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Home » Pasta Pizza & Noodles » Chicken Florentine Pasta – Classic Italian American Food

March 24, 2018 By Chef Mireille 29 Comments

Chicken Florentine Pasta – Classic Italian American Food

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Chicken Florentine Pasta - Classic Italian American FoodChicken Florentine Pasta – Classic Italian American food is a classic Italian dish that has long been one of my favorites, as a spinach lover. Like spinach and cream? You will love this pasta, easily made with leftover chicken.

Chicken Florentine Nostalgia

I modernized this dish with a quick and simple method, using leftover chicken. Leftover chicken breast or Rotisserie chicken from your favorite take out? This is a quick and delicious recipe you can utilize it with. You can even make it with canned chicken!

It’s funny how emotional food can be and how certain foods automatically make us recall specific memories. When I decided to do the theme this week of Italian sauces, this immediately went on my shortlist of ideas because it has long been one of my favorites and it’s a quick and easy recipe to make as many of you have kids at home this week or in the coming weeks for Spring Break or Passover holidays, depending where your kids go to school! Even if you are not Jewish as this recipe is NOT Kosher mixing dairy and meat, your kids may still be home.

As I was cooking the recipe, I started remembering how this was my go to dish when I used to frequent Pizzeria Uno. Pizzeria Uno is a NYC restaurant chain that serves Chicago style deep dish pizza and pasta dishes. When I was in college, we would often go there to celebrate post exams after we were finished and getting ready for our holidays! When I graduated college, it was still a fave with my friends and I. It was budget friendly as we were all in our first full time jobs and not making much $, so we could afford a pizza or pasta dish with a cocktail or a glass of wine without breaking our budget.

I started recalling friends who I no longer speak to for no reason other than the passage of time and as we take different paths in life, we often lose contact with old friends. College mates are often friends of convenience. You are in classes together, so after school you will go eat together or go to a movie together. However, the friendships don’t always go beyond that where once you are out of those surroundings, you no longer see those friends and the relationships get lost. Most of us only have a handful of true friends where regardless of circumstance or convenience, we check in with each other. During our lives, we will have many of these transient friendships of circumstance.

I read a quote once that I can’t recall exactly but something along the lines of some friends coming into our lives when we needed them and just as quietly disappearing when no longer needed and that God sends us these friends for a reason. It is not necessary to feel sad at the lost friendship, but instead we should just remember the time fondly.

Wow, this post got a lot more philosophical than I intended. But it just shows you what an important part food plays in all of our lives.

History

Although technically speaking this is a French dish, since it is named after an Italian city and most of us in America associate it with Italian cuisine, I am presenting it as part of my Italian theme.

Catherine de Medici of Florence married the French King Henry II in 1533. Spinach grew abundantly in her home city and it was her favorite vegetable. Legend has it that she insisted it be included in all of her meals. She traveled to France with an entourage of cooks and oodles of spinach. Now any dish created with spinach picks up the name a la Florentine, whether or not it actually comes from Florence.

Milk and dairy products are also used more abundantly in north Italian cuisines and so cream and spinach in the sauce becomes Florentine!

So do you like spinach as much as the famous queen? If so, try some of my other Spinach Dishes!

Spinach Recipes

  • Spinach Harissa Hummus
  • Rishta Palak – Kashmiri Lamb Meatballs in Spinach Sauce
  • Double Spinach Ravioli
  • Plantain Spinach Smoothie
  • Spinach Multi Grain Semolina Bread
  • Finnish Spinach Pancakes
  • Palak Mangodi – Spinach with Sun Dried Lentils
  • Apricot Spinach Salad

IN THE MAKING

Collage Template

You don’t have to use chicken. Once you have the creamy spinach sauce made, you can add anything you want to it!

This creamy pasta is so delicious and quick and easy to put together, especially if you already have leftover chicken about.

Chicken Florentine LR 2

The perfect one pot meal!

Chicken Florentine LR 1


Want to turn this into a #glutenfree meal – Simply replace with the many gluten free pasta options now available!

 

Chicken Florentine Pasta - Classic Italian American Food
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Chicken Florentine Pasta – Classic Italian American Food

This one pot meal is a great way to use up leftover chicken.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Chicken, Pasta, One Pot Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8
Calories: 703.21kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano
  • 2 cups spinach leaves
  • 1 ½ cups diced cooked chicken
  • 3 cups cooked pasta
  • crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
  • salt to taste
  • freshly chopped parsley garnish

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, cook butter and flour until the butter is melted and raw flour taste is cooked out. This is called a roux. Cook the roux until it is golden brown.
  • Add cream and milk. Simmer for 5 minutes, until thickened.
  • Add cheese and cook for 1 more minutes.
  • Turn off heat and add spinach leaves. They will wilt in a few minutes.
  • Add chicken, pasta and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine.
  • Taste and add salt, if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 703.21kcal | Carbohydrates: 21.93g | Protein: 14.94g | Fat: 62.67g | Saturated Fat: 38.59g | Sodium: 560.49mg | Fiber: 1.16g | Sugar: 4.32g

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Chicken Florentine Pasta

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29 Comments

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Comments

  1. Vaishali Sabnani says

    March 25, 2018 at 8:16 am

    The florentine dishes always taste good..I am sure adding chicken would be fantastic for the chicken lovers,

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 26, 2018 at 11:59 pm

      yep I love the spinach dishes a la Florentine also

      Reply
  2. Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says

    March 26, 2018 at 8:17 am

    Are you sure the quantity of butter is 2 cups??? That’s quite a lot, nonetheless the pasta with the the white sauce sounds too good to be missed… must try this for the girls next time I cook pasta, especially because it’s a nice way to sneak in the spinach too… hehe… totally agree on friendships, most of the time it is convenience… I am blessed with a handful of friends that have stuck to me despite the years…

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 26, 2018 at 8:22 am

      No definitely not 2 cups thanks. I’ve updated it

      Reply
  3. Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner says

    March 26, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    Chicken and Spinach.. My kinda pasta.. Lovely share

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 27, 2018 at 12:00 am

      thanks – yep makes the perfect one pot meal

      Reply
  4. Srivalli Jetti says

    March 27, 2018 at 8:58 am

    Such a fantastic dish Mir, and reading your thoughts on friends, yes I have lost touch with many of my college friends..guess I can only call my blog friends as friends now..:)

    Reply
  5. Renu Agrawal Dongre says

    March 27, 2018 at 9:03 am

    This is so tempting….White pasta sauce and greens always go well together.

    Reply
  6. manjulabharathkumar2016 says

    March 27, 2018 at 11:44 am

    wow the Florentine pasta looks perfect.. The spinach added makes is look amazing.. Another wonderful write up there, well said about the friends of circumstance .. Agree we loose contact with friends , thanks to social media it atleast keeps us close to the old friends..

    Reply
  7. usha says

    March 27, 2018 at 11:45 am

    I guess all of us have friends whom we lost touch our the period of time due to various paths we took in life. We are spinach lovers and Florentine pasta is like our kind of meal!

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 27, 2018 at 6:42 pm

      Yes spinach is so versatile isn’t it

      Reply
  8. Pavani says

    March 27, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    That is a such a delicious Italian sauce Mir. Looks so amazing.
    So true that some friendships have a life long impression even though it probably lasted for only a brief period.

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 27, 2018 at 6:39 pm

      Thanks I’m sure you would love this creamy sauce

      Reply
  9. Harini says

    March 27, 2018 at 6:51 pm

    Cannot agree more on the truth about transient friendships and how much of a blessing those friendships ar. To sneak in the spinach in the white sauce is brilliant. Thanks for the idea.

    Reply
  10. cookingwithsapana says

    March 28, 2018 at 11:45 am

    White sauce looks divine with some greens inside. Love the beautiful pictures Mirelle.

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 29, 2018 at 12:20 pm

      thank you Sapana

      Reply
  11. Priya Suresh says

    March 28, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    Am sure my kids will definitely enjoy this chicken loaded pasta, anything with pasta is definitely my family favourite. Cant wait to prepare this ultimate dish.

    Reply
  12. sushma says

    March 29, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    Pasta looks perfect, chicken and spinach lovely combination

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 30, 2018 at 5:34 pm

      I agree that they always go well together

      Reply
  13. Suma Gandlur says

    March 29, 2018 at 11:26 pm

    This pasta can be easily converted to vegetarian version and sounds delicious.

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 30, 2018 at 5:33 pm

      sure just omit the chicken

      Reply
  14. Jyoti Babel says

    March 30, 2018 at 12:54 pm

    That’s a great looking pasta dish. The use of cream must impart a very creamy flavour to the whole dish

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      March 30, 2018 at 5:32 pm

      the perfect comfort food for sure, with the rich cream

      Reply
  15. Gayathri Kumar says

    March 30, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    I love how you research each and every dish you make. So interesting to read about friends. That is so true. And the dish looks so yum..

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      April 3, 2018 at 12:11 pm

      thanks yes – its funny the twists and turns life takes isnt it!

      Reply
  16. Mayuri Patel says

    October 15, 2019 at 7:01 am

    Pasta with spinach and white creamy sauce is my favourite. Love how you’ve added leftover chicken to the pasta dish. Feel like making a veggie version as I haven’t had it for a long time.

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      October 15, 2019 at 9:58 pm

      yes this is one of my favorite wintertime dishes

      Reply
  17. Jolly says

    October 15, 2019 at 7:23 am

    I love this chicken pasta salad with goodness of spinach dressed in a simple and creamy way. Looks itself is very tempting and inviting. Innovative idea must say.

    Reply
    • Chef Mireille says

      October 15, 2019 at 9:59 pm

      this is actually a very classic dish in America. You should definitely try it out.

      Reply

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