This easy one pan chicken recipe has a creamy spinach artichoke sauce! With cream cheese, chicken stock, and chicken breast cutlets.
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One pan chicken recipes + busy weeknights = a match made in heaven.
This easy artichoke chicken is ready in less than an hour with a few fridge and pantry staples! Serve it with rice, veggies, or pasta for a quick and cozy dinner.
Our basic order of operations
This spinach and artichoke chicken recipe comes together quickly! Here’s a quick rundown of how to make it:
- Sear the chicken cutlets. We use thin chicken breast cutlets here to help ensure quick, even cooking! Buy your chicken already cut or grab full chicken breasts and slice them yourself to form cutlets. Tip: For more dramatic browning, dredge the chicken cutlets in flour before searing.
- Sauté the onion and garlic. Move the chicken to a separate plate while you build the sauce. Start by sautéeing the aromatics!
- Add the artichoke hearts and chicken stock, then bring to a simmer. We use canned, drained artichoke hearts here to keep things easy.
- Add the cream cheese. Stir the sauce until the cream cheese is melted.
- Add the spinach. Stir it in and let it wilt slightly before you add the chicken.
- Return the chicken and finish cooking. Pop your chicken cutlets back into the sauce and simmer until they’re cooked through, then serve!
How to serve this artichoke spinach chicken
This recipe is especially versatile – pair it with a favorite side dish or use it as the base for a more involved recipe!
Add a few side dishes
- Rice, quinoa, farro, or pasta
- Roasted veggies
- Quick green salad
- Mashed potatoes
Turn it into a creamy pasta.
Cook and drain your favorite pasta, then toss it with this spinach artichoke sauce and top with the chicken! We love using penne, rigatoni, or fettuccine here. Add a few handfuls of shredded parmesan or cheddar to build this into a tasty cheese sauce!
Layer it into lasagna
This spinach chicken makes an excellent lasagna base! Dice the chicken cutlets and layer the sauce into a lasagna with plenty of cheese. (Just swap this chicken and sauce for the sauce in our Mushroom Spinach Lasagna recipe!)
Riffs & Substitutions
- Swap frozen spinach for the fresh spinach if you need to. We recommend letting a cup or so of frozen spinach defrost a little, then giving it a rough chop before adding to the sauce. You can also use kale in place of spinach if you like.
- Can I freeze this recipe? This spinach artichoke chicken freezes okay, but we definitely prefer it fresh. If you’re sensitive to taste and texture, you might notice the chicken gets slightly rubbery and the artichokes will be a bit softer after freezing for a long period of time. If you do freeze it, we recommend reheating in the oven or on the stovetop.
- Add your favorite veggies. To make this sauce a little heartier, add sliced mushrooms just after you start sautéing the onion and garlic. Stir in broccoli or cauliflower florets with the spinach for some extra veggies.
- Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of chicken breast cutlets if you like. You can use whole chicken breasts, but you’ll need to extend the cook time significantly to make sure they’re cooked through.
- For a richer sauce, substitute heavy cream or half and half for up to half of the chicken stock. You can also stir in extra cheese (cream cheese, shredded parmesan, sharp white cheddar, or goat cheese are all good) for a thicker, cheesier sauce. This sauce is also great with a few dollops of our Magic Cauliflower Cream Sauce!
- Make it in the crockpot or slow cooker. Sauté the garlic and onion as directed (it helps with the final texture!) then transfer to the slow cooker and add artichokes, stock, cream cheese, and chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked through, then stir in the spinach. The sauce might be a little runnier with this method – reduce the chicken stock by 1/3 cup or thicken it in a saucepan on the stovetop with a cornstarch slurry! Note: We haven’t tested this recipe in the Instant Pot. If you’re looking for an IP chicken recipe, try our lemon garlic Instant Pot chicken!
One Pot Spinach Artichoke Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
An easy one pan chicken dinner with a creamy spinach artichoke sauce!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets (about 5–6 cutlets)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 ounces canned artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 heaping cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
- Generously season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt.
- Place chicken cutlets in the hot oil and sear 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside. Tip: Depending on the size of your cutlets, you may want to sear in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Reduce heat to medium, then add onion and garlic. Sauté 3-4 minutes until onion is translucent and has just started to brown. Tip: If the pan looks too dry, add another drizzle of oil to help the onions cook.
- Add chopped artichoke hearts to pan and stir to combine. Cook 1-2 minutes until artichokes are heated through.
- Add chicken stock and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
- Cut cream cheese into 1-inch pieces, then add to sauce and stir until the cream cheese has melted.
- Add spinach and stir to combine, then return seared chicken to the pan and nestle the cutlets into the sauce. Spoon a bit of sauce over the top of each cutlet, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Additions and Substitutions. Use 1 heaping cup chopped frozen spinach in place of fresh. You can also swap fresh kale for the spinach here. Add sliced mushrooms just after you sauté the onion. Add broccoli or cauliflower florets with the spinach. Swap 1/2 cup of chicken stock for white wine for extra flavor. Use frozen artichoke hearts in place of canned if you like – thaw them first to avoid adding extra cook time.
For a richer, thicker sauce, swap heavy cream or half and half for up to 1/2 cup of chicken stock. You can also stir in extra cream cheese or shredded parmesan if you like. This sauce is also delicious with a bit of our Magic Cauliflower Cream sauce!
What cuts of chicken can I use? Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of breast cutlets if you prefer. We like using chicken cutlets to ensure quick, even cooking – buy pre-cut cutlets at the store or buy full chicken breasts and slice them into cutlets yourself. You can use full chicken breasts if you like, but you’ll need to significantly extend the cooking time to ensure they’re cooked through.
How to serve this chicken. Serve over pasta, rice, quinoa, or alongside roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, or a quick salad. Don’t forget plenty of fresh bread to sop up the sauce! This chicken is also delicious layered into a cozy lasagna.
For more dramatic browning, dredge the chicken cutlets in a bit of flour before searing.
To make in the slow cooker, sauté the onion and garlic as directed (it helps with the texture of the final dish!) then transfer to a crockpot with the artichoke hearts, stock, cream cheese, and chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked through, then stir in the spinach. The sauce will be on the thin side with the slow cooker method – you may want to reduce it in a pan on the stove and/or thicken it with a cornstarch slurry.
We haven’t tested this recipe in an Instant Pot. If you’d like an IP chicken recipe, try our easy lemon garlic IP chicken with kale!
Keywords: one pan, weeknight, cream sauce
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