Florentine Chicken

Content… What Exactly Is It? Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs What to Serve More Chicken Recipes to Try Conclusion Watch How to Make It

What Exactly is Florentine Chicken?

Florentine chicken is essentially breaded, fried chicken breasts served over a bed or spinach and doused in a cream-based sauce. The cream sauce in this recipe really elevates the chicken and spinach, IMO. Heavy cream, white wine, and fresh herbs create a flavor explosion. Plus, you can enjoy the rest of the bottle of white wine while you cook! Win-win. 😜

Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts – Dredging chicken in flour and frying before dousing in the sauce make for a delightful crispy outer layer to this dish’s primary source of protein.
• Spinach – Because who doesn’t love a recipe that turns healthy greens into something delicious?
• Herbs and Spices – Creole or Italian seasoning adds flavor to the chicken breasts, while paprika and fresh thyme or other fresh (or dried) herbs you’d like give the creamy sauce an extra layer of flavor.
• Heavy Cream – Makes for the base of a cream sauce that pairs perfectly with chicken and spinach.
• White Wine – Another essential element to the sauce that makes this dish!
• Chicken Broth – This ingredient rounds out the sauce and can be used to thin the sauce if it seems too thick at any point without sacrificing flavor.

How to Make Florentine Chicken

Cook the Chicken Breasts

1. Season – Salt the chicken, then season it with Creole or Italian seasoning. Or keep things simple and just use salt and pepper.
2. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly, shaking off any excess flour. Set aside.
3. Heat the Skillet – Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat until hot, and then add the chicken.
4. Brown the chicken breasts for about 4-5 minutes on each side until they are evenly golden brown on both sides.
5. Set Aside – Gently remove the chicken and set it aside.

Make the Sauce

6. Saute Seasonings – Add about 1-2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium heat, followed by the onions, minced garlic, and thyme. Stir for about 1-2 minutes, allowing the flavors to bloom.
7. Add Wine – Pour in the wine and stir for about 30 seconds.
8. The Cream – Next, add the cream, broth, and paprika.
9. Simmer – Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
10. Return the chicken and its juices back to the pan.
11. Adjust the sauce thickness with water or broth and adjust seasonings and salt according to preference.
12. Final Stretch – Simmer the chicken for 3-5 minutes in the sauce or until cooked through.

Cook the Spinach

13. Saute Garlic – While the chicken is simmering, melt the remaining butter in another large skillet over medium heat, then add garlic. Stir for about 30 seconds.
14. Add spinach to the pan, a little at a time, until it’s full. Turn the spinach using a tong until it’s wilted. Add more spinach to the skillet, repeating the process until all the spinach is wilted. It usually takes a few minutes.
15. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Plate the Florentine Chicken

16. Spinach – Arrange the spinach over a platter.
17. Chicken – Place the chicken atop the spinach.
18. Sauce – Pour the sauce over and serve.

Recipe Variations

1. Switch out the protein! You can use fish or shrimp instead of chicken, which will be just as good.
2. Add mushrooms, capers, cherry tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes would all be tasty additions to this dish.
3. Serve this deliciousness over a bed of rice or pasta if you want to add some carbs to your meal.

Tips and Tricks

1. After you fry the chicken breasts, you can wrap them in foil to keep them warm until you return them to the sauce.
2. If you use frozen spinach, be sure to drain and dry it before sautéing, or you will have too much liquid in the pan.
3. If you’re using larger chicken breasts, adjust the cooking time as it may take a little longer than indicated in the recipe to cook them.

Make-Ahead Instructions

You can definitely make this recipe ahead of time. Simply follow recipe instructions, then store the meal in an airtight container, either in the fridge or freezer. The only notable difference when you reheat is that the outer layer on the chicken breasts will lose some of its crispiness due to being stored with the sauce. Otherwise, this meal reheats well.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Serve this awesome saucy dish as soon as you plate it! It tastes best steaming hot, fresh off the stovetop.

Store leftovers Florentine chicken in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Simmer it on the stovetop until bubbly, and the chicken is heated through. Or you can nuke it in the microwave until thoroughly heated. Serve it up, and enjoy!

FAQs

What Goes with Florentine Chicken

Roasted potatoes and carrots go wonderfully with Florentine chicken. I also like to serve this up with a tossed salad. Oh! And don’t forget to make some homemade garlic bread, because you are going to want something you can use to mop up that sauce! 😆

More Chicken Recipes to Try

1. Easy Chicken Piccata
2. Poulet DG
3. Smoked Chicken Breast
4. Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
5. Chicken Vesuvio

Conclusion

Be sure to put on your chef’s hat when you make this meal. It looks so fancy that your friends and family will never know you whipped it up in just half an hour! Let me know how impressed they were in the comment section below. 😉

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.