Easy healthy chicken Florentine with brown rice is a light and flavorful one-pot recipe ready in 30 minutes - perfect for a busy weeknight dinner! (And no heavy cream needed!)
Today, I’ve got a great, easy chicken Florentine recipe for you.
It's a one-pot dinner with tender, seared chicken breasts, wilted spinach and a simple but scrumptious sauce, all mixed with steamed rice and plenty of Parmesan cheese.
Plus, it's lightened up. This dish often includes a white wine or heavy cream sauce. Instead, we are using chicken broth and Parmesan cheese that help everything get wonderfully creamy while still being really light and easy.
It's also a gluten-free meal.
And it has a somewhat new-to-me shortcut.
Just last year I discovered the Minute version of brown rice. I was amazed to find it's just 1 ingredient: precooked parboiled whole grain brown rice.
Oh the world of possibilities that opened up to me! However, I will note: the texture is different.
The quick-cooking brown rice is smaller and almost a bit chewier than the fluffy brown rice I’m used to. It’s good, and we all like it, but worth noting. (I've got substitutions in the recipe card below if you want to make your rice separately or serve this with pasta.)
You might also want to check out this quick chicken cacciatore for another healthy family dinner that's ready in about 30 minutes. It's great served over rice or spaghetti.
OK, let's get cooking.
Recipe Notes:
Oil + butter: I like using the combination of oil and butter for flavor and to be able to cook this over higher heat. You can use all oil if you prefer.
Spinach: I like A LOT of spinach in my dinner and sometimes use even more than what’s listed below in the recipe card. It takes some extra work to get it all in the pan and wilted, but I am always in for more veggies.
Chicken: I prefer to cut my chicken into long strips for this recipe. It cooks more quickly and evenly than leaving the breasts whole. If you'd rather not do that, just make sure you pound out your chicken breasts to an even thickness.
Onions: Are you "meh" on onions? You could substitute 2 chopped shallots for the onion in this recipe for a milder flavor. Or you could leave them out, I suppose, but they really add great flavor to this dish.
Here’s to healthy, quick + easy dinners - my favorite type.
Sign up for my free weekly e-newsletter if you want more recipes like this! I'll even send you my FREE e-cookbook, Healthy Weeknight Dinners, as a thank you!
Happy cooking!
XO,
Kathryn
Easy Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch thick strips
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, or sub more olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups Minute brown rice, see notes
- 2 5 oz. packages fresh spinach leaves or baby spinach
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and onion and sauté for 7-8 minutes, turning chicken pieces once.
- Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Add broth and bring to a boil. (I turn the heat up to high to help it go faster.) Stir in rice, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid, stir in the spinach in batches, allowing it to wilt down slightly to make enough room to add it all. Then cover and remove the pan from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes or until liquid is mostly absorbed. If your liquid isn’t mostly absorbed after the pan has sat for 5 minutes, just return the pan to the burner and cook over medium-low, covered, for an additional 2-3 minutes. If the liquid is absorbed but the rice isn’t fully cooked, add another splash or two of chicken broth or water, return the pan to medium-low and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until rice is tender.
- Stir well to ensure all of the spinach is wilted. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
I actually use to use that minute rice to feed my dog! lol. It was when she was old and not eating, the vet recommended chicken and rice, and I didn't want to take so much time to make rice for her, so I used that rice. I guess I need to try making it for myself, huh?! This Easy Chicken Florentine looks absolutely delicious, girlfriend!!! I love how easy it is, yet loaded with flavor! Weeknight winning for sure!! Pinned! Cheers, Kathryn!
P.S. I hope you and the hubby have a wonderful time at the Charlotte Symphony!!
Kathryn
Aww, I remember when my parents' dog had to be on a chicken + rice diet. I love this as an easy way to make casseroles and one-pot dishes with brown rice. And the Symphony was awesome! Darth Vader made an on-stage appearance 😉
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Yay for datenight! Hope you guys had a lovely time! And yay for your Minute Rice discovery....I'm all about healthy, easy, quick weeknight meals and this sounds perfect. I'm with you....extra spinach. I mean, it does wilt down to so little so extra definitely won't hurt. Plus, extra nutrition, right? Pinning! Hope you have a fabulous weekend,! xo
Kathryn
We had a fabulous time! The music was fabulous and the new assistant conductor was really good - you could tell he knew the movies and loved the music behind them. And woo hoo for extra spinach - I knew you'd be with me on that 😉 Have a wonderful weekend! XO
Jenny Rice
Just what I need to inspire me on a Friday night. Thanks! One question- is that 25 oz of spinach?? Or 2.5, missing the decimal point? I did not put in 25 oz 🙂 I would be impressed if you can get 25 oz (or more!) of spinach into your family! I put spinach in everything, but lately my 6 year old is pushing back on it. I put in 2-3 oz and also a zucchini (not traditional, but a veggie every one will eat)!
Kathryn
Haha, not 25 ounces! It's 2 bags of 5 ounces of spinach (so 10 oz. total). And I love the zucchini addition Jenny - I'll have to do that next time! I also add spinach to fruit mixes for yogurt (https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/fruit-mixes-for-yogurt/) and to smoothies to get my kids to eat more of it - blends up easily and doesn't change the taste at all 😊
Jenny Rice
Oooooh! That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying. The zucchini was really good in there. In fact, this dinner was a hands down success with all 3 kids (rarely ever happens). Thanks again!!
Kathryn
Woo hoo! I'm so happy to hear that Jenny! Have a great week 😊
Carmen
I just tried this recipe and my family and I loved every bit of it!!!! I adore the nutty flavor and texture of the brown rice, and how perfectly it combined with the chicken, the freshness from the spinach and the creaminess from tons of parmesan cheese! Thanks for inspiring my menu, I was in desperate need of new ideas!!!!
Kathryn
Oh yay! I'm so happy to hear that Carmen - thanks so much for taking the time to comment! 😊