This Chicken Florentine Recipe is made with lightly floured thinly sliced chicken breasts that are cooked in butter until golden brown and served in a luscious parmesan cream sauce filled with fresh spinach and mushrooms. The whole family will love this easy and delicious one-pan weeknight dinner!
Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe
I made this amazing chicken Florentine on a whim the other night. As I was cooking the chicken, I realized that I don’t cook nearly enough recipes with cream-based sauces for my family. This makes zero sense. After all, some of my very favorite recipes are just like this one: boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin and dredged in flour, then cooked in butter and served in a finger-licking creamy white sauce that’s usually filled with some kind of vegetables such as spinach or mushroom.
The whole family, even my mac-n-cheese and pizza-obsessed child gobbled it up and then requested it for lunch the next day.
And I’m pretty positive you’ll LOVE this Chicken Florentine, also. It’s super easy to make and the whole thing cooks in one large pan or skillet. There are tons of easy modifications, too. Keep reading to learn more.
What is Chicken Florentine?
Florentine (pronounced “FLOR-en-teen”), expressed à la Florentine, is a recipe that is prepared in the style of the Italian region of Florence, or more simply, it is a recipe that features spinach.
Traditional dishes prepared à la Florentine would have looked a bit different than what you see here as they were made by simmering spinach in a very generous amount of melted butter.
This florentine sauce in this recipe is more closely related to what you’ll find in Italian-American restaurants here in the states. It’s made with butter, onions, garlic, white wine, mushrooms, chicken broth, fresh spinach, milk, cream, and parmesan cheese.
What’s in Chicken Florentine?
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- All-purpose flour
- Butter and Olive oil
- Onion or Shallots
- Minced garlic
- White wine
- Mushrooms
- Chicken stock
- Fresh spinach
- Whole Milk
- Heavy whipping cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley
Recipe and Ingredient Modifications
Dredging: Dredging is optional. Dredging the chicken cutlets in flour and then searing in butter adds a nice golden and delicious crust around the chicken, but it is less healthy when compared to simply searing the chicken in olive oil.
Is pounding the chicken necessary? Yes, if you are using chicken breasts. If you prefer not to pound your chicken breasts, be sure to cut them into two thinner cutlets or bake the chicken in the oven instead.
White wine substitute? This recipe calls for 2 cups of white wine. Substitute with 1.5 cups of chicken stock or broth.
Mushrooms: The mushrooms are optional. I add mushrooms for flavor, but if you don’t like them leave them out. You’ll find that some chicken florentine recipes have mushrooms, while others do not.
Gluten-free: Dredge the chicken in gluten-free all-purpose flour.
How to Make Chicken Florentine
1. Prepare the chicken: Pound each chicken breast to equal thickness, approximately 1/2-inch to 1-inch thick. Transfer to a plate and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Dredge in flour (optional): Add the flour to a large ziplock bag and, working in batches, coat each piece of chicken in flour.
3. Cook the chicken: Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Transfer the chicken breasts to the skillet, gently shaking off any excess flour before adding to the skillet. Cook until golden-browned, approximately 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to a clean plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with any remaining chicken.
4. Sauté the aromatics and deglaze the pan: In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the chopped onion. Cook until softening and then add the garlic, cooking for approximately 1 minute more. Add 2 cups of white wine (or 1.5 cups of chicken broth). Deglaze the pan and scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Allow the liquid to reduce by half.
5. Add the mushrooms (optional) and sprinkle with flour (optional): Cook the mushrooms just until they start softening and drop some of their liquid. Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and mix well to combine. Add the chicken broth.
7. Add the spinach: If you use fresh spinach, add it to your skillet in batches (it wilts really fast).
8. Complete your florentine sauce. Stir in the whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the grated parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium.
9. Return chicken to the skillet: Gently nestle the cooked chicken back into the pan and turn to coat in the creamy spinach sauce. Allow the chicken to simmer for approx 4-5 minutes, or until heated through. Best served immediately.
What to Serve with Chicken Florentine
I love serving Chicken Florentine with a side of extra veggies like roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or asparagus. Sometimes I’ll make this arugula salad with shaved parmesan if I’m having company over for dinner. I also highly recommend serving it with some kind of cooked pasta, cheesy tortellini or ravioli, mashed potatoes, or cooked rice.
Have you tried making this Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts - see notes
- salt and pepper - to season
- ½ cup all-purpose flour - for dredging, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
For the Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion - diced
- 6 cloves garlic - chopped
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms - sliced
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream - (or half-and-half)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese - grated
- freshly grated black pepper - to season
Instructions
- Transfer one chicken breast to a large ziplock bag and seal. Using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer, pound your chicken until it is approximately 1/2-3/4 inch thickness. Set aside to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and generously season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add the all-purpose flour to a (new) large zip-lock bag. Use kitchen tongs to transfer 3 chicken breasts to the zip-lock bag filled with flour and seal. Gently toss to coat the chicken in flour.
- Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil to a large 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat. Heat until melted and shimmering. Transfer the dredged chicken breasts to the skillet, gently shaking off any excess flour before adding to the skillet. Cook until golden brown, approximately 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to clean plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet you used to cook the chicken. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and continue to cook for an additional minute before adding the wine. Increase heat to high, scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, and allow the liquid to reduce by at least half.
- Reduce heat back to medium-high, and stir in the sliced mushrooms. Continue to cook until the mushrooms start to soften, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Sprinkle the mushrooms and onions with 2 tablespoons flour and mix well combine. Slowly stir in the chicken broth, dissolving any clumps that may have formed with the flour.
- Add the spinach, working in batches if needed. Cook until wilted, stirring as needed.
- Stir in the whole milk and heavy whipping cream, mixing well to combine with the spinach, mushrooms, and onions. Bring your sauce to a gentle boil and stir in the grated parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium.
- Gently nestle the cooked chicken back into the pan and turn to coat in the sauce. Allow the chicken to simmer for approx 4-5 minutes, or until heated through.
- Serve immediately with cooked rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes, if desired. Enjoy.
Jessica’s Notes
- For the chicken – If you prefer not to dredge your chicken breasts in flour, feel free to skip that part. I still recommend pounding your chicken to equal thickness as this will help to guarantee a faster cooking time and equal cooking time.
- You may also bake your chicken breasts in the oven and add them to your homemade cream sauce after they’ve been baked. This will allow you to do two things at once – cook the chicken and prepare the sauce. If you do cook them in the oven, pounding them to equal thickness isn’t necessary. Read my post on how to cook chicken breasts for all the details.
- If you prefer not to cook with wine, substitute with 1.5 cups of low-sodium chicken broth.
- You can also use frozen spinach. Simply substitute with 2 (10-ounce) packages of frozen cut-leaf spinach that have been thawed and drained well.
- Leftovers: Keep leftovers stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days.
- Freezing: I do not recommend freezing any leftovers as the sauce is made with milk and heavy cream which is likely to separate once thawed from frozen.
- I like using salted butter but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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