Chicken Florentine Pasta
This Chicken Florentine Pasta is a one-pan pasta recipe that’s gourmet and decadent for any night of the week. With a simple ingredient list, it’s a comforting meal that everyone will love.
If you’ve never had Chicken Florentine Pasta, you’re in for a treat. It’s inspired by one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Texas and we had to figure out how to make the recipe at home. The pasta is usually long noodles like fettuccine, coated in a creamy parmesan sauce, with chicken, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes.
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After making this a handful of times, it’s a recipe that my family has begun to request over and over. With just 7 ingredients, it has so much flavor and is quick enough for a weeknight meal or special enough for entertaining on the weekends. Serve with our Loaded House Salad or Glazed Brussels Sprouts for the ultimate dinner.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- One pan pasta recipe. We love a weeknight pasta to use just a single skillet and pot for easy cooking and cleanup after enjoying the meal.
- A comforting pasta everyone will love. This chicken Florentine pasta recipe is even something picky eaters will like thanks to it’s creamy and cheesy sauce.
- Restaurant-quality Italian right at home. Inspired by one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Texas, it’s so easy to make this gourmet dish any night of the week.
Laura Ashley’s Tip: Reserve pasta cooking water to make the best sauce. This is the key to making a good pasta recipe. The starch in the pasta cooking liquid helps to bind the sauce to make it rich and smooth.
Ingredients
Scroll Down for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Printable Recipe Card Below
- Spaghetti or fettuccini: The noodles for the recipe, we recommend using a long noodle that’s classic to this dish.
- Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs: You can use the cut of chicken you prefer for this pasta recipe or a mix of the two. Just make sure it’s boneless and skinless.
- Marinated sun-dried tomatoes: Adds rich tomato flavor.
- Garlic cloves: Infuses every bite with garlicky flavor.
- Heavy cream: Adds richness and a nice creamy texture.
- Fresh spinach: Gives the dish bright vegetable flavor.
- Grated parmesan cheese: Adds cheesy and salty flavor in every bite.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: These are optional, but add a kick of spice if desired.
- Optional Garnishes: Additional parmesan cheese and/or fresh basil for a nice finish at the end.
Tools You’ll Need
How to Make Chicken Florentine Pasta
- Cook the pasta according to package directions in salted water until al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- In a bowl, drain and reserve the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes in small pieces.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper or seasoning salt on both sides. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining reserved oil, the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Pour in heavy cream, spinach, parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Slice the chicken into strips. Add the cooked pasta and chicken to the sauce. Toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to reach your desired consistency.
- Serve immediately. If desired, garnish with fresh basil and additional Parmesan cheese.
Expert Tips
- Look for pieces of chicken that are similar in size. This helps them to cook evenly in the skillet and at the same rate so that your chicken is moist and not dry. You can cut the chicken breast in half to be thinner that way they cook faster.
- Be sure to cook everything in the same skillet for lots of flavor. This makes meal preparation easy, but also the browned bits from cooking the chicken first add that rich restaurant-quality flavor in every bite.
- Add the parmesan cheese when the heat is lowered. If you add it while the pasta is still too hot, then it will become clumpy and not melt into the sauce nicely.
- If you want to make a lighter sauce, you can swap the heavy cream for half and half.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop with a splash of cream or water to refresh the sauce to the correct consistency.
We don’t recommend freezing this pasta as it will change the texture of the noodles once they are thawed.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using long noodles like spaghetti or fettuccine for this chicken Florentine pasta recipe since they coat in the sauce nicely.
We use fresh spinach but you could also use another green like dinosaur kale or even chopped broccoli.
You might have heated it too much and the cream broke. Heat it over low heat and add a splash of pasta water or more cream and gently mix to recombine.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Chicken Florentine Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti or fettuccini
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
- salt and black pepper or seasoning salt amount as desired
- 6.7 ounce jar marinated sun-dried tomatoes
- 3-4 minced garlic cloves
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- Optional Garnishes: additional parmesan cheese and/or fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions in salted water until al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- In a bowl, drain and reserve the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes in small pieces.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper or seasoning salt on both sides. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining reserved oil, the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Pour in heavy cream, spinach, parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Slice the chicken into strips. Add the cooked pasta and chicken to the sauce. Toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to reach your desired consistency.
- Serve immediately. If desired, garnish with fresh basil and additional Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- Look for pieces of chicken that are similar in size. This helps them to cook evenly in the skillet and at the same rate so that your chicken is moist and not dry. You can cut the chicken breast in half to be thinner that way they cook faster.
- Be sure to cook everything in the same skillet for lots of flavor. This makes meal preparation easy, but also the browned bits from cooking the chicken first add that rich restaurant-quality flavor in every bite.
- Add the parmesan cheese when the heat has been lowered. If you add it while the pasta too hot, then it will become clumpy and not melt into the sauce nicely.
- If you want to make a lighter sauce, you can swap the heavy cream for half and half.
Nutrition
About Laura
Taught by some of the best, cooking and entertaining has always been my favorite hobby. Food is my love language! The conception of Dinner in 321 came from my family talks that sharing our dinners would help others learn new skills, tasty recipes, and make cooking fun! Read more…
It was delicious and easy. Wh
It was quick to prepare and delicious
Awwww!! That makes my heart so happy to hear!! Thank you SO much!!!🥰