This chicken florentine recipe takes basic pantry ingredients and turns them into a dinner that feels like it came from a restaurant kitchen. Chicken breasts get pounded thin, dredged in flour, and seared until golden, then simmered in a garlic parmesan cream sauce loaded with wilted spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Everything happens in one skillet, so cleanup stays simple and the sauce picks up flavor from the browned chicken bits left behind. It is rich without feeling heavy, quick enough for a weeknight, and good enough to serve when people are coming over. If you keep chicken and a bag of spinach on hand, this becomes an easy dinner to fall back on.
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
- salt and black pepper , To taste
- 0.5 cup all purpose flour , For dredging
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 0.75 cup chicken broth
- 0.75 cup heavy cream
- 0.5 cup grated parmesan cheese , Freshly grated, not the pre shredded kind
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 0.5 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped , Optional but recommended
- 0.25 teaspoon red pepper flakes , Optional
- fresh parsley or basil , For garnish
- Large skillet, stainless steel or cast iron works best for browning
- Meat mallet or rolling pin, for pounding the chicken evenly
- Tongs
- Whisk
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness, season it, and dredge it in flour.
- Sear the chicken in olive oil and butter until golden on both sides, then set it aside.
- Build the cream sauce in the same skillet with garlic, shallot, broth, cream, and parmesan.
- Stir in the spinach and sun dried tomatoes until the spinach wilts down.
- Return the chicken to the skillet so it finishes cooking in the sauce, then rest before serving.
- Place the chicken breast halves between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them to an even half inch thickness with a meat mallet.
- Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Dredge each piece lightly in flour, shaking off the extra. This helps the chicken brown and gives the sauce something to hold onto later.
- Heat the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken and sear for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through to 165 degrees internally. Work in batches if the skillet feels crowded.
- Move the chicken to a plate and tent it loosely with foil to keep it warm.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining butter to the same skillet, scraping up any browned bits as it melts.
- Add the shallot and cook for about a minute until it softens.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Watch it closely so it does not burn.
- Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any stuck on bits from the chicken.
- Stir in the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
- Whisk in the parmesan cheese a little at a time until the sauce turns smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the sun dried tomatoes and red pepper flakes if you are using them.
- Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring after each addition until it wilts down, about 2 minutes total.
- Nestle the chicken back into the skillet, spooning some sauce over the top of each piece.
- Let everything simmer together for 2 to 3 minutes so the chicken warms through and picks up flavor from the sauce.
- Take the skillet off the heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and a little extra parmesan if you like.
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness so every piece cooks at the same rate and none of it dries out.
- Do not skip the flour dredge. It gives the outside a light crust and helps the sauce cling once the chicken goes back in.
- Use parmesan you grate yourself rather than the pre shredded bags. It melts into the sauce much more smoothly.
- Once the cream goes into the pan, keep the heat at medium so the sauce does not break or separate.
- Let the chicken rest for a few minutes once it comes off the heat. This keeps the juices inside instead of running out onto the plate.
- Taste the sauce before reaching for the salt. Parmesan and broth already bring plenty of it on their own.
- Skipping the pounding step, which leaves some parts of the chicken thick and others thin, so the thin edges overcook while the center is still catching up.
- Crowding the skillet with too much chicken at once, which steams the meat instead of browning it.
- Letting the cream sauce boil hard instead of simmer, which can cause it to separate or turn grainy.
- Adding cold spinach straight from the fridge without giving it enough time to wilt down fully.
- Using a low fat cream substitute, since it tends to run thin and will not thicken the way heavy cream does.
- Leaving the chicken in the skillet too long before adding it back to the sauce, which dries it out before it even gets to the finishing step.
- Use boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts for a juicier cut that is more forgiving if it cooks a minute or two longer than planned.
- Swap heavy cream for half and half if you want something lighter, though the sauce will end up thinner.
- Add sliced mushrooms along with the garlic and shallot for extra depth.
- Pour in a small splash of white wine before the broth if you want more complexity in the sauce.
- Use kale in place of spinach if that is what you have on hand, just let it cook a little longer since it is tougher.
- Cut the cream in half and add a bit more broth if you want a lighter version without losing the sauce entirely.
- Toss the finished sauce with cooked fettuccine to turn this into a pasta dish instead of a skillet dinner.
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Buttered egg noodles or pasta
- Crusty bread for soaking up the extra sauce
- Steamed white or brown rice
- Roasted asparagus or green beans
- A simple side salad with a light lemon vinaigrette
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of broth or cream to loosen the sauce back up.
- Avoid reheating on high in the microwave, since the sauce can separate under sudden high heat.
- Freezing is not recommended. Cream based sauces tend to break once they are thawed.
- If the sauce looks separated after reheating, whisk in a small splash of warm cream to bring it back together.
Yes. Boneless thighs work well in this recipe and tend to stay juicy even if they cook a bit longer than the breasts would.
This usually happens when the parmesan goes in over heat that is too high, or when pre shredded cheese is used instead of cheese grated fresh off the block.
You can prep the chicken and chop the garlic and shallot ahead of time, but the sauce itself is best made fresh right before you plan to serve it.
No. Florentine always includes spinach and usually sun dried tomatoes, while alfredo is typically just a cream and parmesan sauce without any greens mixed in.
Yes. Use half and half instead of heavy cream and cut back slightly on the butter, though keep in mind the sauce will end up thinner than the original version.
Leave them out, or use a small handful of chopped cherry tomatoes instead for a fresher and milder flavor in the sauce.
- This recipe scales easily. Double the sauce ingredients if you are serving 6 to 8 people.
- A small squeeze of lemon juice at the end brightens up the richness of the sauce nicely.
- For a one pan meal, cook the pasta separately and toss it directly into the skillet once the sauce and chicken are done.
- The sauce thickens as it sits, so add a splash of extra broth when reheating leftovers.
Weeknight dinners do not need a long ingredient list to feel like something worth sitting down for, and this chicken florentine recipe is a good example of that. Once you have made the sauce a couple of times, the steps stop feeling like a recipe and start feeling like something you just know how to do. It comes together in one skillet, it holds up well as leftovers, and it works just as easily for a quiet weeknight as it does for a dinner with company. Keep chicken breasts, cream, and a bag of spinach stocked in the kitchen and this becomes one of those meals you can put together without much planning at all.