Garlic chicken and spinach is a creamy, garlicky dish that has golden seared chicken breast cutlets swimming in a delicious garlic cream sauce with spinach. The dish is an easy dinner recipe for the weeknights and is topped with a helping of fresh parmesan cheese.
Recipe Highlights
- How it taste: Garlic chicken and spinach basically taste like creamed spinach turned into a full meal rather than a side dish. The sauce has a creamy texture with garlic and a hint of nutmeg creating the main flavors.
- Skill level: Although not a complete beginner recipe, garlic chicken and spinach is easy to make. You will need a little understanding of starting out cooking something hot like searing the chicken then transferring to something around medium heat to make the roux.
- Storage: In the refrigerator the recipe will do great. It’ll keep several days when stored in a container with a lid. I would not recommend freezing the sauce.
Ingredient tips
- Chicken: Chicken breast are used or chicken cutlets because the breast are cut down to a manageable size. You could get away with thin breast here but just keep an eye on them because they can dry out with all thew processes of this recipe. Chicken thighs and legs can also be used in this recipe.
- Garlic: Actual garlic is used in the recipe but also paired with garlic powder. I would recommend subbing the actual garlic before omitting the garlic powder. They work best together but if separate the garlic powder will leave a more notable flavor.
- Spinach: I suggest fresh spinach only. Frozen spinach can be used but I haven’t tested it and I worry about it watering down your sauce with the extra water. Other greens such as kale can be used and it’ll work well in this recipe.
- Dairy: Whole milk is used for the base of sauce. Then, heavy cream is added later to make it extra creamy. Half and half can be used in place of both.
- Parmesan: It’s not listed in the ingredients but you can see it in the photo and it pairs beautifully with the recipe. It’s best used as a final garnish on top of everything.
Chef’s tips
- Cut your own chicken cutlets. As mentioned above, thin breast can be used in the recipe. I don’t recommend it because it’s easy for them to overcook and come out dry. You also don’t want to use the huge chicken breast they sell. Slicing them in half will get you the perfect thickness to cook the garlic chicken and spinach recipe.
- Try avoiding adding the milk and the heavy cream at the same time unless you’re a very experienced cook. It’s easy to curdle dairy sauces when adding too much heat or high heat for too long. Because there is less fat in whole milk you have a larger window of error and heat.
How To Make Garlic Chicken And Spinach
- Start by prepping the chicken. Season with salt and black pepper.
- In a pan on medium high heat, add a little oil then sear the chicken until golden on both sides then remove.
- Lower the heat and add in minced garlic. Cook until browning then add in the butter.
- Make the roux then slowly pour in the milk while whisking.Once the sauce has started to thicken, add in the seasonings.
- Add the chicken back in and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Afterwards, remove the cooked chicken and add in the cream and spinach. Simmer until the spinach has withered.
- Serve the chicken with the garlic and spinach sauce.
Serving suggestions
Serve the garlic chicken and spinach with mashed potatoes. You can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes and the sauce. Rice will also pair well with the recipe.
Can I use frozen spinach instead?
Yes, but add it slowly. If the sauce starts to get too thin stop because you are adding extra water with the frozen spinach.
Can I use chicken thighs?
Chicken thighs will work beautifully with this recipe. You can use boneless but I recommend bone-in, skin on chicken thighs. The skin soaks up the flavor nicely.
Can I skip the garlic powder?
Of course! The garlic powder is there to reduce error in the recipe. You’ll get a garlic flavor in the sauce no matter what.
Chicken recipes to try next
- Sheet Pan Chicken Tacos
- Parmesan Sheet Pan Chicken
- Chicken & Spinach Meatballs
- Pan Seared Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Chicken And Coconut Lime Rice
- Crack Chicken Sliders
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Garlic Chicken And Spinach
Garlic chicken and spinach is a creamy, garlicky dish that has golden seared chicken breast cutlets swimming in a delicious garlic cream sauce with spinach. The dish is an easy dinner recipe for the weeknights and is topped with a helping of fresh parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 pound chicken breast (sliced into 4 cutlets)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (optional)
- 1/4 medium yellow onion
- 3 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup spinach (fresh)
- salt & pepper to taste
- garnish with parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep the chicken cutlets by slicing the chicken breast in half. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Then using the optional flour, sprinkle very lightly over the chicken. This helps the sauce stick better to the chicken.
- In a pan on medium high heat, add about 2-3 tablespoons of oil then sear the chicken breast. Just sear them unitil they are golden. They will finish cooking through later. Remove them once they are golden, then sit to the side.
- Once the chicken breast are removed, add in the garlic and onion. Add a little more oil if needed but you don't want the pan dry. Cook the onion and garlic until browning then add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, sprinkle in the flour and cook the flour with the onions and garlic for 1 minute.
- Next, whisk in the chicken broth first. Then, pour in the milk. Sprinkle in the garlic powder and nutmeg and continue whisking until it starts to thicken.
- Once thicken, lower the heat to low then add in the chicken. Allow the chicken to cook in the sauce while it simmers. This should take 10 minutes more or less. Once the chicken is done, remove the chicken once again.
- Add in the heavy cream and spinach. Now, continue to stir as it thickens and spinach withers down. You may need to add the spinach in batches, it'll all fit once withered.
- Lastly, season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the chicken and spinach together with the sauce. Garnish with a helping of parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 887mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2389IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 1mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
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