This recipe for chicken Florentine is golden brown chicken breasts, topped with a creamy mushroom, spinach and parmesan cheese sauce. A classic dinner that will have you licking your plate!
You can never go wrong with chicken, I make our favorite chicken meals almost every week including slow cooker whole chicken and lemon pepper chicken. This chicken Florentine is smothered in the most delicious sauce, even my kids love it.
I love chicken for dinner as much as the next person, but sometimes it can get a little…boring. I get in a rut and make the same chicken recipes over and over, because it’s just easy that way. But this chicken Florentine? Is anything but ordinary. It’s chicken with spinach and mushrooms in the MOST AMAZING white wine cream sauce.
What does Florentine mean in food?
Florentine refers to a recipe that’s prepared in the style of the Italian region of Florence. The common ingredient in Florentine style food is spinach. Chicken Florentine is typically served in a creamy spinach sauce. In this particular cases, I’ve also added mushrooms. The mushrooms add a lot of flavor and texture to the dish, and mushrooms pair so perfectly with spinach.
How do you make chicken florentine?
This recipe starts with chicken breasts, which are seared until golden brown. A simple sauce is made with butter, flour, white wine, garlic and heavy cream. The sauce is flavored with fresh spinach and sauteed mushrooms. Spoon the creamy sauce over the chicken, add a sprinkle of parsley, and you’ll be ready to eat!
Tips for chicken florentine
- I prefer to use fresh spinach, as the flavor and texture are much better than frozen. That being said, frozen spinach will work if it’s what you already have on hand!
- This recipe will also work with boneless skinless chicken thighs, or even boneless pork chops.
- I like to use thin cut chicken breasts for this recipe, simply because they cook quickly and evenly – some of those giant thick chicken breasts can take ages to cook through.
- You can add other ingredients to this dish to make it your own. I often add sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, diced red onion or sliced zucchini.
What is in Florentine sauce?
Florentine sauce is typically a thick sauce made with cream, white wine, and butter. I kept mine traditional with just a handful of ingredients, but you could also add other flavorings such as herbs, spices or other types of cheese such as mozzarella, asiago or fontina.
You can serve this chicken Florentine as-is for a one pan meal, or boil up a pot of pasta or mashed potatoes to serve it with. However you serve it, this classic recipe is sure to be a hit!
More chicken recipes
- Firecracker Chicken
- Cashew Chicken
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts I prefer to use thin cut chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons butter divided use
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces white mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large pan. Season the chicken breasts to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Add the mushrooms to the pan.
- Cook the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Remove the mushrooms from the pan. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the wine to the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until wine is reduced by half.
- Stir in the cream and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about half and has started to thicken. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Add the spinach to the pan. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until spinach has wilted. Stir the mushrooms into the sauce.
- Place the chicken breasts back into the pan and spoon the sauce over the top of the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 13, 2016 and was updated on December 2, 2019 with new photos and content.
Martin says
Fantastic recipe !
I went with the Asiago cheese and it was perfect
Marnie says
Delicious recipe! I doubled the sauce and served with pasta! Will definitely make again!
Wren says
I made this recipe with Shrimp instead of chicken . It was great.
JEANNIE says
Loved this easy recipe had to add some brown sugar cubesto taste, just two💕
SHERRY says
This came out great. I made a few changes. I used more broth instead of the wine. I used homemade cashew milk to replace the heavy cream. So delish.
Julie says
Absolutely delish and super easy to make. I doubled the sauce and served over bow tie pasta. Will be making again (hub insists!) but will cut chicken into small pieces and sauté
as the chicken breast were a bit too “meaty” for us. A definite hit at this home! Thank you for the recipe.
Sarah says
This Came out a lot better than I had expected! I went ahead and doubled the sauce ingredients and served it over angel hair, and I think I just discovered my new favorite at home meal!
Jennifer Reynolds says
Yummy but it takes the chicken much longer than 4-5 minutes to cook.
Don says
My family just finished eating this and they loved it. My only comment is I would make more sauce to smother chicken more.
Andrea says
Hi! Can I use chicken broth and add a bit of wine? Or is it better if I use just one. either chicken broth or wine?
Sara says
It should be fine with both!
Liz says
Can I use regular chicken broth if I do not have the wine?
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Shawn L says
You use different wines with different foods. Usually the recipe states which one.
Linda Cee says
This looks delicious and simple to make but I’ve never cooked with wine. What do you recommend?
Sara says
I’d recommend choosing a Chardonnay, it doesn’t have to be anything pricey!