This Chicken Florentine recipe has perfectly seared chicken in a thick and creamy spinach sauce. Serve it with pasta, rice, or with a simple green salad. Add a splash of lemon and a sprinkle of parsley for added flavor and color!
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
Chicken Dredge:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Florentine Sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups white wine, or chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/3 cup softened cream cheese
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 1/2 fresh lemon or 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice, optional
- Fresh parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Place saran wrap over each chicken breast and use a meat tenderizer to pound it until it’s about 1/2-inch thick and of equal thickness throughout. Pat dry.
- Combine chicken dredge ingredients. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture, tap off any excess.
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cover the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden. If needed, sear in 2 separate batches. Set aside on a plate once cooked, it’s done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Decrease heat to medium and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the white wine and deglaze the pan by running a silicone spatula on the bottom to scrape up the brown bits from the pan. This gives the sauce plenty of flavor. Increase heat slightly and allow it to gently bubble until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Temper the half and half by heating in the microwave for 40 seconds. Add it to the skillet in splashes, stirring as you do so. Bring it to a gentle bubble, then reduce heat to low.
- Stir in the softened cream cheese until smooth and combined.
- Add spinach until it’s soft and wilted. Add lemon juice if desired.
- Return the chicken & any drippings back to the pan. Cover to heat through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve!
Notes
10 oz. frozen spinach may be used instead of fresh. Thaw it out and squeeze out excess liquid prior to using.
Pro Tips:
- Pound the chicken flat for even cooking. Chicken breasts plump up when they cook because their proteins gel, causing them to plump up. Thin cutlets also cook more quickly and are much more appetizing.
- Let the chicken sit out while you prepare the other ingredients, placing cold chicken in the skillet cools down the olive oil/butter and can cause uneven cooking.
- Keep the chicken undisturbed while it cooks to maintain the golden crust that forms. The chicken will release from the pan when it’s done searing, using force will cause it to tear.
- A combination of butter and olive oil is best. The butter gives the chicken a golden color, the olive oil mitigates burning due to it’s higher smoke count. (If the pan gets too hot while the chicken is searing, decrease the heat to medium.)
- Mushrooms, capers, cherry tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes make nice additions to this meal.
- The cream cheese can be omitted, I’ve made it without it before. It does thicken it a bit and adds additional flavor and creaminess.
The nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe