Creamy Chicken Spinach Skillet (Healthy)

This one-pot healthy creamy chicken spinach is a quick and delicious meal idea the whole family will enjoy!  It is made without any cream (not even the ‘skinny’ kind) and comes together in under 15 minutes.

This vibrant creamy chicken spinach recipe is surprisingly quick and easy to make.  With only a handful of ingredients this skillet dinner takes minutes to prepare.

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, butter or eggs to it?

One hundred percent yes!

Low fat creamy chicken spinach

All you have to do is swap the heavy cream for some naturally low fat and super delicious fromage frais (also known as fromage blanc cheese).  This ingredient tastes similar to sour cream and creme fraiche but contains less fat.  It’s the perfect sauce ingredient as it doesn’t curdle!  Both chicken and spinach are quite bland ingredients so a little bit of tangy flavour really lifts this dish.

I’ve used fromage frais in several other low fat recipes, including healthy meatballs in mushroom sauce, healthy mushroom pasta and potato asparagus casserole.

Equipment you’ll need

• Kitchen scales
• Cutting board and knife
• 1 large skillet,1 small frying pan and spatula
• Blender and spoon
• Medium bowl

How to make creamy spinach chicken: step-by-step

This is a one-pot dish that cooks incredibly quickly using only a handful of ingredients.  Everything is done in a skillet.

1.Start by frying the chicken for about 4 minutes.

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2. Transfer the chicken into a bowl (leaving the juices in the pan) and fry half of the garlic and spinach in the same skillet until the spinach reduces in volume and releases water. Combine the spinach mixture with the fromage frais.

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3. Place the mixture in a blender and puree.

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4. Put the spinach sauce back in the skillet, heat up again and stir in the parmesan.

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5. Add the chicken pieces (along with the juices) and warm through.

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6. In a small pan heat up 1 tablespoon of oil and briefly fry the remaining garlic slices until golden. Scatter over the chicken and serve.

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Top tips for making creamy chicken and spinach

• Remember that chicken cooks very quickly so 4 minutes should be enough.  You can always cook it a little longer once you’ve added it into the sauce (if your chicken pieces are quite large).
• Reserve the juices from cooking the chicken and add into the sauce.
• As the sauce contains some parmesan cheese, which is quite salty, I recommend adding the seasoning (if any) after you’ve added the parmesan.  You may only want to add pepper.
• Best served immediately. Enjoy with pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or quinoa.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

More spinach chicken recipes

If you like this easy spinach chicken recipe you might also like this spinach stuffed chicken breast with almond and quinoa.  Check out also chicken mulligatawny soup with sweet potato and spinach.

See also my collection of 13 healthy easy one pot chicken recipes!

KEEP IN TOUCH!

Have you made this quick creamy spinach chicken? I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Creamy Chicken Spinach Skillet (Healthy)

This healthy creamy chicken spinach recipe is a quick and delicious meal idea the whole family will enjoy - it is made without any cream (not even the 'skinny' kind) and comes together in under 15 minutes.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: International

Keyword: chicken, spinach

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken breast skinless, cut into small chunks
• 200 g fresh spinach
• 140 g fromage frais
• 4 garlic cloves sliced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 20 g parmesan or similar, finely grated
• Fine sea salt and pepper to taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Heat up 3 tablespoons of the oil in the skillet, add the chicken and fry over a high heat for about 4 minutes, turning over once or twice. Using a slotted spoon lift the chicken out and place in a bowl (do not switch the heat off or remove the juices from the pan).
• Fry half the garlic in the same skillet (no need to add oil as there'll be plenty of juices leftover from frying the meat) for about a minute, stirring often, then add the spinach and continue cooking stirring all the time until the spinach wilts. Add the fromage frais, stir and transfer the mixture into a blender.
• Puree the spinach sauce, pour back into the skillet, add the parmesan and heat up again stirring until the cheese has melted. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
• Add in the chicken pieces and heat up to warm through.
• In another small pan heat up the remaining oil and fry the remaining garlic stirring all the time until lightly browned (take care not to burn it). Drizzle over the chicken and serve with pasta or quinoa.

Notes

• Remember that chicken cooks very quickly so 4 minutes should be enough.  You can always cook it a little longer once you've added it into the sauce (if your chicken pieces are quite large).
• Reserve the juices from cooking the chicken and add into the sauce.
• As the sauce contains some parmesan cheese, which is quite salty, I recommend adding the seasoning (if any) after you've added the parmesan.  You may only want to add pepper.
• Best served immediately. Enjoy with pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or quinoa.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 290mg | Potassium: 835mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4783IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 2mg

RECIPE LINK PARTIES

I am bringing this healthy spinach and chicken recipe to Fiesta Friday, co-hosted by Ginger @ Ginger & Bread and Julianna @ Foodie on Board.