This Chicken Florentine recipe pairs succulent pan-seared chicken breast with a garlicky spinach parmesan sauce. Skip the flour for a luscious keto-friendly meal!
There are some gourmet dishes that are just this side of keto-friendly. In other words, they don’t take much tweaking to make them suitable for low carb diets. Chicken Florentine is one such recipe.
I’ve been making this low carb version of the classic dish for my family for a few years now. And every time I do, I hear a chorus of satisfied sighs. We just can’t resist the creamy sauce spooned over the tender chicken.
So it was time to make it official and share it my Chicken Florentine recipe with you. Fair warning, the sauce is so delectable, you may find yourself spooning it right into your mouth!
Why we love this recipe
Most recipes for this classic dish call for dredging the chicken in flour before pan-searing. But just like Keto Chicken Marsala or Easy Chicken Dijon, it’s absolutely unnecessary. It doesn’t make the chicken taste or look better.
Skipping the flour saves you a full 6 grams of carbs per serving. And the chicken is just as juicy and flavorful when it’s pan-seared in all its naked glory. The sauce ends up just a thick and luscious as well.
This Chicken Florentine Recipe is a flavor bomb dinner, my friends. And it takes only about 35 minutes to make so you can enjoy a gourmet meal even on a weeknight.
Oh and did I mention that it has a whopping 48 grams of protein and only 5.4 grams of carbs per serving?
Ingredient notes
- Chicken breasts: You will need boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Fats: I use a combination of butter and olive oil for more flavor.
- Garlic: Do not use garlic powder here, fresh garlic is a must!
- White wine: I recommend using a dry white wine, but you can use chicken broth instead.
- Heavy whipping cream: I don’t recommend using half and half or milk here. Your sauce won’t be creamy enough and it won’t thicken properly.
- Parmesan: You can use pre-grated or grate the parmesan yourself. Make sure that you get good Parmesan and not something that comes out of a green canister!
- Fresh spinach: I don’t recommend frozen spinach for this recipe, as it tends to fall apart in the sauce.
- Pantry staples: Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
1. Prep the chicken: Slice the breasts through the middle to create two thinner cutlets out of each breast. Season both sides with Italian seasoning and salt.
2. Brown the chicken: Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat until melted and hot. Lay the chicken in a single layer in the pan and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side, until cooked through. The temperature should reach 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
3. Deglaze the pan: Remove the chicken from the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute, then pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan. Simmer until the wine is reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes
4. Add the cream: Reduce the heat to medium low, and add the cream and parmesan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Put it all together: Add the spinach leaves and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, until they are wilted. Add the chicken back into the pan to warm through before serving.
Tips for Success
To slice the chicken breasts, lay them flat on a cutting board and press down lightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the breasts horizontally into two thinner cutlets. Try to keep the pressure as even as possible. I almost always get one that’s bigger than the other but that’s okay!
Please use fresh garlic and fresh spinach for this recipe! It will be so much better. Also use real parmesan cheese and not the powdered junk that comes from a can. You can use the finely pre-grated cheese that you can get from the deli counter.
There is no need for any thickener for this recipe. Simmering the cream with the parmesan for a few minutes will create a wonderfully thick, luscious sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Chicken Florentine recipe is made with chicken breast, white wine, heavy cream, parmesan cheese and fresh spinach. Served by itself or paired with low carb vegetables, it is a flavorful keto dinner recipe.
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days. You can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. I don’t recommend freezing this dish as cream sauces have a tendency to split when frozen, thawed, and reheated.
This keto chicken Florentine recipe has 5.4g of carbs and 1.4g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.0g net carbs per serving.
What to serve with Chicken Florentine
Chicken Florentine Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large (452 g) chicken breasts, (about 1 1/4 lb total)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) dry white wine, (or chicken broth)
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan, (about 1 ounce)
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) fresh spinach, washed and chopped
Instructions
- Slice the breasts through the middle to create two thinner cutlets out of each breast. Season both sides with Italian seasoning and salt.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat until melted and hot. Lay the chicken in a single layer in the pan and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side, until cooked through. The temperature should reach 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute, then pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan. Simmer until the wine is reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes
- Reduce the heat to medium low, and add the cream and parmesan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the spinach leaves and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, until they are wilted. Add the chicken back into the pan to warm through before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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THANK YOU CAROLYN!!!! It was delicious even tho I didn’t follow the recipe exactly like you wrote. Me and my daughter are following a strict diet so I couldn’t use diary. I used coconut cream in place of the heavy cream and use nutritional yeast in place of the Parmesan cheese. It was delicious. 🥰
Glad it worked out!