Healthy Creamy Spinach Chicken

This creamy spinach chicken is a quick, healthy and delicious meal idea the whole family will enjoy. It is made without any cream (not even the 'skinny' kind) and comes together in just over 20 minutes!

This one-pot creamy spinach chicken is surprisingly quick and easy to make.  Using only a handful of ingredients it takes minutes to cook.

Most of us love creamy sauces but not necessarily the calories they usually contain.  So is it possible to make a rich and deliciously creamy sauce without adding any cream, eggs or a huge amount of cheese to it?

Absolutely!

Creamy spinach chicken ingredients

This creamy chicken and spinach recipe is made using skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  The base for the sauce is a combination of milk and vegetable stock, a little butter and flour.  I also used naturally low in fat fromage frais (fromage blanc) for a bit of tang (and to keep the spinach looking bright green), onion granules and a small amount of parmesan cheese for more flavour. I added finely chopped fresh spinach into the sauce towards the end of cooking.

For an extra garlicky finish briefly fry 3 sliced garlic cloves and scatter over the finished dish.

How to prepare the spinach

I recommend chopping the spinach very finely so it's distributed evenly in the sauce without looking wilted.  The quickest way of preparing the spinach is by whizzing it briefly in the food processor (though be careful not to puree it completely).  You can chop it by hand if you prefer but it will take longer to do.

How to prepare the chicken

You can cut the chicken into strips, as I have done, but you can also dice it, cut in half (lengthways) or cook the chicken breasts whole. Cooking times will vary according to how large your chicken pieces are.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Start by preparing the spinach.  Chop it roughly, place in a food processor and pulse a few times until finely chopped (but not pureed completely). Set aside while you prepare the chicken and make the sauce.

2. Fry the chicken in 1.5 tablespoons of oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side (it should not be fully cooked at this point). Transfer the chicken into a bowl (leaving the juices in the pan).

3. Using the same pan melt the butter then add the flour and whisk in until smooth.

4. Gradually whisk in the milk alternating with the stock and continue cooking until the mixture thickens and starts bubbling up.  Stir in the onion granules, spinach, fromage frais and pepper to taste.

5. Return the chicken (along with the juices) to the pan, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked (do not overcook it). Remove from the heat.

6. In a small pan heat up 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the garlic over a low heat until golden stirring all the time (take care not to brown it too much).

Scatter over the dish and serve.

Serving suggestions

This healthy spinach chicken is delicious over mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga/swede, pasta (fusilli or penne work well), crusty bread, sun dried tomato soda bread or even rice.  Serve with cooked carrots, green beans or broccoli.

Substitutions

• Use either vegetable or chicken stock.
• Fromage frais: substitute quark or Skyr (both low in fat) or creme fraiche (high in fat).
• Use either parmesan or another strong cheese, such as grana padano, pecorino etc.

Top tips 

• Remember that chicken cooks very quickly so try not to overcook it.  
• Use a whisk (not a fork or spoon) to make the sauce.
• Add the chicken along with any juices into the sauce.
• As the sauce contains stock as well as parmesan cheese I recommend adding the salt (if at all) after you've added the parmesan.  You may only want to add pepper.
• It is important to fry the garlic over a low heat stirring all the time to prevent it browning too much (or it will taste bitter). 
• Best served immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.

Can I use chicken thighs

I d not recommend making this swap.  This chicken spinach recipe comes together very quickly which makes it ideal for using white meat.  Dark meat (chicken thighs) works better in recipes that require longer cooking times.

Related recipes

• Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Stuffed Chicken
• Chicken Breast in White Sauce (Low Fat)
• Chicken Tomato Pasta Bake
• Sausage and Bean Casserole with Spinach

See also my collection of healthy easy chicken recipes!

Keep in touch!

If you make this creamy chicken and spinach recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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