It’s no secret that I love spinach artichoke dip and I’m always looking for ways to make it into a legit dinner, instead of just an appetizer that I accidentally over-indulged in. For this Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken I’ve combined a rich and garlicky cream sauce with fresh spinach and chopped artichoke hearts, then spooned it over the skillet seared chicken breasts. It’s quick, easy, and totally impressive enough for date night. So grab a chilled bottle of white wine, take out a few slices of Freezer Garlic Bread, and let’s get this dinner started.
Want more ways to eat your Spinach Artichoke Dip for dinner? Check out my Spinach Artichoke Pasta, Spinach Artichoke Pizza, and Spinach Artichoke “Grilled Cheese”.
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Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
Yes, absolutely. To use frozen spinach in place of the fresh spinach, just thaw the spinach and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Add it to the sauce at the same point in the recipe as the fresh spinach is added in the directions.
How to Serve Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken
This recipe includes quite a bit of luscious creamy sauce, so you’ll probably want to serve this over either pasta, rice, or with some crusty bread to wipe up all that sauce. If you’re trying to keep things low carb, you can serve this chicken over a steamed vegetable, like asparagus or broccoli, which would also be awesome with the creamy sauce.
Does This Recipe Reheat Well?
Speaking from experience (I had leftovers for lunch today), yes, yes it does reheat very well! I think this one could successfully be meal prepped. And while I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, I don’t expect that it would hold up. Creamy sauces often don’t stand up to freezing and thawing.
Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1.25 lb. total) ($6.29*)
- 1 pinch salt & pepper ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($0.60)
- 1 12oz. jar quartered artichoke hearts in water ($2.79)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.22)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($0.40)
- 1/4 cup milk ($0.08)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan ($0.44)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Place the chicken on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of plastic to prevent splatter. Use a mallet or rolling pin to gently pound the chicken out to an even thickness (about 3/4-inch thick). Slice each chicken breast in half to create two pieces each. Or, use thin sliced chicken breast filets. Season the breasts with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through (5-7 minutes each side).
- While the chicken is cooking, roughly chop the spinach into smaller pieces. Drain the artichoke hearts and roughly chop them as well. Mince the garlic.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a clean plate and cover to keep warm. Add the butter and minced garlic to the skillet and continue to sauté over medium for one minute or just until the garlic begins to soften.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cut the cream cheese into chunks and add it to the skillet along with the sour cream. Whisk the ingredients together and continue to cook over medium, whisking continuously, until the cream cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the milk and stir until smooth again.
- Add the Parmesan, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some freshly ground pepper to the skillet. Continue to heat and whisk for a couple minutes more. Finally, stir the spinach into the sauce, a handful or two at a time, until wilted (this should only take about a minute), then stir in the artichoke hearts.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the creamy spinach artichoke sauce over top. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Rolling Pin
- Garlic Press
- Liquid Measuring Cup
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Spinach Artichoke Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Place two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1.25 pounds total) on a cutting board and cover with plastic to prevent splatter. Pound out the chicken to an even thickness, about 3/4-inch thick, using a rolling pin or mallet. Then cut each breast in half to create two smaller pieces. Or, you can buy those chicken breast filets that are already cut into thin slices. Season the breasts with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet, then add the chicken breasts. Cook until the chicken is browned on each side and cooked through (5-7 minutes each side).
While the chicken is cooking, roughly chop about 4 oz. (half of an 8 oz. bag) of spinach. Drain a 12 oz. can of artichoke hearts, then roughly chop them as well. Mince four cloves of garlic. Set the spinach, artichoke hearts, and garlic aside.
Once the chicken has cooked, remove it to a clean plate and cover to keep it warm. Add 1 Tbsp butter and the minced garlic to the skillet. Sauté the garlic in the butter for about one minute.
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve all the delicious browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth, so I can mix up small amounts like 1/2 cup as needed, instead of opening an entire can or box.
Cut 4 oz. cream cheese into pieces, then add them to the skillet along with 1/2 cup sour cream. Whisk these ingredients together and continue to heat, while whisking, until the cream cheese has fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Add 1/4 cup milk and stir until smooth again.
Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some freshly ground pepper to the sauce. Continue to heat and whisk for 1-2 minutes more.
Stir the chopped spinach into the sauce, a handful or two at a time, until it is wilted. It should wilt almost immediately.
Then stir in the drained and chopped artichoke hearts.
Finally, return the cooked chicken to the skillet and spoon the creamy spinach artichoke sauce over top of each piece.
Serve while everything is still hot! 🤤
I served my Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken over some wide egg noodles with a big green salad on the side!
Long time reader, infrequent commenter. Oh my word, this was absolutely delicious. One of my new favorites from your site and that is really saying something. I cook a lot of your recipes. But man, this was out of this world.
Beth:
Made a slight variation of this for the third time{ I use a Trader Joes artichoke antipasto sauce], and we love it. Thank you for your excellent site Flavor.. Healthy ingredients….Quick and easy….& Economy…. Whats not to like? Keep up the great work. My only suggestion…gardening – I use your recipes with ingredients from the garden and it enhances the ease and economy of the whole effort.
Loved this! I bought a huge pack of bone in chicken thighs a few weeks ago to freeze so I used those instead of breasts and it came out well. I served it with roasted cauliflower and broccoli. I used low fat cream cheese and sour cream and it still came out absolutely amazing. Thanks for another great recipe!
My husband could not stop raving about this dish. I accidentally bought the artichokes in a glass jar with olives, carrots, etc. but used it anyway and it was great.
Similar taste to spinach and artichoke dip. Really good and easy recipe! I put it in corn tortillas…like having spinach and artichoke dip for dinner!
So affordable, so easy and so quick. Can’t wait to have this one again.
I prepped this the night before, without the chicken and without the milk. The next day, Easter, I cooked the chicken and then added some chicken broth to my pan to lift all the chicken flavor. Then I added back the sauce I’d made the night before. I served it over the chicken, asparagus and rice blend. Delicious!! Even the family member who avoids creamy sauces loaded his plate! I’ve marked this as a keeper. Thank you for an easy, memorable recipe!
This was simply amazing. Will do it again!
Wow! This recipe is delicious and great for low carb but can also be transformed into other things. I made the chicken and sauce exactly as directed and it was amazing! Everyone in the family loved it. Then I decided to throw some whole grain pasta and let it cook in the finished sauce. After that I cut up the already cooked chicken into bite size pieces and mixed it all together. It was just as delicious as the original version. Another amazing recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Wow. Another home run. Thanks, so much.
This was sooooo good. We added mushrooms when we added the garlic but other than than that made it to recipe and it was delicious. Thank you!
Thanks for such a great recipe, i really impressed by your yummy recipes. thanks again !
Made this tonight and got rave reviews from the family. This is a keeper!
Made this more keto by substituting cream for milk and serving over cauliflower rice – delicious!!!!
I forgot to add the well deserved 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for this recipe