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This creamy chicken spinach pasta recipe is a total comfort food dinner! It comes together quickly and can be on your table in about 30 minutes but feels special.
You may also like my Chicken Bacon Spinach Pasta or my Easy Creamed Spinach next.
Why you’ll love it
This spinach chicken pasta is great for busy weeknights since it’s pretty hassle free to throw together. The golden pan-fried chicken melts in your mouth, and spinach adds a pop of freshness. Many lovely readers have shared how their picky eaters devoured it!
To keep the creamy pasta sauce from being one-dimensional, a kiss of lemon juice and Dijon mustard add a little je ne sais quoi to the meal. I love adding Dijon to various recipes. It’s one of my favorite cooking tricks to give that extra something-something for flavor.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I use penne, but any similar size pasta will work
- Chicken breasts – it’s cut up into tender bite-sized pieces
- Flour – for getting an irresistible crust on the chicken
- Butter and olive oil – for pan frying
- Garlic – more savory flavor
- Chicken broth – or use a dry white wine (e.g., sauvignon blanc) for an elegant variation
- Lemon juice and Dijon mustard – this duo is the ultimate flavor enhancer
- Italian seasoning – it’s an all-purpose blend of dried herbs in one jar
- Heavy cream – to make the sauce luxurious
- Spinach – for some added greens
- Parmesan – to top it all off. Always grate your own!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Chicken is cooked at 165F. Use an instant read thermometer so it’s perfect every time.
- I store my butter in this butter dish, and it has markings to measure it out easily!
- This is the skillet I use for this pasta.
How to make chicken spinach pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, cut up the chicken, season with salt & pepper, and dredge in flour. Heat up the butter and oil in a skillet. Cook the chicken until golden, then transfer to a plate. Add the garlic, broth, lemon juice, Dijon, and Italian seasoning to the pan.
Let it bubble for a minute, scraping up the browned bits. Return the chicken, and add in the cream and spinach. Simmer until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked. Toss with the drained pasta, season with extra salt & pepper, and stir in the parmesan.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend substituting the heavy cream for anything lower fat. It will change the taste and texture substantially.
- You could use frozen spinach, be sure to thaw it and squeeze the water out really well.
- Adding in some sun-dried tomatoes is a good idea if you’re a fan!
What to serve with chicken spinach pasta
- Round out the meal with a dinner roll or a slice of fresh bread. I like French or sourdough. Or make it a feast with my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- Craving a salad? Spring mix with my Homemade Ranch Dressing, this Easy Italian Dressing, or Honey Mustard Dressing are all great pairings.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover pasta for 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered container.
- Reheat slowly over a low heat, but keep in mind that it’s best fresh. The spinach will wilt more, and the sauce won’t be as good reheated. You might need to add another splash of cream to revive it.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one.
More easy chicken pasta recipes
If you made this creamy chicken spinach parmesan pasta, please leave a star rating and review below! Questions? Feel free to ask. You can also find me on Instagram.
Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
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
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, cut up the chicken and season it with salt & pepper. Coat the pieces with flour.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Stir in the parmesan. Season with more salt & pepper if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on May 17, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Hiiii! Made this for supper tonight, with a ton of leftovers. So delicious! Are you able to freeze the leftover portions?
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.
Dumb question, do you put the spinach in uncooked?
I’m excited to make this tonight!
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! ♥️
Hey, can you tell me the portions in this recipe?
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.
Hi,
What can I use as cream as it needs to be dairy free and gluten free ?
Thank you
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.
I made this with Coconut milk tonight and it was amazing!
That’s awesome!
That’s what I always use to replace dairy in recipes. It’s great.
Could you grill the chicken on the BBQ instead and add it in afterwards?
Thank you 🙂
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).
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!
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.
Thanks for the tip, Natasha!
Yes, we did it. Was wonderful
Great!!
Instead of using heavy whipping cream could you use half and half or no? Thank you.
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.
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!
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.
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!
I’m so happy they all enjoyed it hahah! Thanks for letting me know!