30 Min Recipes
Chicken Florentine Pasta – Weeknight comfort food!
This creamy chicken florentine pasta is what dream weeknight dinners are made of. It’s delicious, wholesome, ready in 30 minutes! Featuring tender pieces of chicken and shell pasta that scoops up that creamy sauce, this one’s total comfort
- Serves 4 portions
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
This chicken florentine pasta has to be one of my most favourite pasta dishes ever! I simply cannot get enough of how that creamy sauce pools into those pasta shells and coats them so that every time you scoop them up, you have chicken and spinach and lots of sauce with the pasta! Sounds delicious, right?!
I’m not making a bechamel sauce to create that creamy base. Many people try making a bechamel and feel like they can’t get a smooth consistency, so I’ve kept it really simple. That creamy cheese sauce base is made up of cream, cream cheese and mozzarella. Everything melts together to make a delicious creamy sauce that doesn’t become gluggy or has lumps, but is a smooth, cheesy base that’s perfectly marries the pasta, spinach and chicken.
Chicken Florentine Sauce
If you’ve never tried chicken florentine, the sauce of a chicken florentine, it is usually made with either flour and milk, or cream mixed with garlic, parmesan and Italian seasoning. The chicken is usually laid on a bed of spinach and this sauce, topped with mozzarella and baked.
I’m switching this up by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces, keeping the same sauce and tossing together the pasta, chicken and spinach in it.
Richa’s top tips to make the best chicken florentine pasta
- I recommend using baby spinach for this recipe as it’s less bitter.
- Avoid overcooking the pasta as that will majorly alter the texture of this dish and make it gluggy. Read the instructions on the packet of the pasta you’re using and cook it for a minute or two less than the time mentioned. This will make sure that your pasta is perfectly al dente.
- You can also add veggies to make this dish more wholesome. Some veggies that pair really well with dish are broccoli, bell peppers, corn, cherry tomatoes and mushroom.
- I have used homemade cream cheese for this recipe. I usually keep a jar of this in the fridge for such easy weeknight dinners.
FAQs
This bowl of creamy chicken florentine pasta just screams winter comfort food to me! I love curling up with a bowl of this pasta and catching up on a show after a busy day of work! Oh, and don’t forget to make extras as this pasta disappears really fast!
More Creamy Pastas:
The recipe
Creamy Chicken Florentine Pasta
This creamy chicken florentine pasta is ready in 30 minutes – tender pieces of chicken, shell pasta that really scoops up the sauce and garlicky spinach in a creamy sauce. It's everything that's comfort food for dinner on a weeknight!
- Serves 4 portions
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 250 grams Pasta (dried (shell shaped))
- 2 Chicken Breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 teaspoon Oregano (dried)
- 1 teaspoon Paprika Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic (minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 teaspoon Garlic (finely chopped)
- 3 cups Spinach or baby Spinach (roughly chopped)
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella (grated)
Method
- 1
Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions till al dente. Drain and set aside.
- 2
In a bowl, mix together chicken, oregano, paprika, garlic and salt. Set this aside for ten minutes.
- 3
Heat olive oil and butter in a pan and add chopped garlic. Saute the garlic for a minute till fragrant and add the chicken. Cook the chicken for four minutes, stirring once or twice. Add chopped spinach, mix and cover and cook on medium heat for two minutes till the spinach wilts.
- 4
Add cream and cream cheese, mix and simmer till the cheese melts. Toss the pasta in this sauce and add mozzarella. Mix the mozzarella till it melts. Taste for seasoning and serve the pasta immediately.
Nutrition
- Calories 726 kcal
- Carbohydrates 50 g
- Protein 40 g
- Fat 41 g
- Saturated Fat 20 g
- Cholesterol 228 mg
- Sodium 649 mg
- Potassium 791 mg
- Fiber 3 g
- Sugar 2 g
- Vitamin A 3560 IU
- Vitamin C 8 mg
- Calcium 190 mg
- Iron 3 mg
Common questions
1. How to store chicken florentine pasta?
Leftovers of this pasta can easily be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to eat it, simply reheat in a skillet for a few minutes. You can also add a little cream or chicken broth to make the adjust the texture and consistency of the pasta.
2. What can I serve this pasta with?
I usually serve this pasta with a side of garlic bread. But you can even serve with sauteed vegetables or a salad of your choice.
