Creamy Spinach Chicken
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This Creamy Spinach Chicken is a high protein healthy dinner recipe made with juicy chicken breast cooked in a creamy spinach sauce.
Plus, this is a 30 minutes keto chicken recipe, low in carbs and very fulfilling as a keto chicken dinner recipe.
This recipe is similar to my Tuscan Chicken Recipe, which is pretty similar to this easy chicken and spinach recipe.
The difference is that Tuscan Chicken uses sundried tomatoes, and they up the carbs of the meal.
So if you are after a keto-friendly chicken recipe that tastes like a restaurant-style meal, this one is for you.
What’s Creamy Spinach Chicken?
A creamy spinach chicken is an easy, comforting dinner made of stir fry chicken breast cooked in a creamy, cheesy sauce loaded with spinach.
Plus, this creamy chicken recipe is also:
- Gluten-Free
- Paleo-Friendly
- Dairy-Free
- A simple, healthy dinner idea
How To Make Creamy Spinach Chicken
It’s very easy to make this chicken recipe for dinner. Let’s see the ingredients you need.
Ingredients
- Skinless Chicken Breasts – depending on the size of your chicken breast, you may need to adjust the cooking time. Mine are 3-ounce each, and they are quite thick and fit a 10-inch non-stick pan (26cm).
- Olive Oil or any oil you like including avocado oil, and grapeseed oil.
- Unsalted Butter or dairy-free butter or coconut oil or ghee
- Salt and Pepper
- Oregano
- Garlic
- Shallots or brown onion
- Fresh Spinach Leaves – preferably baby spinach leaves. Classic spinach leaves are thicker and have a stronger flavor.
- Heavy Cream – Or dairy-free coconut cream.
- Chicken Broth – Or vegetable broth if you don’t have chicken broth.
- Parmesan Cheese – You can use other hard cheese varieties, but nothing can really replace the flavors of Parmesan.
Cooking The Chicken
First, pat dry the chicken breasts on both sides using absorbent kitchen paper.
Season the chicken breasts on both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper. This is optional as you will also season the sauce later.
Warm a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat with one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.
When warm, add the chicken and cook in the skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on both sides.
Keep cooking until the meat is no longer pink in the center.
Depending on how thick your chicken breasts are, this can take more or less time.
Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover the plate with foil to keep it warm.
Cooking The Spinach
Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan. Stir in onion and cook until fragrant and translucent.
Now, stir in garlic and baby spinach. Stir and cook until the spinach is wilted and shrunk in size. It may look like a lot of spinach at first, but it will reduce to a tiny amount.
Finally, to make the cream sauce, stir in the heavy cream, chicken stock, salt, pepper, oregano, and freshly grated Parmesan.
Return the cooked chicken breast to the pan and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Serving Chicken And Spinach Recipe
This creamy chicken recipe goes very well with some of the low-carb side dishes below:
If you are not on a low-carb diet, try to serve this dish with your favorite cooked pasta, cooked rice, or mashed potatoes.
Storage
You can store leftover creamy spinach chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Rewarm in the microwave or non-stick skillet until meat is warm and sauce is bubbly.
Allergy Swaps
Below are some allergy swaps to adapt this easy creamy chicken breast recipe to your diet requirements.
- Shallots – You can swap the shallows for brown onion, finely chopped.
- Dairy-Free – You can use a dairy-free you like the best are canned coconut cream, soy cream, or cashew cream. Use a dairy-free Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce or make a slurry using one tablespoon of corn starch diluted in 3 tablespoons of cold water. Add in the water sauce to thicken without adding any cheese.
- Paleo Options – Skip the cheese and use canned coconut cream or cashew cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
I listed an answer to your most common questions below to help you. If you don’t find the answer feel free to comment below.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
Yes, you can add frozen spinach directly to the saucepan. No need to thaw your frozen spinach first.
It will take a little more time to cook and evaporate the liquid released by the frozen spinach.
Can I Add Sundried Tomatoes?
Try my Tuscan chicken recipe instead. It’s a creamy spinach chicken recipe with added sundried tomatoes.
Or use this recipe and stir in the sundried tomatoes before adding the cream and cheese.
Can I Add Mushrooms?
Yes, you can stir fry mushroom slices, about 1 cup, just after adding the garlic.
My preference is to add porcini if they are in season or just button mushrooms.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs?
You can make creamy chicken thighs with this recipe.
I recommend using skinless chicken thighs and watching the cooking closely.
Chicken thighs cook faster, so cook until the meat is no more pink in the center.
Can I Use Fresh Spinach?
You can use large fresh spinach leaves, but I found baby spinach leaves more convenient as they fit the pan better.
Also, baby spinach has a tastier flavor. It doesn’t have long and thick stems like fresh spinach leaves.
If you are using regular fresh spinach, trim their stems for better taste.
More Chicken Recipes
If you love easy chicken dinner recipes, try some of my top favorites below:
Have you made this creamy spinach chicken recipe? Share a comment or review below!
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Creamy Spinach Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 tablespoons Butter divided
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 small Shallot minced
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Chicken Stock
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan
- 5 cups Baby Spinach
Instructions
- Pat dry chicken breast with absorbent paper then season with salt and pepper.
- In a large non-stick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil then add the chicken breast and cook until the meat is no longer pink – about 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover it with foil to avoid the meat from drying out.
Creamy Spinach Sauce
- In the same skillet, no need to wash it, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and melt it over medium heat.
- Add the minced shallots, stir and cook until fragrant then add garlic and fold in the spinach leaves. It will look like a lot of spinach but don't worry it shrunk back.
- Stir and cook spinach until wilted and water from the spinach evaporate.
- Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, and oregano. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Return the chicken breast to the pan, cover with sauce and cook until chicken is warm – 2-3 extra minutes.
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Nutrition
Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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I can’t wait to make this