Chicken Florentine

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This easy chicken florentine recipe makes a simple yet elegant dish for everything from entertaining to weeknight dinners. Best of all, florentine chicken comes together with basic ingredients you might already have on hand!

It has all the flavors of my creamy chicken florentine soup, but cooked quickly in a skillet, much like Tuscan salmon, savory marry me chicken, or creamy mushroom chicken. It’s one of my favorite one pan meals and a total crowd pleaser. (In fact, it’s my secret for getting my kids to eat Spinach. ;))

What Is Chicken Florentine?

Despite the name, chicken Florentine is actually a French dish — not from Florence, Italy. Chicken florentine recipes traditionally serve chicken cutlets in a creamy spinach sauce. Other variations include adding mushrooms or a squeeze of lemon juice for added bright flavor. It’s an effortlessly fancy dish you can serve any night of the week!

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for chicken breast florentine, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

• Chicken Breasts – While boneless skinless varieties are the most common choice for cooking them florentine style, you can also use boneless or bone-in chicken thighs and adjust cook time accordingly.
• Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil adds so much flavor to this recipe, but you can substitute your favorite cooking oil.
• Garlic – Use 4 cloves garlic. While fresh minced tastes the very best, you can use jarred minced garlic to save time.
• Cremini Mushrooms – Slice them yourself, or get them pre-sliced to save time. You can also use white mushrooms, or any smaller variety. Some chicken florentine recipes don’t use mushrooms, so feel free to omit them (or replace with onions) if you like.
• Butter – I used grass-fed butter, but any unsalted variety will do.
• Chicken Broth – I use a lower sodium variety. You can also use homemade bone broth for extra flavor.
• Dry White Wine – This helps delgaze the pan and adds depth. Pinot grigio, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc are great choices, or use any dry white wine. If you prefer to avoid the wine, you can substitute additional chicken broth instead.
• Heavy Cream – Makes the sauce thick and rich. I don’t recommend substituting other types of milk, as they won’t thicken as well. Coconut cream can work as a substitute, but the dish will still have dairy from the parmesan.
• Grated Parmesan Cheese – Use a grated instead of shredded variety for easier melting.
• Fresh Spinach – A classic ingredient in creamy chicken florentine, but other dark and leafy greens can work.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper – Although some recipes dredge their chicken in flour, we’re skipping that step and simply seasoning with salt and pepper. The sauce still comes out thick without it!

How To Make Chicken Florentine

This section shows how to make chicken florentine healthy, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Prep chicken. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper on both sides.

TIP: Don’t skip drying the chicken!

Having a dry exterior helps the meat sear better.

2. Sear. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat, until shimmering. Add chicken in a single layer, cooking on both sides just until browned. (Work in batches if needed.) Remove and cover to keep warm.

3. Cook mushrooms. Add garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Cook until mushrooms brown and liquid evaporates.

TIP: Keep heat at medium-high to evaporate the liquid.

However, you can turn it down to medium heat if the mushrooms start to brown too much.

3. Begin sauce. Add butter and stir to melt. Add broth and wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Simmer until the liquid volume reduces by half.

5. Add cream. Pour in cream, increase heat, and simmer until thickened.
6. Add cheese. Reduce heat and stir in parmesan cheese, whisking until smooth.

7. Wilt. Add spinach, stirring frequently until wilted.
8. Finish. Return chicken to the pan, nestling it into the florentine sauce. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked through. (If you like, you can add an additional sprinkle of parmesan, or fresh parsley, at the end.)

Storage Instructions

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

To reheat, warm in a 350 degree F oven or microwave at low power, until heated through.

Can You Freeze Chicken Florentine?

Yes, it’s easy to freeze chicken spinach florentine! Cool, cover tightly, and store for 1-2 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.

What To Serve With Florentine Chicken

This recipe has lots of pairing options! Try these easy ideas.

• Pasta – You can serve with regular noodles, but I prefer healthier veggie options: zucchini noodles, baked spaghetti squash, or shirataki noodles.
• Potatoes – Mashed potatoes (or mashed cauliflower, shown in the photos above), is the best choice, to soak up all the sauce. But you can also serve it with roasted potatoes, fried radishes, or roasted rutabaga.
• Rice – Use your favorite variety. Mine is cauliflower rice, but white or brown rice works, too.
• Italian Style Sides & Veggies – Serve this dish with Italian marinated artichoke salad, sauteed eggplant, or oven roasted zucchini.
• Dessert – Don’t forget to serve this meal with a slice of almond flour cake for dessert!

More Easy Skillet Chicken Recipes

If you like quick skillet dinners, you’ll love these other healthy chicken recipes too!

Lemon Chicken Piccata

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken

Dijon Mustard Chicken

4.72 from 7 votes

Chicken Florentine (One Pan Dinner!)

With golden chicken and creamy spinach sauce, this easy chicken florentine recipe makes a simple 30-minute weeknight dinner — all in one pan.

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

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• 4 8-oz Boneless skinless chicken breasts ▢
• 1 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 2 tbsp Olive oil (plus more if needed in step 4) ▢
• 4 cloves Garlic (minced) ▢
• 6 oz Cremini mushrooms (sliced; ~2 cups) ▢
• 1 tbsp Unsalted butter ▢
• 1/2 cup Chicken broth, reduced sodium ▢
• 1/4 cup Dry white wine ▢
• 1 cup Heavy cream ▢
• 1/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese ▢
• 6 cups Fresh spinach (packed) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, until shimmering. Add the chicken breasts in a single layer and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until golden brown on the outside. (The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point, just browned.)

3. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.

4. If the pan is dry, add a little more oil. (Do not wipe the skillet.) Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned and the liquid evaporates. (Keep the heat at medium-high so that the moisture evaporates as the mushrooms release liquid, but you can reduce heat if they start to brown too much.)

5. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the butter, until melted.

6. Add the chicken broth and white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits (this is called deglazing).

7. Increase heat to bring to a simmer. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the volume of the liquid is reduced by half.

8. Add the heavy cream. Increase heat to bring to a simmer, then cook for about 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened.

9. Reduce heat to low, to stop simmering. Stir in the grated parmesan cheese, until smooth.

10. Add the spinach to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, until wilted.

11. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it in the sauce. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 chicken breast with florentine sauce

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 615

Fat 39g

Protein 54g

Total Carbs 7g

Net Carbs 5.9g

Fiber 1.1g

Sugar 2.8g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Keywords: chicken florentine, chicken florentine recipe, florentine chicken

Calories: 615 kcal

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