This Creamy Chicken Florentine is pure comfort food for days when you crave a good, warm meal. It takes 30 minutes, has less than ten ingredients and the creamy wine sauce mixed with sautéed spinach will have your entire family raving about it.
I’ve been loving chicken florentine since I was a kid. It was the thing to order when we went out. It would usually be served with mashed potatoes and we’d love the buttery, creamy combination of mashed potatoes and that creamy spinach Florentine sauce.
Tell me that gorgeous creamy spinach chicken Florentine sauce doesn’t tempt you!
What is Chicken Florentine?
This is a simple chicken Florentine recipe where chicken is simmered in a creamy wine and parmesan sauce with tons of spinach. The result is such a classic.
How do you make Chicken Florentine? And what is a Florentine sauce?
This recipe starts with chicken breasts that are seasoned with salt and pepper. The chicken is seared on a hot pan in butter and olive oil, and then removed to a plate.
The chicken florentine sauce is simple. I like to add some garlic and once that’s sauteed for a minute or two, the pan is deglazed with white wine. Simmer the white wine down and add the spinach.
The spinach takes only a few minutes to wilt and then all you have to do is add cream cheese and cream. This is brought to a gentle simmer and the breasts are added back to the pan. And that’s really it. A creamy white sauce
How long do you cook Chicken Florentine?
There are a lot of baked chicken florentine recipes, and they are similar to the creamy spinach artichoke chicken casserole. But I prefer cooking this easy chicken florentine on the stovetop because it’s so fast. It is takes under 30 minutes to cook!
If you love chicken breast recipes that are quick and easy like I do, you’ll also like creamy chicken scallopini, baked chicken breasts and asparagus stuffed chicken.
If you want to omit wine in this recipe, you can use chicken stock to deglaze the pan instead. The flavour will be slightly different, but it’s still great. As for spinach, either baby spinach or regular spinach works. If your spinach leaves are larger, just chop them up roughly so that it’s easier to eat when the dish is served.
The one thing you want to watch in the Florentine chicken recipe is salt. Make sure to taste before adding any additional salt, because both cream cheese and spinach are salty and the sauce really doesn’t need any extra in my opinion.
This creamy chicken Florentine will definitely become a part of your weekly dinner rotation if you try it once! Serve it with brown rice, cauliflower rice, or if you are feeling indulgent, mashed potatoes are perfect with this dish. You could also make a chicken Florentine pasta!
More skillet dishes you’ll love
- Skillet Shrimp Fajitas – quick and DELICIOUS!
- Beef Taco Pasta Skillet – easy meal
- Skillet Orange Chicken Recipe – less than 30 minutes!
- Cheesy Taco Skillet – a one pot meal!
- Crispy Skillet Chicken – tender chicken thighs
Creamy Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup white wine (or chicken broth)
- 3 cups baby spinach loosely packed
- ½ cup cream cheese
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the chicken breasts. Cook the breasts for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through and a light golden brown. Remove the chicken onto a plate.
- In the same pan, add garlic and saute for minute until fragrant. Add white wine to the pan and let it simmer and reduce for a few minutes. Stir the wine around so that any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan come off.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted while stirring occasionally. This will take about two minutes. Once the spinach has wilted, add cream cheese and heavy cream. Bring this to a gentle simmer, making sure that the cream cheese has completely melted and is mixed well.
- Add the chicken breasts back to the pan, spoon the sauce over and simmer for a minute or two before turning off the heat. Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
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This is the best, most delicious chicken florententine I’ve ever had in my life! My entire family is in love with it as well. I serve mine over mashed potatoes and they fit perfectly well together. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
Lisa
That is great, Lisa! We love when one delicious recipe can bring everyone together!
I love all your recipes. Use them often. Can you please tell me what kind of white wine. Not a wine buff so don’t really know white or red wines for cooking. Would be so helpful to put kind of wine in recipes for us that don’t know wine. Thank you so much and keep the recipes coming.
Hi Donna, we often use whatever we have leftover in our fridge but some good options for this recipe are pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or chardonnay. You can also substitute the wine for chicken broth if you prefer. Thank you for the suggestion! We do try to add our wine suggestions or substitutions as we update and create our new recipes since we totally understand, it can be overwhelming if you don’t drink wine often. :)
I’m really excited to try this ASAP. I’ve never made Florentine before. Would sun dried tomatoes be good in this dish? I ended up with some but haven’t cooked with them before. Not sure if it would be good and if so… when to add them. Any advice would be appreciated
I would love sundried tomatoes in this dish Dionne!
Omg, that chicken looks so mouth watering!
This is so easy to make and was so good. It’s definitely on the list as a repeat recipe ❤️
Love your recipes
Why thank you Betty!
Should I use boneless chicken breasts or regular? The recipe does not say. How about chicken thighs as a substitute? Please advise. Thanks!
Hi Henry, we used boneless chicken breasts for this recipe. You can use a chicken thigh just make sure your chicken is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F before serving.
Is this good as a make a head freezer meal?
Janae, I haven’t tried freezing this. I believe it would work, in theory! If you try it please be sure to come back and update us on the results!
I will try this recipe tonight. Has anyone made it with cutting the chicken into smaller pieces before browning?
I haven’t tried it Cleo, but I’m sure that it would work. Let us know if you try it with smaller pieces! Enjoy!
I am VERY picky when it comes to Italian food and this is the first dish I’ve made that not only my boyfriend by I also love! The pan-seared chicken tastes great and the sauce is heavenly. Tasted awesome as lunch the next day too, it made the office smell great and my coworkers jealous, haha. I love this recipe because it’s fast enough for a weeknight meal–I served mine with a side of instant gnocci. A keeper, thank you.
I am so glad you loved it Megan! Gnocchi sounds like a great side for this. I will have to try it!
Wow!!! This dish is AMAZING. Everyone loved it, even the picky littles. Thank you for sharing
I’m so glad your family loved it Jess! :)
The sauce is so good. Easy recipe family enjoyed.
So glad everyone loved it Melissa!
I will stir in some pappardelle.
Delicious addition!
I made the chicken florentine tonite, OM G, so so good, I did add a pasta to it, it was
something you would get at a high end restaurant. Can’t wait for more recipes.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved it so much Marge!!