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Tender, juicy, quick-cooking chicken breasts simmered in a garlicky spinach cream sauce in this simple, company-worthy, classic Chicken Florentine.
Classic creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe
We’re crazy about chicken recipes like this classic Chicken Florentine. Everything cooks all in one skillet making it weeknight friendly as well as company-worthy. With minimal ingredients you won’t have to spend more than about 30 minutes cooking this dish.
What is Chicken Florentine?
Chicken Florentine is a simple chicken dish that originated in Florence Italy. Florentine style recipes simply means anything cooked in a cream based sauce.
For those looking for low carb recipes, this is perfect. Try serving this chicken over cauliflower rice for a complete low carb meal.
Our Chicken Florentine is loaded with protein and is also low in sodium. However this dish does require plenty of seasoning so be sure to check before serving and add salt as needed.
Ingredients overview
Scroll to the bottom for the complete, printable recipe card
For the chicken:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts about 5 or 6 ounces each. You can also use chicken cutlets and cut the cooking time by about 15 minutes total.
- salt and pepper
- all-purpose flour
- garlic powder
- butter and olive oil for cooking
For the Florentine sauce:
- butter
- cloves garlic
- shallots
- dry white wine like Chardonnay, fruity Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- chicken broth
- heavy cream
- baby spinach leaves rough chopped
- fresh grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish
Serving:
- additional fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- hot cooked pasta like rigatoni, penne or spaghetti, mashed potatoes or gnocchi
- crusty Artisan bread
How to make Chicken Florentine
Scroll to the bottom for the full printable recipe card
1. Prep and Cook the Chicken Breasts
Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides. In a shallow bowl combine the flour and garlic powder; set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture coating both sides. Shake off the excess flour and add to the hot skillet. Cook until well browned on broth sides. Remove to a platter or plate and cover to keep warm.
2. Make the Florentine sauce
Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Add the shallots and cook until softened and starting to brown. Stir in the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Pour the wine into the skillet scraping up the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add the chicken broth and cream.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce and cook uncovered for 10 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken back to the platter and cover to keep warm.
Stir the spinach into the sauce and cook until just wilted. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese until melted. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator and rewarm gently in the microwave.
3. What to serve with Chicken Florentine
Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan. Serve Chicken Florentine over hot cooked pasta, mashed potatoes or potato gnocchi if desired.
You’ll also need a loaf of crusty bread to sop up all this creamy sauce!
Tips for great Chicken Florentine
Cook fresh or frozen spinach separately for a thicker sauce
As you probably know fresh spinach can release a lot of moisture into a sauce or soup if not cooked ahead and squeezed dry. If you prefer a thicker sauce to the one picture above, we highly recommend cooking the spinach separately and stir in at the end.
How to cook fresh spinach ahead
Cook the spinach by heating 1 tablespoon of butter or oil in the skillet. Add fresh spinach and cook stirring frequently until wilted.
Transfer the cooked spinach to a colander and press firmly with the back of a spoon to release the excess liquid. Discard the liquid and add the spinach to the sauce at the end with the Parmesan.
To make Chicken Florentine using frozen spinach
Thaw two 10-ounce packages of frozen cut-leaf spinach and drain. Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the spinach and sauté until heated through.
Season with salt and pepper and transfer to colander to drain while preparing the chicken. You can use the same skillet for the remainder of the recipe.
Chicken Florentine made with chicken breasts or quick cooking cutlets
For this recipe we’ve used boneless, skinless chicken breasts but if you’re looking for smaller portions or faster cooking chicken feel free to use chicken cutlets instead.
To make your own cutlets simply freeze chicken breasts for 15 minutes then slice in half horizontally to create thinner cutlets. Reduce the cooking time to 3 to 5 minutes per side. Simmer in the Florentine sauce just until the chicken is warmed through then serve.
Making Chicken Florentine with or without wine
When cooking chicken dishes like this I typically use a single serving bottle of inexpensive chardonnay. That way I only open what I’ll use for this recipe and I’m not left with an entire bottle to drink. It’s not that I mind drinking wine, I just don’t drink often and would hate to waste an entire bottle.
You can find mini single serving (8-ounce) bottles of Sutter Home Chardonnay at Wal-Mart or any well stocked grocery store.
If you prefer not to buy or use wine at all, substitute white grape juice or additional chicken broth. However, if omitting wine altogether you’ll need to add something with a little acidity. A teaspoon of fresh lemon juice can be added at the end to brighten the dish.
Chicken Florentine Pasta
Another great way to serve this chicken is by tossing everything in hot cooked pasta. The garlicky, Parmesan cream sauce goes great with rigatoni, penne or even spaghetti.
Cook your favorite pasta according to package directions then drain and reserve a little hot pasta water.
Finally slice or dice the cooked chicken and toss everything together in the pot used to cook the pasta. Add a little pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Serve in pasta bowls topped with more fresh grated Parmesan and a loaf of crusty bread.
Perfect for weeknight dinners!
Thanks for PINNING!
Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 5 to 6 ounces each)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large shallots sliced thin
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ½ cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 ounces baby spinach leaves rough chopped
- ½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (1oz or 28g) plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a shallow bowl combine the flour and garlic powder; set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat until the butter is melted. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture coating both sides while shaking off the excess. Add the chicken to the hot skillet and cook until well browned on one side, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn and cook another 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the chicken to a platter or plate. Cover to keep warm.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan and heat until melted. Pour in the sliced shallots and cook until softened and starting to brown. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to deglaze. Add the chicken broth and cream.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce gently for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked through. (165°F on an instant read thermometer) Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover to keep warm.
- Add fresh spinach to the sauce and cook until wilted. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan until melted. Chicken the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with fresh grated Parmesan. Serve the chicken and sauce tossed with pasta if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Spinach releases moisture when cooked in the sauce. For a thicker sauce pre-cook the spinach before adding to the skillet. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Add fresh spinach and cook stirring frequently until wilted. Transfer the spinach to a colander and press with the back of a spoon to release excess liquid. Discard the liquid and add the spinach at the same time as the Parmesan.
- You can also use frozen thawed and drained spinach for this recipe. Cook the thawed, drained spinach in a skillet with butter until heated through. Drain again before adding at the end with the Parmesan.
- You can use chicken cutlets for a quick cooking option. Reduce the cooking time for the cutlets to about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Simmer in the sauce just until the chicken is warmed through.
- Chicken thighs are also a great option. Be sure to cook longer for dark meat.
- Any dry white wine will do for this sauce. I typically use an inexpensive Chardonnay that is available in single serving bottles. If you don’t drink wine, substitute white grape juice or additional chicken broth in this recipe. You will need some acidity for flavor so add about 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice at the end.
Nutrition
Restaurant Quality Chicken at Home
This Chicken Florentine recipe is another of our favorite company-worthy, restaurant-quality dishes anybody can make at home. It’s quick, simple and practically fool-proof!
Louise Cooke
Why do consistently use wine, my family does not the taste. Seems to me in this time, it would be better to find a substitute
Tricia Buice
Hi Louise! Did you try the recipe or give it a 2-star rating because it called for wine? If you don’t like the taste simply leave it out and substitute more chicken broth. No worries!
Sue
Can you substitute anything else for the heavy cream?
Tricia Buice
Hi Sue. Yes you can use whole milk, half-and-half or evaporated milk if you want. If you’re trying to avoid dairy, perhaps you could try coconut milk? I haven’t tested it, however. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Larry
This looks really good Trish. I’ll have to give it a try.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Larry! Hope you enjoy 🙂