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Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta

Published / Updated / 95 Comments

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This creamy chicken spinach pasta recipe is a total comfort food dinner! It comes together quickly - it can be on your table in about 30 minutes.

chicken spinach pasta in a white bowl

This spinach chicken pasta is great for busy weeknights. The chicken melts in your mouth, and the spinach adds some freshness to a dish that's otherwise fairly rich. 

You may also like my chicken bacon spinach pasta recipe - it's quite similar. Or my easy creamed spinach!

creamy chicken spinach pasta ready to eat

The little bit of lemon juice and Dijon mustard add some extra "je ne sais quoi" to the recipe. It's kinda hard to describe, but I love adding a little bit of Dijon to various recipes to give them that extra something-something. It's one of my favorite cooking tricks, and if you've made some of my recipes already, you're probably encountered my love for Dijon. 🙂

closeup of creamy chicken spinach pasta in pan

How to make chicken spinach garlic pasta 

  • Boil your pasta water (you can use any shape you wish);
  • Prep your chicken. Cut it up, season it, and coat it in flour;
  • Cook the chicken in the butter and oil until it's no longer pink on the outside, then take it out of the pan;
  • Start the sauce. Add the garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, Dijon, and Italian seasoning to the pan;
  • Finish cooking the chicken. Add the chicken, spinach, and cream to the pan and cook it until the chicken's done;
  • Almost done! Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. Stir in the parmesan. Enjoy!

Other creamy chicken pasta recipes: creamy chicken pesto pasta, this creamy balsamic chicken bacon mushroom pasta, my creamy Tuscan chicken pasta.

close-up of chicken spinach pasta

Hope you will enjoy this creamy chicken spinach parmesan pasta! 

Questions? Ask me in the comments below.

chicken spinach pasta in a white bowl
5 from 25 votes
Print

Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta

This creamy chicken spinach pasta recipe is a total comfort food dinner! It comes together quickly - it can be on your table in about 30 minutes.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword creamy chicken spinach pasta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked pasta
  • 2 chicken breasts cut into small bite-size pieces
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Flour, for dredging
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 dash Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Boil a large, salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package instructions. 

  2. Cut up the chicken and season it with salt & pepper. Coat the pieces with flour.

  3. Add the butter and oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan's hot, add the chicken and cook it until it's no longer pink on the outside. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.

  4. Take the pan off the heat and add the garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and Italian seasoning. Return the pan to the heat and let it bubble for a minute or so. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

  5. Add the chicken, cream, and spinach to the pan. Let it cook for around 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. You may want to reduce the heat if it's bubbling a lot or if the sauce is thickening too fast.

  6. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Stir in the parmesan. Season with more salt & pepper if needed.

Recipe Notes

  • I've made this without the parmesan cheese before, and it will still taste good if you want to leave it out for whatever reason.

Reader Interactions

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    • Natasha says

      Italian seasoning is a common herb blend. It's used in a lot of recipes as an easy way to not have to measure out a whole bunch of different herbs. You can buy it at most grocery stores in the herbs/spice section. A quick Google search tells me it has these herbs, but it does vary brand to brand: basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, sage, or coriander. I buy McCormick brand. If you don't want to buy it, I recommend adding a small pinch of your favorite dried herbs.

      Reply

  8. Maureen Main says

    Tried this dish for the first time. Absolutely lovely and creamy and very easy to make. Will definitely make it again. Thanks

    Reply

  10. queendiva says

    5 stars
    Made this for the first time tonight. A winner!
    The only change I made was to sub white wine for the lemon juice. I love that this meal is made from items already on hand!
    Next time I will add a minced shallot with the garlic. I think the Dijon mustard is a must have for this dish. Glad that I have leftovers for another dinner during the week. Cook once-eat twice.
    This one is going into my rotation. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  11. Susie Anderson says

    I tried reading others comments, I am not a fan of Dijon mustard can I skip or use yellow mustard. I've used one other of your recipe, and was right on point. One comment did say honey mustard but I've never had that either.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Sure, you could definitely try replacing the mustard, or even leave it out altogether. I use Dijon in sauces to bring out some of the other flavors (it doesn't taste mustardy), but if you don't have any, that's totally fine. 🙂

      Reply

  12. Abbie T says

    Yummy! I had typed in ‘chicken spinach pasta’ (that’s the main ingredients I had on-hand) in my search engine and your recipe was one that showed up with great reviews. I actually had everything here at home and didn’t need to leave to make it!! I was so pleased with how easy this was to follow. Glad I didn’t use a non-stick pan. All those bits were wonderful and a little crunchy! I was going to add some bacon and totally spaced it 🤦🏼‍♀️ But the result was great. We have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My two year old loved it also!! I’m posting photos and the recipe on my FB page. Thanks again for sharing! Would love to find some more of your time/family friendly recipes!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Awesome!! I'm so glad you found me. 🙂 Yup, the whole blog is filled with easy recipes, so let me know if you make any more! XO

      Reply

  13. Allie H says

    Hiiii! Made this for supper tonight, with a ton of leftovers. So delicious! Are you able to freeze the leftover portions?

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Allie!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. In my experience, cream sauces and cooked pasta don't freeze all that well. When it's thawed, the pasta often goes soggy and the cream sauce can separate. With that said, it doesn't hurt to give it a try if you'll end up throwing it out anyway. I recommend reheating on a low heat if you do try that. And you may need to stir in a little more cream when warming it up.

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! You bet! On any of my recipes unless I specify otherwise, assume any ingredient is raw/uncooked. Let me know if you like the recipe! ♥️

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Rhonda! Not sure what you mean exactly? It's all listed in the recipe card (ingredients, instructions, it says it serves 4 people, etc.). You would have had to scroll past it to leave your comment so maybe you just missed it? Let me know if you're still having issues.

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Rebecca! Honestly, I don't test gluten-free or dairy-free alternatives, so I really can't give you any good suggestions I'm afraid. 🙁 Especially since this recipe is cream-based (vs. just adding a splash of cream), I really don't want to guess on anything and have you waste ingredients.

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! You definitely could, but then I'd make sure to add some flour to the sauce to thicken it. Perhaps make a roux (flour and butter).

      Reply

  18. Paula says

    5 stars
    Made this without Italian dressing & had to substitute Dijon mustard with honey mustard because that was all I had in my pantry & fridge. Overall, tasty but a bit dry. Not sure how that happened though 🤔 Nevertheless, hubs loved it! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Paula! So glad it was enjoyed. Sometimes if you cook cream sauces for slightly too long or at a little too high a heat, it dries out faster. Next time you could try cooking it a little less or perhaps add a splash of pasta water at the end.

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Danielle! I normally would not recommend it, but I understand that it can be hard to find various ingredients these days. If you feel comfortable with a thinner sauce or you are good at tweaking sauces (more flour/cornstarch/cooking longer) to thicken it to the point where you're happy with it, then definitely give it a try. I know lots of people have tweaked my heavy cream recipes with half-and-half and enjoyed them, so it's definitely worth a try.

      Reply

  21. Clarabelle says

    Hi there! If I were to use frozen spinach, would I want to defrost it beforehand or just add it while it’s still frozen? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Does your frozen spinach come in those sort of pucks? I’d definitely thaw it first and squeeze as much of the water out as possible.

      Reply

  22. Alex says

    Hi, made this tonight for the family, they loved it, fighting over left over tubes of pasta in the pan 😂
    Very tasty, chicken melted in your mouth! 5* pasta dish that will def be making again!

    Reply

  25. Orla says

    I just made this and all I can say is WOW! This must be one of the nicest things I've ever made, restaurant quality! The only thing I didn't like was the texture from the flour on the chicken, it was gloopy (I used gluten free maybe that was why), I must try thickening the sauce with the flour instead of coating the chicken. But absolutely fabulous, 110%!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I'm so glad you liked it, Orla! Hmm yeah maybe the gluten-free flour could've done it - I confess I just use regular all-purpose flour and haven't tested gluten-free flour at all in any recipe that I can recall. You could also try browning the chicken for a little longer (with the flour coating it).

      Reply

    • Gail says

      5 stars
      Made this for the family tonight for the first time I did tweek it a bit adding slightly more dijon and lemon juice however everyone cleaned their bowls... Utterly delicious.. Give it a try

      Reply

  26. Teri says

    5 stars
    I made this gluten free by using almond + tapioca flour for the chicken and gluten free penne. It turned out fantastic! Delicious recipe.

    Reply

  27. Brooke says

    5 stars
    Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m far from a good cook but this puppy made me look it yeey :p
    Super easy & incredibly delicious, my kinda recipe!

    I think i might add some sneaky bacon next time just because... bacon.

    Thanks again for making me look good hehe

    Reply

  29. Esmeralda says

    5 stars
    Made this after years of buying premade sauce and ending disappointed. Literally tasted better than Olive Garden, I’m making this sauce from now on OMG

    Reply

  30. Leonora Gonzales says

    5 stars
    I just made this tonight and my whole family loved it! My twin boys are usually so picky with what I make and they ate every single bite off their plate! My hubby said that this recipe is a keeper! Thank you!

    Reply

  31. Richard Cockbain says

    5 stars
    I decided to play around a bit and added small slices of Sun Dried Tomato and fried onion pieces.
    PERFECT!

    Reply

  32. Fawn says

    5 stars
    This was so easy and delicious. My young children even really liked it. I am always looking for ways to incorporate (hide) veggies that they would normally avoid.

    Reply

  35. Kyrsten says

    This was so so good! An easy dish for me to whip up with GF pasta and GF flour for me and my family! The dijon and lemon give it a unique flavor that stands apart from the average creamy alfredo-type of recipes flooding pinterest.
    Can't wait to try this recipe again, thanks!!

    Reply

  36. Margarita Munoz says

    5 stars
    This was so delicious, so easy, so simple, and so perfect! Made this with leftover pasta, some heavy cream + half & half (didn't have enough cream), when it wasn't thickening, threw in a little arrowroot powder and voila. The only downside is I had to share this dish 🙂 Saving this one to repeat in the very near future. Thank you!

    Reply

  37. Judith says

    5 stars
    I made this tonight. It was delicious!!! The only thing I did different is add more lemon juice and chicken broth. Also. Not as much pasta so I would have more sauce. Next time, I would double the sauce.

    Reply

  38. Rachel says

    Made this for my family, Natasha, and they loved it!! Many thanks. Liked the additional lemon and mustard idea. Like the look of some of your other recipes so I'll be following you. Thanks again.

    Reply

      • Candy Timberlake says

        Made this tonight for dinner my daughter needs the spinach for her iron so I made it. I had to chop up the spinach first and the chicken for her (she’s 19 months) but it was a success with my 3 year old as well!!! I added a touch more lemon and Parmesan cheese!!! Me and my husband enjoyed it as well!!

        Reply

  39. Simon knox says

    Hi Natasha,

    I made this tonight for my family and it was truly wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe I will be trying others from your menu 😉

    Reply

  40. Claus Thelen says

    Hej,

    why do you not tell us the amounts in Grams, Kilograms, LIter and Mililiter...
    I do not even know how much is 1 ounce...., how big is the cup? A small one or a big one?

    Kind regards from Afrika,

    Claus

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Claus! I'm in North America, so that's why I use the US measurement system (most of my readers are from the USA). A cup is 236 ml. An ounce is 28g... so the spinach would be 142g, for example. He's a handy website that shows how to do many of the conversions: https://bit.ly/2AKTQ39 - hope this helps!

      Reply