folklore surrounding the queen and this leafy green, it’s safe to say she was crazy about spinach.
Ingredients And Substitutions
Chicken: The recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can use boneless chicken thighs if you prefer. You’ll want to unroll them so they cook in the same amount of time. You can take a look at my Smothered Chicken Thighs recipe which has a similar process to this recipe, but with a creamy onion sauce.
Flour coating: We’ll mix flour with some salt, garlic powder, and black pepper to get a nice coating on the chicken.
Shallot: Shallot works perfectly for this chicken recipe but if you don’t have one, 2 cloves of sliced garlic or half of a small onion can be used instead.
White Wine: The type of white wine doesn’t matter too much in this recipe, but you do want something more dry than sweet. Sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio work well. Instead of the white wine, you can use 1/4 cup water or chicken stock mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
Heavy Cream: I discourage substituting the heavy cream with anything else or it just won’t have that beautiful creamy sauce. Milk and half-and-half with the lower fat content can sometimes end up curdling. You could use chicken broth, but it will be a thinner sauce without that richness from the cream.
Lemon Zest: While not absolutely essential, the hint of citrus adds great flavor. You can leave it out, or add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning or dried oregano leaves to the flour mixture for the chicken.
Spinach: It’s not a Florentine dish without the spinach, remember? Tender baby spinach leaves are perfect.
Parmesan Cheese: I like to finish my creamy chicken Florentine recipe with a generous sprinkling of grated or shredded Parmesan.
Serving Chicken Florentine
I like to add the chicken to the plate, then pour sauce and spinach on top to cover it. Add a little Parmesan cheese and it’s ready! A simple green salad on the side is perfect to complete the meal and get some extra veggies.
I’ll sometimes make some orzo, rice, or even angel hair pasta to stretch this meal, but it can be served on it’s own as well, with plenty for everyone. If you don’t want to add one of those options, you can also serve with some nice fresh bread to make sure you can sop up every drop of that creamy spinach sauce.
More Chicken Recipes
You can browse our full collection of chicken recipes, or bookmark one of the following favorites to try next time.
Podcast Episode: Making Easy Chicken Florentine
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Easy Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe
You’re only 35 minutes away from the classic, creamy spinach dish called Chicken Florentine. It’s a classic for a reason – delicious, decadent and easy to make.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 large shallot, minced*
- 1/2 cup. dry white wine**
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp. grated lemon zest***
- 3 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add chicken breasts and flip and stir to coat. Remove chicken from bowl, shaking off any excess flour. Reserve any flour that didn’t stick to the chicken for later in the recipe.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken to pan. Cook each side until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low and transfer chicken to a plate, tent loosely with foil.
- Add butter and shallot to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in any of the remaining flour from Step 1.
- Add the wine to the skillet and quickly scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the cream.
- Return chicken to the skillet. Spoon sauce over chicken. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and cook until chicken is at least 160°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving platter. Stir lemon zest into the sauce. Use tongs to add the spinach to the sauce, flipping and stirring it in the hot sauce until wilted.
- Pour pan sauce and wilted spinach over chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Notes
*2 cloves of sliced garlic or half of a small onion can be used instead of the shallot.
**Instead of the white wine, use 1/4 cup water or chicken stock mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
***If you don’t have lemon zest, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning or dried oregano leaves to the flour in Step 1, or just omit the ingredient.
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