Creamy Spinach Chicken
This creamy spinach chicken is an easy and delicious dinner with juicy pan-fried chicken breasts smothered in a rich creamed spinach sauce.
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken Breasts
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 1-pound
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzling
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
For the Creamed Spinach
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
For the Chicken Breasts
- Season the chicken. Rub the chicken breasts with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika garlic powder, basil, and rosemary.
- Sear the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, or until chicken is easy to move and edges are opaque.
- Cook. Flip over; cover the pan, and lower heat to medium-low. Continue to cook for 10 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet, keep covered, and set aside.
For the Creamed Spinach
- Sauté the onions and garlic. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add diced onions and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Deglaze the pan. Add chicken broth and scrape up the pieces stuck at the bottom of the pan. Stir in the heavy cream and let simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Add spinach and cheese. Add baby spinach; cook for a minute or until just wilted. Melt in the parmesan cheese.
- Put it all together. Return the chicken breasts to the skillet to simmer with the sauce for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
Notes
- Chicken: This recipe uses boneless skinless chicken breasts; if you decide to use chicken thighs, remember that thighs will need a little longer to cook through. You can also adjust the ingredients and seasonings to your taste and add a variety of seasonings, such as Italian seasoning, thyme, or oregano.
- If time permits, I advise letting the chicken sit in salted water (brine) for 15 minutes, just as I have done here with my oven roasted chicken breasts. The method ensures tender and juicy chicken breasts.
- If you decide to brine the chicken breasts, be careful with how much salt you use when seasoning the chicken.
- Spinach: I used baby spinach to make the creamed spinach, but you could also use frozen but thawed and drained spinach.
Nutrition
Serving: 7ounces | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 437mg | Potassium: 981mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7788IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 3mg
