This Chicken Florentine is made with chicken cutlets that are browned in a pan and then simmered in a creamy sauce with spinach, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, all done in 15 minutes! Serve it with pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice. This one-pan dish is bound to be a hit!
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Why You'll Love This Dish
If you look at my collection of easy chicken recipes, you may notice a trend: chicken breasts browned in a pan and simmered in a creamy sauce. It's one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken for my family. It's easy and always a hit!
This Chicken Florentine features thin cutlets of chicken breast and silky, creamy sauce with spinach, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. What's not to love?
What is Chicken Florentine?
The name comes from a time when Catherine de Medici brought spinach seeds from Florence to France, along with her best Florentine chefs. So whenever you see a dish with Florentine in the name, it will include spinach. And this dish, in my opinion, is one of the best to make with this delicious leafy vegetable.
Ingredients:
- chicken: boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into thin cutlets;
- flour: for dredging the chicken; it helps if brown better and thickens the sauce;
- butter and olive oil: my favorite combo for browning the chicken cutlets;
- seasoning: Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; keeping it simple;
- garlic: definitely use fresh for this dish; it will give the sauce delicious flavor;
- chicken broth: necessary for deglazing the pan after browning chicken; it helps lift all of the flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan;
- cream: the base of the sauce; you can use half and half or evaporated milk;
- Parmesan cheese: adds cheesy flavor to the sauce;
- spinach: the star of the sauce and the reason for the name of this dish; I used fresh, not frozen.
How to make Chicken Florentine?
- Start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper on each side.
- Dredge in flour and set aside.
- Melt butter with olive oil in a skillet.
- Brown the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, per side. Remove it onto a plate and set aside.
- Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add Italian seasoning and stir in. Saute for 1 minute. This helps activate the dried herbs.
- Add chicken broth to the skillet and deglaze the pan (that means scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to get all the cooked-on bits).
- Add cream to the pan and stir in.
- Add spinach and Parmesan cheese to the sauce, stir in, and cook until the spinach is wilted.
- Return the chicken to the pan with sauce and simmer on low heat until the chicken is heated through.
Helpful Tips!
- Spinach: I highly recommend using fresh spinach in this dish; frozen and thawed spinach has a distinct flavor and can overpower the sauce;
- Chicken: cut the breasts into cutlets and pound with a meat tenderizer if needed, to make them roughly the same thickness; this will ensure even cooking;
- Sauce: I used heavy whipping cream to make the sauce but half and half or evaporated milk works great too; you may need to whisk in a teaspoon or two of cornstarch to ensure the sauce will thicken.
What to serve with chicken Florentine?
Whenever I make chicken breasts with sauce, my first side dish choice is mashed potatoes. It's pure comfort food right there! Rice, mashed cauliflower, or even pasta pair with this delicious dish as well. So go with your preferred side and enjoy every bit! Don't forget the bread, like my skillet focaccia, to soak up every last drop of the creamy sauce.
Recipe FAQs:
The main ingredients in a Florentine sauce are butter, cream, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.
Lemon zest, mushrooms, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes, all make for great additions to the spinach sauce.
If you want to save time on prep, brown the chicken, cool it completely, and store it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. Let it come to room temperature before simmering it in the sauce. If you prep the sauce in advance, it will thicken as it chills. I prefer to make it before serving.
Assuming you have any leftovers from this delicious dish, all should be stored in the fridge, for up to 3 days. To reheat, place it in a skillet, add a splash of milk and cook until heated through. The sauce will thicken in the fridge so you need some liquid (like milk) to get it back to a saucy consistency.
More chicken dinner recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup chicken broth I used low sodium
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups spinach
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast in half lenghtwise. Use a meat tenderizer and pound the chicken so each cutlet is evenly thick.
- Season each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper on each side.
- Dredge chicken in flour on each side and set aside.
- Melt butter with olive oil in a skillet, over medium heat.
- Brown the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, per side. Remove it onto a plate and set aside.
- Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add Italian seasoning and stir in. Saute for 1 minute. This helps activate the dried herbs.
- Add chicken broth to the skillet and deglaze the pan (that means scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to get all the cooked-on bits).
- Add cream to the pan and stir in.
- Add spinach and Parmesan cheese to the sauce, stir in, and cook until the spinach is wilted.
- Return the chicken to the pan with sauce and simmer on low heat until the chicken is heated through.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and stir in until melted.
- Serve with pasta, mashed potatoes or rice.
Notes
- If you can't fit 4 cutlets in your pan, fry 2 at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan or the chicken will boil in its juices.
- I highly recommend using fresh spinach in this dish; frozen and thawed spinach has a distinct flavor and can overpower the sauce.
- Use Parmesan cheese in a wedge, not the stuff from a green bottle, please.
- I used heavy whipping cream to make the sauce but half and half or evaporated milk works great too; you may need to whisk in a teaspoon or two of cornstarch to ensure the sauce will thicken.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use a calorie counter you are familiar with.
Sharina says
Got this for dinner last night and it was sooo good! The creamy sauce was a winner!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Sharina!
Tara G says
All of my kids loved this! I served it with mashed potatoes and will make it again!
Anna says
We love it with mashed potatoes too! I am so glad it was a hit. Thank you, Tara!
Melissa Williams says
I LOVE chicken florentine & I love how quick this recipe is!
Anna says
So quick and easy! Thank you, Melissa!