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Chicken Florentine Pasta

Chicken Florentine Pasta is a truly tasty pasta dish is deliciously simple.  Bonus: it’s packed with nutrition. 

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta boasts players like chicken breast, garlic, spinach, and pesto.  It’s one of our favorites when we aren’t enjoying this other Italian favorite, my best chicken piccata recipe. We love making easy homemade pesto, which tastes fresh and super delish.  You’ll love making your own pesto, which also stores well in the fridge.  I haven’t tried store bought pesto, but it’ll probably work in a pinch.

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta 2

This Chicken Florentine pasta dish is light and perfect for keeping up all those healthy New Year resolutions.  What this dish isn’t light on is flavor.  It is absolutely savory and yummy.  My family loves this pasta, and my 3 year old actually chomps away happily at the spinach!  (Now, if I can get the older siblings to do the same.)

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta 3

Serve up this pasta with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc, and you’ve got a fabulous dinner!  Make it a delicious weeknight supper for the family or weekend dinner with guests.  Either way, this Chicken Florentine Pasta is phenomenal.  Enjoy!

Love pasta as much as we do? This sriracha chicken pasta really packs some flavor and a bit of heat!

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Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

Chicken Florentine Pasta

5 from 1 vote
Chicken Florentine Pasta is a truly tasty pasta dish is deliciously simple.  Bonus: it’s packed with nutrition. 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • 16 oz dried penne pasta
  • 4 chicken breast pieces, about 1 1/2 lbs total
  • kosher salt and table salt
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, chopped
  • ½ cup crisp white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
  • 9-10 oz bag of fresh baby spinach
  • ¼ cup cream
  • ½ cup prepared pesto
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Instructions

  • Boil a large pot of well-salted water.  Cook penne until al dente.  Drain (don’t rinse.)  Toss drained penne with some olive oil to prevent sticking.  Keep warm.
  • While pasta is preparing, make the chicken:  Put cling wrap over each piece of chicken on a cutting board.  Pound each piece evenly thin (about 1/4 inch thickness.)  Sprinkle each chicken piece lightly and evenly with kosher salt and pepper, on both sides.  Heat 2 TB of olive oil in a large skillet and brown two of the chicken breasts on both sides over medium high heat.  Cook just until chicken is cooked through; about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how cold and thick the chicken is.  Repeat with remaining pieces.  Slice chicken breasts into strips and set aside.
  • Put chopped onion and garlic into skillet with 2 TB oil.  Saute 2-3 minutes until fragrant.  Add the white wine and 1/2 tsp table salt.  Boil vigorously until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
  • Add fresh spinach and saute on medium-low, stirring often, just until spinach begins wilting.  Turn heat to low.  Add cooked chicken, cream, and pesto, stirring to combine and warm up, about 1 min.  Remove from heat.
  • In a large serving bowl or dish, combine cooked penne with the chicken/spinach mixture.  Season with more kosher salt and pepper to taste.  Mix in fresh parmesan, reserving some for garnish.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Wine Pairing Note:  This pasta dish is perfect with a crisp, light Sauvignon Blanc
Source:  Chew Out Loud, adapted from Simply Recipes

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 527mg | Potassium: 791mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3555IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 197mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian American
Method: Stovetop

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Recipe Rating




9 comments

    • Nancy Leitner

    I made this recipe for an “Italian Pasta Party’ It turned out wonderful, although I doubled the white wine, cream and pesto, it was just moist enough to make a wonderful casserole. Using fresh spinach as well as freshly grated good quality cheese, made this a delicious contribution to my recipe collection. I would make this recipe again and will be glad to share it with many of my friends.

      • chewoutloud

      Yay, Nancy! So glad you made this and enjoyed it! I agree, freshly grated high quality cheese is the BEST 🙂

    • Dinara Galiullina

    Thank you, surprised my husband with delicious smoky and creamy flavor. Enjoyed it with red and white wine!

      • chewoutloud

      I’m so happy to hear it,
      Dinara. Thank you for taking the time! 🙂

    • Sarah

    Made this for dinner tonight and it’s delicious! Just wanted to let you know that you left out when to add the pesto on the recipe (I assumed at the end and that’s what I did:) Thanks for the yummy recipe!

      • chewoutloud

      Awesome, Sarah! (thanks for letting me know about pesto; updated that in the recipe!) 🙂

    • epicureantease

    This looks FABULOUS! I love that it’s light! I’m not a big fan of heavy creamy sauces, so this is perfect! I can’t wait to try it. 🙂

    • Rachel Farndon

    Precisely what I wanted for dinner tonight! And now I have the recipe!

    • Liz

    your photos are lovely:-)

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