Easy Baked Chicken Florentine, homemade chicken and spinach recipe with mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese), shredded cheese, ranch seasoning, and fresh tomatoes! Low carb, gluten-free, but full of flavor and a quick easy baked chicken weeknight dinner recipe!
Need a quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe idea? I think this Easy Baked Chicken Florentine Recipe fits the bill so to speak! You can never have too many easy baked chicken recipes like my Easy Lemon Chicken and Nacho Chicken recipes just to name a few! As well as this Parmesan Bruschetta Chicken.
Since it’s January, I was trying to think of some easy low carb dinner options and this easy low carb Chicken Florentine recipe came about! I love chicken with spinach, so that’s how I got inspired.
So EASY to make and my kids and even my picky vegetable hating husband ate it. I about fell off my chair. He actually ate spinach! I think ranch seasoning and cheese can get anyone to eat anything, right?
How to Make Easy Baked Chicken Florentine:
This chicken recipe comes together really QUICK. Lightly spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray or a little oil.
Then, I suggest starting off with thinly cut chicken (chicken cutlets). My grocery store regularly has chicken cutlets which are boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are cut several times horizontally so each chicken piece is VERY thin.
If you can’t find chicken cutlets, you can make your own or pound your chicken breasts with a meat mallet. If you decide to NOT use thin pieces of chicken, you may want to hold off on adding the shredded cheese and tomato slices until the chicken is nearly cooked through so that the cheese doesn’t burn.
Once you have your chicken in the pan, in a large bowl mix together the mascarpone cheese, spinach, and ranch seasoning until well combined.
A few notes at this point…
I LOVE mascarpone cheese in this, but it can be hard to find and can be expensive, so you could substitute cream cheese
As far as the spinach, I defrosted a package of frozen chopped spinach then put in a salad spinner to get a lot of liquid out and dried it in paper towels until it was really dry.
Lastly, the ranch seasoning can be store-bought or check out one of these Homemade Ranch Seasoning recipes.
Spread the mixture evenly over the chicken. Then sprinkle with shredded cheese. I used an Italian blend shredded cheese but you could also use mozzarella. Then top with fresh tomato slices.
Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted and browned around the edges.
Check on your chicken every now and then and make sure your cheese isn’t burning. If the cheese is browning too quickly you can cover the pan lightly with aluminum foil. I didn’t have that problem, but my chicken was really thin so it didn’t take long to cook. If your chicken is thick, you may run into that problem.
That’s it! Serve this Easy Baked Chicken Florentine with a salad or some vegetables and you’re all set. To make this a little healthier and a healthy chicken florentine, you could try low fat cheeses, BUT be careful because some do not melt very well.
This chicken breast florentine is low carb and naturally gluten-free which may or not matter to some of you. Like I said, totally family friendly as well which is always a plus. Great way to use chicken breasts you have around and not sure what to do with. And a bit easier to make than the spinach cream cheese stuffed chicken breast version but all the same flavor.
I served it with zucchini as you can see, but serve with your favorite vegetables, salad, or even pasta! Oh my goodness, spaghetti would be great too!
Chicken and spinach and cheese, Yum!
Hope you enjoy this Easy Baked Chicken Florentine! Let me know in the comments if you liked it! And check out my other easy chicken recipes like my Champagne Chicken!
Easy Baked Chicken Florentine Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 thin slices boneless skinless chicken breasts (chicken cutlets)
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese) softened to room temperature
- 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach well drained and dried
- 1 tablespoon Ranch seasoning (homemade or store bought)
- 8 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese
- 3 roma tomatoes thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Place chicken cutlets in single layer on bottom of prepared pan.
- In small bowl, mix together mascarpone cheese, spinach, and ranch seasoning until well combined. Spread over chicken.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of chicken, and top with tomato slices.
- Bake chicken about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and cheese is melted and browned around edges.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
Lori says
So delicious and easy!
Lisa Huff says
Thank you Lori!
Julie says
Added onions and garlic to spinach- easy weeknight meal, thanks!
Amanda - The Little Frugal House says
This looks totally do-able and delcious!! I think I will serve this with pasta! I’ve been needing some new meal ideas, so this is perfect! Thank you!
Helene says
This dish looks so yummy and tasty
I really loved the recipe too…my family would love this lovely dish too thanks for sharing the recipe!!!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
This looks wonderful (and easy to put together)! I also love that it’s a lower-carb option — very satisfying!
Jessica Fasano Formicola says
What a great and easy dinner idea! It looks delicious.
Lisa | Garlic + Zest says
Anything florentine is for me! This looks easy to make, too — I may have to scale down the recipe for two, but it looks great!
Natalie says
YUM! This dish looks like just the perfect dinner for me – easy to make, packed with protein and healthy. Can’t wait to try it soon!