How long it takes: 30 minutes Equipment you’ll need: skillet Servings: 4 “Florentine” dishes aren’t actually from Florence, Italy. The term comes from French cuisine and refers to dishes that pair a protein with cooked spinach and creamy Mornay sauce. Chicken Florentine is one of the more popular versions of this but you’ve probably also heard of eggs Florentine too. Some recipes for chicken Florentine call for cream of mushroom soup but today we’re going to skip the cans and go with a homemade white wine cream sauce. Parmesan cheese and garlic infuse it with plenty of flavor—you’ll definitely want to sop up every last bit from your plate.
Creamy Chicken Florentine
Shockingly quick and easy. It’s hard to even get takeout in 30 minutes! I can’t think of many recipes that deliver such an elevated taste and presentation in such a short amount of time. Full of flavor. Between the cream sauce, the tender, perfectly seasoned chicken, and the wilted spinach, this chicken Florentine will knock your socks off. It’s the kind of dinner you don’t want to end! (If you can’t get enough of the spinach-and-chicken pairing, try chicken and spinach pasta with lemon cream sauce and spinach and feta stuffed chicken.) Versatile. You can make variations to this recipe, serve it over something other than pasta, or put your own spin on this dish to make it your own.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken cutlets: Cutlets can be purchased at the grocery store, or buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and slice them into cutlets yourself. This is usually a cheaper option and it’s easy. The recipe card describes how to do it. All purpose flour: Flour serves a dual purpose. It creates a coating on the chicken so it browns nicely and it also thickens the sauce a bit when you add the chicken back to the pan. The flour is seasoned with garlic powder, kosher salt, and coarse ground black pepper. Olive oil and butter: This chicken Florentine recipe uses oil to cook the cutlets and butter to sauté the aromatics and add richness to the sauce. Garlic: The garlic cloves should be finely minced with a knife, or use a garlic press. You’ll find that a garlic press does the job quickly and easily. Onion: A yellow cooking onion is perfect for this recipe. If you’d rather use shallots, they would work well, too. Dry white wine: Good choices are dry riesling, sauvignon blanc, or pinot grigio. Stay away from varieties such as moscato, late harvest riesling, or white zinfandel which will make the wine sauce taste too sweet. Baby spinach: I like to use baby spinach because it’s more tender and milder-flavored than “adult” spinach. Heavy cream: You can substitute half-and-half but the sauce will be thinner; I really recommended going all in and using heavy cream. Grated Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is important here. The shelf-stable Parmesan cheese and even the refrigerated shreds won’t melt smoothly into the cream sauce. Nutmeg: Just a bit makes the cream sauce sing (not literally, but it would if it could). Cooked pasta: Pasta provides a good base for the creamy sauce and chicken. I usually choose linguine but other types of pasta work well, too.
How to Make Chicken Florentine
Dredge the chicken. Whisk the flour and seasonings in a shallow dish, then coat both sides of the chicken cutlets. It will be a thin coating, not like breading. Cook the cutlets. Set a skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. I use a large nonstick skillet. Once the oil is shimmering and hot, carefully add the chicken. It should sizzle. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, using tongs to flip the cutlets. The chicken should be lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Sauté the aromatics. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter, garlic, and onion to the pan; cook until the onion is softened and translucent. If it starts to brown, turn the heat down. Pour in the wine and cook until it reduces by half, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Wilt the spinach. Stir the baby spinach into the skillet and cook, stirring lightly, until the spinach wilts. Don’t overcook the spinach. It should be just wilted and deep green in color. It will cook a little more in the sauce. Make the sauce. Reduce the heat again and pour in the heavy cream. Bring the sauce mixture to a gentle simmer, then stir in the cheese and nutmeg. Continue to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Finish. Return the cooked chicken breasts to the skillet and cook until the chicken is heated through. Season to taste before serving over pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley, if you like.
Recipe Variations
Add mushrooms. Before pouring in the wine, add sliced white or cremini mushrooms and cook them until they’re browned. Skip the wine. If you’d like to make this chicken Florentine alcohol-free, substitute chicken broth or vegetable broth for the white wine. Serve it over rice. While I love chicken Florentine over pasta, it’s also delicious served over a bed of rice. Instant Pot white rice or basmati rice would be perfect! Make it gluten-free. Swap in your favorite measure-for-measure gluten-free flour, or just skip the flour and season the chicken with the spices. If you skip the flour, the sauce will be a bit thinner in consistency.
Serving Suggestions
Salad. This arugula salad or house salad make for light pairings with chicken Florentine. They’re pretty simple salads that don’t take much time to prepare. Vegetable sides. Add roasted mushrooms to your dinner as a side dish, or serve the chicken Florentine over my cauliflower rice recipe. If you want to add a little color and textural contrast to your plate, air fryer carrots or air fryer beets would do nicely. Bread. Texas toast garlic bread will help you soak up all the leftover white wine cream sauce from your plate. Another option is to buy crusty Italian or French bread and serve it with restaurant-style bread dipping oil.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze this recipe; the cream in the sauce makes it likely to separate. Reheat: I recommend reheating on the stovetop over medium heat for best results, but the microwave works too. Add a splash of broth or heavy cream if needed to loosen up the sauce.
