This creamy spinach hen has completely pan-seared hen breasts smothered with a splendidly wealthy home made creamed spinach sauce. It’s the proper simple hen recipe for weeknights. It comes collectively tremendous quick!
Is there something higher than a creamy hen recipe? I additionally love this creamy hen and cauliflower and creamy Tuscan hen.
This creamy hen with spinach is a flavor-packed skillet recipe, cooked in about half-hour. It’s my definition of the proper weeknight consolation meals! The entire scrumptious flavors of parmesan cheese, savory spinach, garlic, and juicy hen come collectively in a wealthy, creamy dish that’s nice by itself, and even higher with a aspect of veggies. Dry, flavorless hen? We don’t know her!
Causes to Love This Creamy Hen With Spinach
- One pan. I make the creamed spinach in the identical skillet I exploit to cook dinner the hen. Not solely does it pack the sauce stuffed with taste, however there’s one much less dish to scrub. Win-win.
- Versatile. Serve this hen as-is together with your favourite sides, or serve it with the sauce over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes. It’s a dinner made for weeknights within the wintertime!
- One of the best spinach sauce. We’ve been recognized to eat my creamed spinach recipe artichoke dip-style with a loaf of crusty bread. It’s THAT good.
Recipe Substances
This creamy spinach hen is an ode to my husband, who used to meal prep my creamed spinach and eat it with any protein you may consider all through the week. I embody notes on the creamed spinach components right here, together with what you’ll want for this hen recipe. Scroll right down to the printable recipe card for the total listing, quantities, and particulars.
- Hen Breasts – I exploit boneless, skinless hen breasts. You can even use bone-in hen or hen thighs, although each varieties take barely longer to cook dinner.
- Olive Oil – Select a good-quality oil for searing and for drizzling.
- Seasoning – I season the hen with paprika (candy or smoked), garlic powder, dried basil, and rosemary. Plus, salt and pepper to style.
- Onion – Any small, delicate onion and even shallot works effectively. Cube it up finely.
- Garlic – Freshly minced.
- Hen Broth – I favor low-sodium hen broth or inventory. Vegetable inventory is an efficient substitute.
- Heavy Cream – You can substitute half-and-half or cream cheese. I don’t suggest changing heavy cream with lower-fat alternate options like milk, as milk tends to separate at greater temperatures.
- Child Spinach – Contemporary or frozen. If you happen to’re utilizing frozen spinach, make sure you thaw it fully and drain/squeeze out the surplus moisture.
- Parmesan Cheese – Freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese has the very best taste. You can additionally use goat cheese or feta.
Brine the Hen First
In case you have quarter-hour to spare, brining hen makes the hen breasts extra-juicy, tender, and flavorful. Second, it brings the hen to room temperature in order that it cooks evenly. If you happen to don’t have the time, nevertheless, you’ll be able to skip this step and go straight to making ready the hen and sauce.
To brine the hen, combine ¼ cup of salt with 4 cups of lukewarm water in a bowl. Immerse the hen breasts into the brine, then cowl and let that soak for 20 minutes on the counter, or place it into the fridge for as much as 2 hours. I exploit this system in my oven-roasted hen breasts recipe and it hasn’t failed me but!
Make Creamy Spinach Hen
When you’re able to get cooking, comply with the steps beneath.
- Season the hen. Rub the hen breasts with olive oil and coat them with the seasonings.
- Cook dinner the hen. Subsequent, sear the hen in a scorching skillet with extra olive oil. Let it cook dinner for 8 minutes, flip, after which cowl the pan and cook dinner for one more 10 minutes over medium-low warmth. Afterward, set the hen apart whilst you make your sauce.
- Sauté. Subsequent, in the identical skillet you used to cook dinner the hen, sauté the diced onions and garlic.
- Deglaze the pan. Now, deglaze the pan with hen broth. Ensure to scrape all of the stuck-on bits from the underside of the pan. They’ve a great deal of taste!
- Make the sauce. Pour within the heavy cream and let that simmer. Lastly, wilt within the spinach and add the parmesan, stirring till that’s melted.
- Put all of it collectively. Nestle the cooked hen again into the skillet. Let every little thing simmer and warmth by means of for a couple of minutes, and serve!
Change Up the Sauce
Customise the creamy spinach sauce with add-ins like garlic, nutmeg, thyme, and even lemon zest. You can even use several types of cheese, like blue cheese, feta cheese, or cheddar. Be happy to make it your individual!
Suggestions and Variations
- Use hen breasts which might be related in dimension. Attempt to discover same-sized hen breasts in order that they cook dinner evenly within the skillet. You’ll be able to all the time pound hen breasts which might be too thick such as you would for hen picatta or hen paillard.
- Test that the hen is cooked. An instant-read thermometer is useful to examine that the hen is finished. The inner temperature ought to learn 165ºF on the thickest a part of the breast.
- Don’t overheat the cream sauce. Preserve the creamed spinach at a simmer and don’t let it boil, because the dairy can curdle and break up if it’s overheated.
- Simple add-ins. Add in further veggies like pink peppers, roasted mushrooms, chopped broccoli, or sun-dried tomatoes (such as you’ll discover in creamy Marry Me Hen).
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer any hen and spinach leftovers in hermetic containers. Correctly saved, cooked hen breasts will final for 3 to 4 days within the fridge.
- Reheat. I wish to heat this creamy spinach hen with the sauce in a skillet on the stovetop till it’s scorching all through.
Extra Hen Breast Recipes
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For the Hen Breasts
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Season the hen. Rub the hen breasts with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika garlic powder, basil, and rosemary.
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Sear the hen. Warmth 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet set over medium warmth. Place hen breasts within the skillet and cook dinner for 8 minutes, or till hen is simple to maneuver and edges are opaque.
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Cook dinner. Flip over; cowl the pan, and decrease warmth to medium-low. Proceed to cook dinner for 10 minutes. Take away hen from skillet, maintain coated, and put aside.
For the Creamed Spinach
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Sauté the onions and garlic. In the identical skillet, warmth 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add diced onions and cook dinner over medium warmth for 3 minutes, or till softened. Stir within the garlic and cook dinner for 30 seconds or till aromatic.
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Deglaze the pan. Add hen broth and scrape up the items caught on the backside of the pan. Stir within the heavy cream and let simmer for a few minutes.
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Add spinach and cheese. Add child spinach; cook dinner for a minute or till simply wilted. Soften within the parmesan cheese.
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Put all of it collectively. Return the hen breasts to the skillet to simmer with the sauce for about 3 to 4 minutes. Take away from warmth and serve.
- Hen: This recipe makes use of boneless skinless hen breasts; for those who determine to make use of hen thighs, keep in mind that thighs will want just a little longer to cook dinner by means of. You can even modify the components and seasonings to your style and add quite a lot of seasonings, equivalent to Italian seasoning, thyme, or oregano.
- If time permits, I counsel letting the hen sit in salted water (brine) for quarter-hour, simply as I’ve accomplished right here with my oven roasted hen breasts. The strategy ensures tender and juicy hen breasts.
- If you happen to determine to brine the hen breasts, watch out with how a lot salt you utilize when seasoning the hen.
- Spinach: I used child spinach to make the creamed spinach, however you may additionally use frozen however thawed and drained spinach.
Serving: 7ounces | Energy: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 33g | Fats: 36g | Saturated Fats: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 12g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 437mg | Potassium: 981mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7788IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could range in keeping with the components and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
