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!
“So grab a chilled bottle of white whine…” Okay this typo made me giggle. I did make this recipe before and loved it and now I’m craving it again. Don’t remember seeing that typo last time haha but I guess it was probably there.
Omg, that’s hilarious! I *wish* that would have been intentional, but it wasn’t. 😆 It’s fixed now. 🙃
Just curious if I can use frozen spinach since I have it on hand in place of the fresh. Yes I know fresh is best, but the selection was lacking at the store.
Yep, I’d definitely use frozen if that’s what I had on hand. Just make sure to squeeze as much water out as possible after thawing so it doesn’t turn your sauce green. :)
I like this recipe for using up about-to-expire canned chicken stored for hurricane preparation.
Really enjoyed this recipe! Quick, easy to follow and delicious.
Delicious! I subbed white wine for the chicken broth, came out fantastic. Thank you!
I remade this as a one-pot pasta by cooking the chicken separately, in small chunks because that’s what I had, putting it aside and reusing the skillet for the pasta, with chicken bouillon in the water. Near the end of the pasta’s cooking time, I wilted the spinach and added the garlic. Once the spinach was about done, I put everything else in the skillet except the milk, as it wasn’t needed, and the zest of a lemon with half of its juice. Exceptionally delicious! It took a little time for the cream cheese to melt, but that was the only real hitch. This was a huge hit with my husband, too!
Forgot the butter, but it didn’t seem to need it. I used 2 cups by volume of small spelt pasta and six oz of spinach with a little bit of grated nutmeg if anyone would like to replicate my results. Didn’t measure the water, just to cover. Canned artichoke is very expensive here (4.19 for 5 or 6 hearts in a can) but I was feeling nostalgic for the pub! Worth it :D
I am in college and I made this for my roommates and it was both easy and delicious! Will definitely be adding this to the college favorites!
Excellent. I followed the proportions and it was perfect. The sauce is excellent and I can see how I could easily change this up based on what I have on hand – Carmelized onion, capers, etc. Thanks!
Just a comment on the budget aspect: in what parallel universe does cream cheese cost 10¢/oz.?? I’m lucky if I can find an 8-oz. block for 2 bucks.
That aside, the recipe looks fantastic and i have it bookmarked!
ALDI is an amazing grocery store. :)
Not everyone has access to an Aldi. 🙄
I’m aware of that. :) No matter where I shop there is always the possibility that the recipe might cost you more or less than what I paid because there are no standard prices across the country. Prices vary from location to location, store to store, and even day to day within the same store. The prices listed are just for example purposes only. You can read more about how and why we calculate recipe costs here.
A family pack of cream cheese at Wegmans is also 10 cents an ounce… sorry that you haven’t been able to locate cheaper cream cheese, but yes, it does exist. And no need to roll eyes at the author for saying where she is able to find her cream cheese at that price.
A great recipe! I did make a few changes – I added more garlic (we love garlic) and more than a pinch of red pepper flakes (we love spicy) and a bit of lemon juice. I also added a few tbsp of cream (I had it left over and needed to use it up) and skipped the milk. It was so good my husband is already asking when we can have it again! Another winner.
This is THE best recipe. I tasted it just before adding artichokes and spinach and it was the perfect Alfredo sauce. I was diagnosed with celiac disease 11 years ago and miss alfredo and noodles so much. They always add ingredients to the sauce I can’t eat. This is it. Just.add.noodles. But I made it exactly as written as you are always supposed to do the first time you try a new recipe and ….YUM. How did you do this? Next time I will use shrimp and my husband will fall in love all over again. With the shrimp. Lol.
SO rich and delicious! I served it with some whole wheat linguine :)
I absolutely loved this recipe! Ended up substituting the cream cheese with half and half since that’s what I had on hand at the time, it still came out great served over some pasta. Now I have plenty of tasty leftovers for the next couple days :)
This is an A+ recipe! It’s easy yet not at all boring. I’ve been looking for more interesting ways to use chicken breasts and this was perfect. Thanks!
Wow, is this ever good! The only change I made was adding onion because I put onion in everything. This would be a great recipe for guests!