Creamy Lemon Chicken with Spinach is a flavorful and rustic skillet main dish. Chicken breasts are seasoned with lemon pepper and paprika, seared until golden and nestled in a creamy garlicky, lemon and thyme sauce with spinach. This recipe is great with pasta or rice and with a roasted or grilled veggie on the side. Serves 4 in about 40 minutes.
Today I woke up and there was snow on the ground. I kid you not. It’s a week into April and it still feels like winter. I’m 100%, sick and tired of cold weather. It feels as if winter has lasted an entire year. I just want to open my windows, plant my herbs and NOT wear boots! I’m craving grilled salmon and orzo salad but the weather is forcing me to make comfort foods still. Until I decided to bring a little spring indoors.
I frist started by making this creamy lemon chicken recipe. I served it over angel hair pasta with asparagus and a glass of wine on the side. It was just what I needed to lift my melancholy mood.
With ingredients like shallots and garlic, lemon, wine and spinach. It’s a skillet dinner that tastes like a million bucks.
To Make this Cream Lemon Chicken You Will Need:
- butter
- oil
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- lemon pepper
- paprika
- shallots
- garlic
- fresh thyme
- lemon juice
- wine
- heavy cream
- broth (optional)
- baby spinach
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper.
First, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of light olive oil on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken with lemon pepper and paprika.
Next, sear the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on both sides before transferring it to a clean platter, then tent with foil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low before adding the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Next add in the 1/3 cup of diced shallot, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and 3/4 teaspoon of minced fresh thyme leaves.
Sauté until tender and golden brown.
Now increase the heat to medium-high and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon.
Then add a few splashes of dry white wine. Next simmer until reduced, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Those brown bits on the bottom of the pan are money and the flavor base of this sauce!
Now I personally added 1/4 cup of low-sodium chicken broth to lighten up our sauce, but this is optional.
Just know that the sauce might not be as thick if you add the broth. Then pour in 3/4 cup of heavy cream and simmer until the sauce has started to thicken.
Next add in 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Then 2 handfuls of baby spinach. Still continuously until the spinach has wilted.
Lastly, return the chicken to the pan, cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Finally taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper to your preference.
Spoon the lusciously, creamy and lemony parmesan cheese sauce over top of the chicken right before serving.
Stunning!
You of course can plate it as is or over pasta with spoonfuls of the sauce and a sprinkle of fresh minced parsley over top.
Enjoy! And if you give this Creamy Lemon Chicken recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Creamy Lemon Chicken with Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, (about 1-1/2 to 2 pounds total)
- 4 shakes lemon pepper
- 2 shakes paprika
- 1 medium shallot, finely diced
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, minced
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine, like sauvignon blanc
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth**, optional (see notes)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- parsley, minced, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of light olive in a deep-sided 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken with lemon pepper and paprika.
- Once the pan is hot, sear the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on both sides or until the chicken releases easily from the pan. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate and tent with foil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add in the shallot, garlic and thyme. Stir and cook until tender and golden, about 4 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add in the lemon juice and wine. Stir, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce the heat back to medium-low, add in the heavy cream (and broth if using) and simmer until it starts to thicken. Then add in the parmesan and spinach and stir until the spinach has wilted. Return the chicken to the pan, cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Taste and season the sauce if needed and spoon it over the chicken, garnishing with a sprinkle of minced fresh parsley.
Notes
**Add broth for a lighter, thinner sauce. Just know that the sauce might not be as thick if you add the broth.
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Hi,
Can this dish be made the day before and slowly reheated? Should the spinach be added during the reheat? Please advise.
Thank You!
Theresa C
Hi Theresa! I don’t see why not. And adding in the spinach when you’re reheating is a great idea. Enjoy!
Made and enjoyed this for dinner tonight! Thanks!
Next time I would increase the quantities a bit to have more sauce for the egg noodles I served it with. Everyone enjoyed it!
Thats great, Susan! I’m glad everyone enjoyed it!
This is awesome. I doubled the sauce and served it over risoni (you might call that orzo?) and there was absolutely nothing left. The sauce coated the risoni ‘grains’ and became the pasta sauce and the chicken was very tender. I thought for a while that I’d used too much lemon juice (1 large lemon for double recipe) but it cooked down quite nicely. A good dash of cracked pepper on serving was a finishing touch. Putting this recipe in the ‘tried, true, easy and fabulous’ folder. Thanks so much!
Oh Susan, I’m SO glad!! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe!
Made this and it was AMAZING!!
thanks for the recipe!!
I’m so glad, M!
Hi Laurie
I really like your recipes and wondered if you would give me permission to reproduce your chicken recipes in my upcoming cookbook (1st book) of 70 recipes in French and English? Of course, I would give you full credit!
Many thanks
Anne V
Hi Anne! Please email me through my “contact” form at the top of my blog so we can discuss this further. 🙂
Hello,
Is there any nutritional information for this recipe? 🙂
Hi Becca, YES! Just updated. 🙂
Made this dish for tonight’s dinner and turned out so amazing. We devoured it in few mins
My husband just loved the sauce! Thanks for sharing the recipe, we are absolutely delighted to have found this!
I’m so glad, Shaks! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe and leave such a great review!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I made it tonight and it was a huge hit! Directions were clear and easy to follow.
Amazing! I made this recipe at the last minute so had to substitute curry for the paprika and plain pepper for the lemon pepper. I also only had dried herbs. I added extra lemon to make up for it! Plus his practice went late yet I was able to hold the recipe at the point just before the parm cheese and spinach go in. Absolutely delicious and my teenage son gobbled it up and asked where I got it. haha!
When did you sneak in the lemon slices?
A thorough dismissal to all things, good and fine and fine, but a shame that you added the lemon juice, it’s a great idea, but you all you do is toughin the chicken. This was hard and chewy, I made chicken Marcella in a very similar manner, and is very tender, but you add lemon juice and it ruins it
Be extremely careful as cream will curdle with the lemon juice and heat. I tried twice.
and have cooked for many years. I would not recommend this recipe esp for guests.