Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe

This Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe is a delicious, quick, and easy weeknight meal that is a cinch to make when you want something simple yet feels kind of fancy. Tender, juicy chicken breasts are gently sautéed and then simmered in a creamy white wine sauce with shallots and spinach for an easy one-pot meal.  For another quick and easy one-pot meal, try my 15-Minute Chicken Dijon Recipe. 

This recipe pairs beautifully with my Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes or my garlic butter Smashed Potatoes. 

What Is Chicken Florentine?

• Chicken Florentine is made with tender, juicy chicken breasts simmered in a savory wine or Mornay sauce (Bechamel Sauce with Cheese), served over a bed of spinach or topped with spinach.
• In fact, the term “Florentine” or “a la Florentine” is a French culinary term referring to dishes made with spinach.
• It’s been debated whether the origins of this dish are French, Italian, or both.
• But legend has it that it was Catherine de Medici who, upon Marring King Henry II of France in 1533, brought her love of spinach to France.
• Despite its murky origin story, no one can debate how delicious this recipe is!  

The Ingredients:

• Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast. You’ll slice the breasts lengthwise in half to make four cutlets, then pound them thinly. Or you can also use boneless-skinless chicken thighs, too. If you are afraid of overcooking the chicken, and you want to be assured of a juicy cutlet. Go with chicken thighs. 
• All-Purpose Flour: The chicken is dredged through the flour mixture, coating it and locking in moisture.
• Italian Seasoning: For seasoning the flour. But you could also use a mixture of dried basil and dried oregano.
• Olive Oil and Butter for sautéing the chicken. The butter provides flavor, while the olive oil allows the chicken to be seared at high heat due to its high smoke point.
• Shallots are sautéd in the chicken drippings for extra flavor. They are a wonderful complement to the creamy wine sauce and spinach.
• White Wine: Use a dry white wine such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
• Chicken Brot:h You can omit the wine and use more chicken broth if desired. The same amount is called for as the wine. 
• Cornstarch Slurry will thicken the sauce and reduce the need to add extra heavy cream.
• Parmesan Cheese for more flavor and creaminess in the sauce.
• Heavy Cream: The cream is optional; you can omit it and add only the Parmesan cheese, or add a small amount of cream (1-2 tablespoons).
• Baby Spinach Is best for this recipe since it wilts quickly and doesn’t require any steaming or chopping. You can place it in the skillet on top of the chicken as a last step, cover the skillet, and it will steam and wilt down into bite-sized pieces. 
• Fresh Parsley (Optional): For an even fresher finish, add some freshly chopped Italian parsley. 

Why You’ll Love This:

• A new way to serve boneless, skinless chicken breasts!
• Dinner will be ready in less than 30 minutes! And you have a protein, veggie, and sauce all in one pan!
• The chicken is tender and juicy, and the sauce is creamy and decadent. A great sauce for pairing with angel hair pasta or mashed potatoes. 
• It’s a chicken dinner that’s elegant enough for entertaining, but simple enough for a weeknight meal. 

Watch My Video Demo of This Recipe

Step#1: Slice and Pound The Chicken Breasts

• This recipe works best if the chicken is sliced into cutlets and pounded thinly.
• The chicken will cook faster as a cutlet and will also retain its moisture. Since you won’t run the risk of overcooking the exterior of the chicken breast, you can wait for the interior to be cooked through.
• The pounding will also help the chicken breast cook evenly while tenderizing it. 

Step#2: Dredge the Chicken In Flour

• Dredging the chicken in flour before sautéing it helps protect the meat and prevents it from drying out.
• It will also create a light crust that helps it brown in the butter and oil.
• It’s a very thin layer of flour, without an egg coat, so it doesn’t feel heavy.
• The result is a velvety, tender chicken breast that stays moist inside and out. 

Step#3: Sear The Chicken

• Sear the chicken in the olive oil and butter until golden brown. At this stage, you don’t need to cook the chicken all the way through; you’ll do that in a later stage.
• Don’t wash out the pan, you’ll want to saute the shallots in the chicken drippings for flavor and then deglaze the pan with the wine. 

Step#4: Simmer Chicken in Wine Sauce

• Once the sauce is made, simmer the chicken in the wine sauce until cooked through.
• You’ll thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry.
• At this stage, you could finish the recipe without the heavy cream, keep the wine sauce, and add the spinach to wilt.

Serving Tips:

• Serve the chicken on a long platter with the chicken overlapping and spoon the sauce and the spinach over the top.
• You can serve this dish with rice or pasta, or with Potatoes Gratin or with my Foolproof Roasted Potatoes too. 
• Some of my garlic knots with store-bought pizza dough would also be a nice touch!  

Leftovers and Storage:

• This dinner reheats really well!
• Simply store it in a container with the spinach and sauce.
• Then, to reheat, place it in a covered sauté pan with a little chicken broth or water, if that’s all you have, to loosen the sauce and add steam.
• Reheat, covered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is bubbling.
• For an easy dinner, you can serve it over microwavable rice, angel hair pasta, or cauliflower rice.