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Chicken Florentine is a great way to make a weeknight dinner a bit more special. I mean, cheese! wine! spinach! hello! Also? done in around 30 minutes. BOOM.

Update: This was originally posted in 2015, and has been updated to improve reader experience with new photos, and more detailed instructions.

Chicken can be plain and boring (and repetitive when you use it a lot), so I like to dress it up as much as possible.

This recipe is actually much simpler than it looks, we are literally making a quick filling, stuffing chicken breasts and cooking them, then using the same pan to make an easy (but decadent tasting) pan sauce.

This Florentine Chicken recipe has a bit of a twist – I add blue cheese to the stuffing, which adds some really great flavor that pairs so well with the spinach.

Using blue cheese in this recipe is my favorite, but I also make this with feta instead of blue cheese, and it’s yummy as well. Really, you could stuff chicken breasts with anything and put a decadent sauce over the top, and I’d be happy!

Love the whole chicken/spinach thing? You’ll ADORE my Florentine Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups, too!

WHAT DOES FLORENTINE STYLE MEAN?
Typically, it means that something has spinach in it.

WHY IS SPINACH CALLED FLORENTINE?
It’s actually French, vs Italian – which is funny, hey? Originall, French folks associated spinach with Florence, but the reason why is not clear other than they may have associated it with the birthplace of a person who introduced spinach to the French. Aren’t you glad you read this?

WHAT IS FLORENTINE SAUCE MADE OF?
The one in THIS recipe is a pan sauce, served over the top of Florentine stuffed chicken and involves dijon mustard, garlic, onions, wine, stock and a little sour cream to make it creamy.

WHAT GOES WITH CHICKEN FLORENTINE?
I love serving mine with a simple salad, or some Roasted Broccoli, as well as maybe Risotto or mashed potatoes.

Ingredients explained:

FLORENTINE FILLING

OLIVE OIL – you could use vegetable oil if you’d prefer.
ONION – dice this up super finely.
GARLIC – because, duh. Garlic is delicious.
BABY SPINACH – I use fresh spinach. You could use frozen spinach, but ensure it is thawed and squeezed very dry.
BLUE CHEESE – totally optional. If you don’t have it, or don’t like it – feta or a little cream cheese also works. A little parmesan cheese will help amp up the flavor as well.
DIJON MUSTARD – don’t sub this for yellow mustard. A good substitute would be whole grain, stone ground or deli mustard.

CHICKEN

OLIVE OIL – can sub for a few tablespoons of butter if you prefer.
CHICKEN – I use relatively small boneless skinless chicken breasts because they cook faster. If yours are large – you’ll need to cook them longer (remember 165 degrees F). Alternatively – you could sear them, and pop them in the oven for a few minutes to speed up the cooking.

PAN SAUCE

ONION – shallot goes really well in pan sauces, but I don’t always have shallots.
WINE – I use a dry white wine (such as a sauvignon blanc). As always, don’t use a “cooking wine”, use a wine you enjoy drinking – you’ll taste it in the sauce so make it delicious! If you’d prefer not to cook with wine, a little extra stock will work very well.
THYME – I use dried in this, but fresh is kind of amazing.
CHICKEN STOCK – grab a carton from the store, or make your own homemade chicken stock.
DIJON MUSTARD – don’t sub this for yellow mustard. A good substitute would be whole grain, stone ground or deli mustard.
SOUR CREAM – feel free to use heavy cream, yogurt or half and half. Watch the skillet so it doesn’t boil, and curdle.

How to make this recipe:

Full, printable recipe below – just scroll down to the recipe card!

MAKE THE FILLING

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion, and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute.
Add the spinach, and cook 3 minutes until the spinach has wilted.
Combine spinach mixture, cheese and mustard in a small bowl.

STUFF AND COOK THE CHICKEN

Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Cut a pocket in each chicken breast and stuff spinach mixture into each.
Heat the remaining oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and cook 6 minutes per side or until chicken is done (165 degrees F).
Remove chicken, tent with foil to keep warm and set aside while you make the pan sauce.

MAKE THE PAN SAUCE

Add diced onion to pan, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add wine and thyme; cook 3 minutes or until reduced by half.
Add stock and Dijon mustard. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally – then add sour cream and whisk until smooth.
Return the chicken to skillet, cover and simmer 2 minutes or until heated through.
Serve pan sauce over the chicken.
Devour.

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