A twist on the classic chicken Florentine recipe, this Stuffed Chicken Florentine combines stuffed chicken breasts with a creamy pan sauce. This easy chicken recipe makes for the perfect weeknight dinner and is great for entertaining as well.
This stuffed boneless chicken breast is a double take on chicken Florentine. Not only is the stuffed chicken breasts coated in a Florentine sauce, it's also stuffed with all the ingredients in a chicken Florentine. Even better, it's made all in one skillet so cleaning up is a breeze.
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Why You'll Love This Stuffed Chicken Recipe
- It's super cheesy as there's cheese in the stuffed chicken breasts and more cheese is sprinkled on top before serving, so every bite is packed with flavour.
- It's a delicious twist on regular ol' chicken breasts. It keeps dinner time fun and tasty without having to do a ton of extra work.
- It's such an easy dinner option. Serve this with some rice, pasta, side salad, or just some bread and you're good to go.
Ingredients You'll Need
For the Chicken
- chicken breasts — make sure they're boneless and skinless to make stuffing them easier.
- season — I season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. You can use smoked or sweet paprika.
- olive oil — or your favourite oil to coat the chicken in.
For the Stuffing
- cream cheese — you'll need the full-fat cream cheese that is in block form. The spreadable cream cheese from the tub for your breakfast bagels just won't cut it here.
- mayonnaise — you only need a tiny bit. Don't skip it!
- garlic — honestly, the more the merrier. I prefer freshly minced garlic over the pre-minced stuff from the containers.
- salt
- baby spinach — chopped small enough so it can go into the stuffing.
- mozzarella cheese — you'll need some to make the stuffing cheesy, plus extra for topping.
For the Florentine Pan Sauce
- butter — I use unsalted butter and recommend you do too.
- garlic — again, freshly minced. The more the merrier.
- chicken broth — try to use low sodium chicken broth or broth that doesn't have any salt added. It keeps the pan sauce from tasting too salty.
- Italian seasoning — just a pinch for some herby flavour.
- heavy cream — I don't recommend swapping the cream with anything else such as half and half or milk as the cream is what makes the sauce rich and creamy.
- baby spinach — it won't be a Florentine style dish without the spinach!
How To Make This Stuffed Chicken Recipe
- Stir together the cream cheese, mayo, garlic, salt, chopped spinach, and mozzarella cheese.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Cut a pocket in each chicken breast and stuff spinach mixture into each.
- Heat oil in a skillet.
- Add chicken and cook 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, tent with foil to keep warm.
- Return the pan to heat and add the butter and the minced garlic. Let it cook for about 30 seconds or so.
- Add the chicken broth and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Let it cook for 3-5 minutes or until it's reduced.
- Add in the cream and let it bubble for 2 minutes, then stir in the spinach. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, sprinkle any leftover mozzarella over the top of the chicken and sauce prior to serving.
Recipes Variations
- You can use Herbs de Provence in place of Italian seasoning or your own mix of dried thyme, basil, and oregano.
- Add a few pinches of red chili flakes to add a little bit of heat to your chicken Florentine.
- Sun-dried tomatoes in a jar packed in oil is a great addition to the recipe. Add it to the stuffing or the pan sauce.
Tips and Notes
- Due to the sauce being cream based, it's best to serve this immediately while the stuffed chicken Florentine is still hot.
- Use toothpicks to hold the chicken together to keep the stuffing inside, if needed. It'll make pan-searing the chicken easier if you've put a little too much stuffing into the chicken breasts!
- If the sauce is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out by whisking some chicken broth into the pan. If you'd like the sauce to be thicker, you can add some cheese to the pan or a cornstarch slurry (combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water).
- If you're not sure if the chicken breasts have cooked through, use an instant read thermometer and make sure the chicken is cooked to 165F. This one is my go-to as I love how the magnetic makes it so I can easily access it as I keep it on my fridge door.
Cooking a dish "Florentine" style generally means that the dish where protein is served over a bed of spinach. Spinach is featured as it's popular in the Italian region of Florence.
I find stuffed chicken breasts to be pretty filling on its own but I love serving chicken Florentine with Homemade Soft Breadsticks or Basil and Garlic No Knead Bread. Simple Jasmine Rice or cooked pasta pairs well with this recipe as well as it soaks up the pan sauce.
Leftover Florentine stuffed chicken breast can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When reheating, I recommend gently reheating it on the stovetop to prevent the creamy sauce from breaking. Risotto or mashed potatoes are great sides too.
I highly recommend using regular baby spinach (cut them in half if you only have the large variety). If you only have frozen spinach, you could use it by thawing it and then squeezing as much water out of it as possible. The water from the frozen spinach will make the stuffing and pan sauce watery.
Recipe
Stuffed Chicken Florentine
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 4 large chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups baby spinach leaves chopped
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese plus extra for topping
For the Pan Sauce:
- 1½ tablespoons butter unsalted
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¾ cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1 pinch Italian seasoning
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 2 cups baby spinach loosely packed
Instructions
- Stir together the cream cheese, mayo, garlic, salt, chopped spinach, and mozzarella cheese.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Cut a pocket in each chicken breast and stuff spinach mixture into each.
- Heat oil in a skillet.
- Add chicken and cook 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, tent with foil to keep warm.
- Return the pan to heat and add the butter and the minced garlic. Let it cook for about 30 seconds or so.
- Add the chicken broth and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Let it cook for 3-5 minutes or until it's reduced.
- Add in the cream and let it bubble for 2 minutes, then stir in the spinach. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, sprinkle any leftover mozzarella over the top of the chicken and sauce prior to serving.
Nutrition
More Recipes You May Like
- Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken
- Chicken Meatloaf
- Mozzarella Chicken
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich
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