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 crusty bread to sop up the sauce! This chicken is also delicious layered into mushroom spinach 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 Instant Pot chicken with kale!
