This creamy, Easy Chicken Florentine is so delicious, so quick, and so easy! Sautéed chicken breasts in a garlicky, parmesan cream sauce studded with baby spinach and mushrooms. Can be made with or without cream. A restaurant quality dish, on the table in under 30 minutes. This is one quick weeknight dinner that the whole family will love.
The Best Chicken Florentine – Why you’ll LOVE this Easy Chicken Florentine recipe
- Perfectly seared chicken breasts that are tender and juicy
- Creamy Florentine sauce – spinach and mushrooms in a garlicky Alfredo sauce
- Super quick and easy – ready in under 30 minutes
- Simple, yet elegant dish
- Keto Chicken Florentine – a delicious low carb dish
- Can be made with or without cream
- Perfect with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes
What is Chicken Florentine?
To serve something “Florentine style” (from Florence, Italy) usually indicates that a dish contains spinach. The term is said to have originated from Catherine de’ Medici, who was born in Florence and became the Queen of France. She brought her own cooks and spinach seeds from Florence. The resulting dishes became known as à la Florentine.
In this Chicken Alfredo Florentine – baby spinach and sautéed mushrooms are added to a creamy Alfredo sauce made with butter, cream, and parmesan,
Ingredients – What’s in Chicken Florentine?
- Chicken breasts – You could also use boneless or bone in thighs
- Baby spinach
- Mushrooms – they pair well with the spinach, but can be left out
- Alfredo sauce – butter, cream, chicken broth, and parmesan. Or omit the cream and use a roux of flour with milk.
- Aromatics – finely diced onion and garlic
- Seasonings – salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
- Flour – optional for dusting the chicken before sautéing for a crispier coating. The chicken is just as delicious without it, and I actually prefer the chicken without it when it’s reheated.
How to make Chicken Florentine (with cream)
Sear the chicken:
Flatten the chicken breasts with a kitchen mallet to an even thickness. (Slice them in half lengthwise first if they are thick.) Optional: dust them in flour for a crispier texture.
Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken. Without disturbing the chicken breasts, allow to cook to a golden brown on the bottom. (A splatter guard minimizes the mess.) Flip the chicken and cook until done throughout.
To make the Chicken Florentine Sauce:
Remove the chicken from the pan. Add butter and sauté the onion for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté until soft and any released liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the broth and cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until it has reduced slightly. Stir in the parmesan until melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the baby spinach. Return the chicken to the pan and serve.
How to make Chicken Florentine without cream
For a healthy, lower fat version, Chicken Florentine can be made without cream by making a roux with flour and using milk.
After sautéing the onion, mushroom, and garlic, stir in 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in 1 cup of milk and ½ cup chicken broth. Simmer until thickened, then proceed with the recipe.
Tips for success
- If your chicken breasts are thick, slice them in half lengthwise for quicker cooking.
- Flatten the chicken breasts with a mallet for even cooking.
- Dusting the chicken with flour gives a crispier coating, but it’s optional and can be omitted. If I make it in advance, I prefer it without the flour as it can become soggy.
- Brown the chicken in a hot pan and don’t flip it until the bottom is golden brown. You can peek underneath to check it, but don’t move it around too much and disturb the browning process. The chicken will release from the pan when it is done searing. Flipping it too soon can cause the crispy coating to tear off.
- Adding the spinach at the very end keeps it bright green. It will soften from the residual heat in the pan.
Variations:
Chicken Bacon Florentine – try stirring in crispy, crumbled bacon to the sauce with the spinach.
Lemon Chicken Florentine – Omit the mushrooms and whisk in the juice of 1 lemon, or to taste, to the cream sauce before adding the spinach.
Chicken Mushroom Florentine FAQs
How to store Chicken Florentine?
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for 3 months.
What to serve with Chicken Florentine?
Florentine Chicken can be served with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
For a low carb meal, serve it with mashed cauliflower, cauliflower rice, or a simple green salad. Keto Chicken Florentine is one of my favorite keto chicken recipes!
More easy chicken recipes for you to love:
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Lemon Caper Chicken
- Creamy Artichoke Chicken
- Honey Sriracha Chicken Breasts
- Easy Baked Cajun Chicken Breasts
- Hunan Chicken
- Honey Sriracha Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
Easy Chicken Florentine
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Description
This creamy, Easy Chicken Florentine is so delicious, so quick, and so easy! Sautéed chicken breasts in a garlicky, parmesan cream sauce studded with baby spinach and mushrooms. Can be made with or without cream.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts (454g)
- Flour for dredging, optional
- Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- 6oz sliced mushrooms (170g)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (or oregano)
- ¾ cup chicken broth (6oz, 170g)
- ¾ cup cream or half and half (6oz, 170g)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese (1.5oz, 43g)
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves, loosely packed (1.5oz, 43g)
Instructions
- For quicker, more even cooking, slightly flatten breasts with a kitchen mallet. If they are very thick, slice them in half horizontally before flattening. Season with salt and pepper. Dust with the optional flour if using.
- Heat a skillet over high heat. When pan is hot, add oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
- When oil is hot, put chicken breasts in pan and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.
- Add remaining tablespoon butter to pan. Add onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté until soft and any released liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the broth, cream, and Italian seasoning and bring to a simmer. Simmer on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until it has reduced slightly.
- Stir in the parmesan until melted. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the baby spinach. Return the chicken to the pan and serve.
Notes
How to make Chicken Florentine without cream
- For a lower fat version, Chicken Florentine can be made without cream by making a roux with flour and using milk.
- After sautéing the onion, mushroom, and garlic, stir in 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in 1 cup of milk and ½ cup chicken broth. Simmer until thickened, then proceed with the recipe.
If your chicken breasts are thick, slice them in half lengthwise for quicker cooking. Flatten the chicken breasts with a mallet for even cooking.
Dusting the chicken with flour gives a crispier coating, but it’s optional and can be omitted. If I make it in advance, I prefer it without the flour as it can become soggy.
Brown the chicken in a hot pan and don’t flip it until the bottom is golden brown. You can peek underneath to check it, but don’t move it around too much and disturb the browning process. The chicken will release from the pan when it is done searing. Flipping it too soon can cause the crispy coating to tear off.
Adding the spinach at the very end keeps it bright green. It will soften from the residual heat in the pan.
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: chicken, spinach, mushroom, cream, easy, dinner, quick, florentine,
Nutrition details for Chicken Florentine without cream:
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You have some amazing chicken breast recipes here, Kelly. The chicken breast are so perfectly pan seared that I fall in love immediately..and usually I am a chicken thigh fan. The creamy sauce looks amazing as well.
Thanks so much, Angie!
CHICKEN FLORENTINE, another homerun!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Cookie Monster!
Looks delicious, healthy and easy. Your pictures really do make me hungry.
★★★★★
Thaks so much, MJ!
this sounds fabulous and right up my street! i love the flavours here. Just a wee word – i guess your site is monetised so you have to have ads but oh boy it is so difficult to get around. so much flashing of ads, and most of the page is full of ads and it takes forever to find the recipe at the bottom of all this stuff!! I confess i sometimes give up on it all.
sorry if this offends…
Yes, they’re pretty annoying. I’ll see if I can tone them down a bit. I think I have it set on auto so there’s really so many. Thanks for the feedback, Sherry!
Oh yeah, this is my kind of comfort food- easy, homey, yet so elegant (Can easily imagine this served at a restaurant!) Needless to say, the flavour and texture profile is great here!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Ben!
I do think that you are the queen of chicken breasts! All your recipes sounds so good, and it makes me want to have chicken every night… I am very fond memories of my first chicken Florentine (as a stuffing for crêpes) in about 1980. The flavor combination really did change the way I looked at food.
David, with kids, I am in constant need of quick dinners and easy chicken breast recipes always fits the bill! Thanks so much!
A perfect quick and delicious dinner, Kelly! Perfect for the weeknight or even a date night. I’d love this dish!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Katherine!