Creamy Chicken Florentine is a one-skillet meal that will be on the table in less than 30 minutes! Golden brown chicken cutlets are wrapped in a thick parmesan cream sauce with garlic and spinach to make a dinner that the whole family will love.
Are you ready for another super simple one-skillet chicken dinner? I’m in love with this cooking method, so once you’ve made this recipe, go try all of my delicious variations!
Tuscan Chicken adds sundried tomatoes to the sauce, and Marry Me Chicken takes the flavors up to another level with herbs and a bit of spice.
You’ll also love my recipe for Creamy Lemon Chicken, Tarragon Chicken, and Chicken Piccata.
All of these recipes follow the same basic easy recipe for chicken cutlets in sauce. Learn it and you’ll be making gourmet, restaurant-worthy dishes at home every week!
What is Chicken Florentine?
Chicken Florentine is an Italian-inspired dish, made with parmesan cheese and spinach in a creamy sauce.
Florentine is a term from classic French cuisine that means, “in the style of Florence”, and refers to any dish cooked in cream sauce with cooked spinach.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast and Easy Meal –Chicken Florentine will be ready in about 30 minutes, using only one skillet, and a handful of easy-to-find ingredients. It’s a quick weeknight meal, and clean-up is a breeze!
- Creamy Homemade Florentine Sauce – There is no “cream of whatever” soup in this creamy chicken recipe. It’s just so easy to make a quick cream sauce from scratch and I’ll show you exactly how.
- Family Favorite– Creamy chicken florentine is a delicious, comforting meal, with simple seasonings that everyone enjoys. Have picky eaters in your house? I think they might even eat some spinach if you serve it this way!
Ingredients In Chicken Florentine
Here’s what you need to make this easy, creamy chicken dinner:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken Breasts: Slice large chicken breasts into cutlets. Thinner pieces of chicken cook faster and will be juicy and delicious after we pan-sear them.
- Flour and Italian Seasoning: Mix these two together to make a simple coating for the chicken cutlets. When you fry them in the skillet, the flour helps to create a beautiful crust.
- Olive Oil and Butter: When I’m cooking chicken cutlets in a pan, I use a combination of both olive oil and butter. I get the most flavor this way, and the mixture won’t burn as quickly as just butter will. We’ll use a bit more butter to make the creamy sauce too.
- Garlic: This sauce isn’t overly garlicky, but just a couple of cloves give it a lovely warm flavor. Aside from the garlic and Italian seasoning, salt and pepper are the only other seasonings needed.
- Chicken Stock: A bit of chicken stock, or broth if that’s what you have, creates the base of the sauce and adds savory flavor. You can also replace the stock with dry white wine if you want to create a more sophisticated dish.
- Heavy Cream: We can’t make a creamy chicken florentine sauce without some cream. I suggest using regular full-fat heavy whipping cream to get the best texture. Low-fat cream or milk won’t thicken the way that heavy cream does in this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: What else goes better with cream and garlic? Stir in freshly grated parmesan to make the florentine sauce cheesy.
- Spinach: fresh baby spinach is a must for chicken florentine. It seems like a lot, but it will wilt down into the sauce perfectly.
How To Make Chicken Florentine
- Season the Chicken Cutlets with salt and pepper.
- Dredge: Mix the flour with Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken cutlet in the flour, and shake off any excess.
- Heat a Skillet: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with olive oil in a large skillet (I like to use this stainless steel one for this) over medium heat. Add chicken cutlets, working in batches.
- Cook Chicken: Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through to a temperature of 165°F/74°C. Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover it with foil to keep warm, and set aside while you make the sauce.
How To Make Florentine Sauce
Use the flavor left in the pan after cooking the chicken to create an easy and delicious cream sauce!
- Deglaze: Add the rest of the butter and minced garlic to the pan. Cook for up to 1 minute, just until the garlic is fragrant. Immediately add the chicken stock, water, or wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon.
- Make it Creamy: Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add heavy cream and parmesan cheese to the pan. Season with black pepper if desired. Allow the sauce to simmer for 2-3 minutes to thicken.
- Wilt Spinach: Add the baby spinach to the sauce, stir, and allow it to wilt.
- Serve: Add the chicken to the sauce, and spoon the sauce over each cutlet. Serve warm over pasta or rice.
Tip!
If your cream sauce thickens too much, stir in a tablespoon of water. It’s an easy fix!
Tips for Making the Best Chicken Florentine
- Instead of chicken breast, try this recipe with boneless and skinless chicken thighs. Trim the fat from them, and pound them so that they are even and thin.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken cutlets in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, the chicken will steam rather than pan-fry and you won’t get that beautiful golden color on your crust.
- Try it with wine. Any dry white wine can be used to deglaze the pan, in place of the chicken stock.
- To keep this chicken recipe low carb, you can omit the flour. The sauce will be slightly less thick, but still delicious! Gluten-free all-purpose flour can also be used in this recipe.
- Looking for an Instant Pot Recipe? Try my Chicken Florentine Pasta recipe instead.
Storing Tips
Enjoy leftovers for up to 3 days! Keep everything stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
What To Serve With Chicken Florentine
The creamy sauce that goes with chicken florentine is amazing over rice, pasta, or veggies. Try some of these simple side dishes:
- Buttered Noodles
- Olive Oil Pasta
- Mushroom Rice
- Blanched Green Beans
- Blanched Broccoli
- Roasted Broccolini
- Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
More Easy Chicken Dinners
All Chicken Recipes →
FAQs
Fresh baby spinach is ideal, but you can substitute frozen spinach instead. Defrost it in the microwave until it’s no longer icy, then squeeze to remove as much liquid as you can. That green water will turn your sauce a funny color. Stir the spinach in as directed in the recipe.
You can buy pre-sliced cutlets at the store, but it’s more cost-effective to slice your own. Place a chicken breast on a cutting board, and hold it in place with the palm of your hand. Using a sharp knife, slice through the breast parallel to the cutting board. Depending on the thickness of the chicken breast, you can slice it into 2 or 3 pieces. If needed, use a meat mallet to pound each piece so that they are even in thickness.
You can use half and half in place of the heavy cream in this recipe, however, the sauce will not be as thick and rich.
Enjoy making and eating this delicious creamy chicken florentine recipe! Your whole family is going to love this one, so be sure that you save this recipe so you can make it over and over again.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chicken Florentine
Equipment
- Kitchen thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts boneless and skinless, sliced lengthwise into 6 thin cutlets
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ cup (30 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) butter divided
- 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water, chicken stock, or dry white wine
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (42 g) grated parmesan
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Start by seasoning the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.
- Then add Italian seasoning to the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour mixture shaking off any excess.
- In a large skillet, heat oil and melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, swirling the pan to coat with melted butter. Add chicken to the pan, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan.
- Cook the chicken cutlets for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through to a temperature of 165°F/74°C. Transfer chicken to a plate, cover to keep warm, and set aside.
To make the cream sauce:
- Add the remaining butter and garlic to the skillet, and cook for 30 seconds or 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken stock or water or wine, and deglaze the pan scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Adjust the heat to medium-low, and add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese to the skillet, seasoning with a little ground pepper if desired. Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple of minutes and thicken. If it gets too thick, stir in a tablespoon of water.
- Add the spinach, stir it in and let it wilt in the sauce.
- Put the chicken back in the sauce, and spoon the sauce over the cutlets. Serve warm over pasta, rice, or with steamed vegetables.
Notes:
- You can buy chicken already sliced into cutlets, or do it yourself to save some money. Boneless chicken thighs can also be used here, just trim the fat and pound them so that they are thin and even.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Leave room between the chicken cutlets so that they’ll cook evenly and brown. Depending on the size of the chicken and the size of your pan, you’ll likely need to cook the chicken in two or three batches.
- To keep this chicken recipe low carb, you can omit the flour. The sauce will be slightly less thick, but still delicious! Gluten-free all-purpose flour can also be used in this recipe.
- If your sauce gets too thick, stir in a tablespoon of water to get it back to the right consistency.
- To Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Use the microwave, or gently reheat in a covered skillet on low heat.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Thelma says
I made it. and it is so easy and soooo good . will be making it a lot
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you for trying to the recipe! I’m so happy to hear that you loved it.
CRISTINA BERNARD says
I MADE IT ALSO WITH SHREDDED CARROTS LAST.SOO DELICIOUS.
Diana says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Cristina!