This Chicken Florentine has a delicious and creamy sauce and is easier than it looks. It’s all made in one pan!
Tender, pan-fried chicken breast, smothered in a garlicky, creamy sauce with white wine, spinach, and just a pinch of nutmeg feels indulgent and fancy, right? But it’s a quick and easy dinner in disguise, perfect for any night of the week.
The entire recipe is made in the same pan, starting on the stove, and finishing in the oven, with the sauce created right in the pan. And with the spinach added at the last minute to keep it as fresh as possible, there’s no need to make a vegetable or side dish.
What Does Florentine Mean In A Recipe?
Recipes that contain the word “Florentine” refer (loosely) to a dish that features or contains spinach. True Florentine style, however, refers to the spinach being cooked in butter, with a cheese sauce, Parmesan, and browned under the broiler.
But how did Florentine come to be associated with spinach? Catherine de’ Medici brought her cooks with her from Florence, Italy, when she became the Queen of France. With several stories and folklore surrounding the queen and this leafy green, it’s safe to say she was crazy about spinach.
How To Make Chicken Florentine
While my Chicken Florentine recipe isn’t as complicated as the preparation above, it delivers all of the same flavors in less time.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Then, dust the chicken breasts using a “shake-and-bake” method. I like to use a storage zip-top bag, adding the flour and salt, giving that a quick shake or two to combine, and then adding the chicken right to the bag. Seal the bag well and shake it like crazy to coat every part of the chicken with flour.
Save any extra flour that’s in the bag, we’ll use that later.
Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil to the pan. Once the oil is shimmering—it will literally look like the oil is making little waves in the pan—the oil is hot enough for pan frying the chicken. Add the flour-dusted chicken to the hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate for a few minutes while the sauce comes together.
To make the sauce, add the butter, shallots, any remaining flour, and stir until the butter begins to brown and the shallots are fragrant. It won’t take long, just a minute or so. (No shallots? Use half a small onion instead.) During this time, scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, which will help to flavor the sauce. Then add the white wine (which can be substituted with chicken stock if you don’t have any on hand), heavy cream, and nutmeg. Yes, nutmeg.
Why Add Nutmeg?
Nutmeg, especially freshly ground, adds a subtle flavor that rounds out the bitterness in the spinach (added later on). You’ll never notice the sauce tasting like “nutmeg,” but you’ll notice that the sauce tastes balanced.
Want to grind your own? Get a spice grinder and whole nutmeg!
The type of white wine doesn’t matter much in this recipe. It can be any variety of white, as long as it’s not a white zinfandel or anything too sweet.
Bring this mixture to a boil, and add the chicken back to the pan. Place the pan in the oven, set the time for 20 minutes, and go do something else while the chicken bakes.
After the 20 minute bake time, remove the pan from the oven. Place an oven mitt over the pan’s handle to remind everyone in the house that the pan is too hot to touch!
Transfer the chicken to a plate or serving platter, and add the spinach to the hot pan sauce. Using tongs or a spoon, stir the spinach around until it begins to wilt. Then either pour the sauce and spinach over the chicken, or return the chicken to the pan and serve dinner right from there (my preferred method).
I’ll sometimes make some orzo, rice, or angel hair pasta to stretch this meal, but it can be served on it’s own as well, with plenty for everyone.
Podcast Episode On Making Chicken Florentine
Listen to learn how to make this recipe, along with some great tips from Christine:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintOne-Pan Chicken Florentine Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop + Oven
- Cuisine: French
DESCRIPTION
This Chicken Florentine has a delicious and creamy sauce and is easier than it looks. It’s all made in one pan!
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 1 large shallot, minced*
- 2 Tbsp. white wine
- 3/4 cup heavy cream**
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 3 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- To a gallon plastic zipper bag, add flour and salt and shake to combine. Add chicken breasts and shake bag to coat chicken. Reserve the remaining flour for later in the recipe but set it aside now.
- In a large oven-safe skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken to pan. Cook each side until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add butter and shallots to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are fragrant and butter begins to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in any of the remaining flour.
- Add white wine, cream, and nutmeg. Stir, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
- Return chicken to pan. Place pan in oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until chicken registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
- Remove pan from oven. Transfer chicken to a serving platter.
- Add spinach to pan, stirring until spinach has wilted. Pour pan sauce and wilted spinach over chicken. Top with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*If shallots aren’t available, half of a small onion can be used instead.
**Chicken stock can be substituted for the heavy cream, however the sauce will be thinner.
Joanne W. says
Really enjoyed this recipe. It was super simple to make but tasted like it took longer. We served with roasted potatoes. Delish!
Christine Pittman says
Yum! Sounds fantastic, Joanne!
Ed says
Easy and delicious! Even my son liked it 🙂
Christine Pittman says
Happy to hear it, Ed! :)