Whether you're looking for an easy weeknight dinner or something for special occasions, this Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Chicken recipe is a perfect choice! A creamy sauce smothers tender chicken breasts, buttery mushrooms, and fresh baby spinach - no flour, cornstarch, or roux needed.

A skillet with chicken covered in a spinach and mushroom cream sauce.

If you're like most people these days, chances are you're pretty busy! Between work, life, and balancing all of the chores, it can be pretty hard to get a decent dinner on the table. This is why take-out and fast food is more popular than ever, but it doesn't have to be that way!

Enter in chicken skillet meals. I've already shared my creamy garlic chicken, roasted red pepper chicken, and creamy mushroom chicken recipes (all which are ready in 15-30 minutes). Today I'm sharing one of my favorite versions: this Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Chicken recipe.

This one is a bit more involved than the other easy skillet meals I've featured, but it's totally worth the few extra steps. This is one of my husband's absolute favorite recipes, and he's constantly requesting it. If he even sees me add spinach to the grocery list, he starts to get excited.

But the best part? It's a super easy recipe that you could make any day of the week. Oh, and the whole family loves it!

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

It's ready in less than 35 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight meal!
This great recipe is low in carbs but big on flavor! Perfect for those eating low-carb, keto, or gluten-free.
There's no flour and no roux needed! Just a super simple creamy sauce.
It's an easy skillet meal that contains both protein and veggies!

Ingredients

Chicken: I recommend cutting two large chicken breasts into cutlets, or purchasing cutlets from your local butcher.
Spinach: You will need 2 heaping handfuls of fresh baby spinach or about 5-6 cups.
Mushrooms: You will need about 8 ounces (227g) of sliced mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms, baby Bella mushrooms, and white button mushrooms all work well.
Parmesan cheese: This adds the best flavor! I recommend using a good quality Parmigiano Reggiano.
Heavy cream: Forms the base of the cream sauce. Since this recipe is made without flour, heavy cream provides thickness where a roux is absent. For a lighter dish, use half chicken stock, or substitute the heavy cream with half and half.
Butter: This combines with olive oil to ensure perfectly browned, flavorful chicken breasts.
Olive oil: A bit added to the pan with butter prevents the chicken breasts from scorching.
Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and dried thyme.

How to Make Creamy Spinach Mushroom Chicken

If you haven't already, cut your chicken breasts into cutlets by dividing each breast in half through the center of the thickness. Then preheat a heavy-bottomed large skillet (or dutch oven) over medium heat, and combine the seasonings in a small bowl.

Step one: Add the butter and olive oil to the skillet, and swirl to melt. Add the chicken breast and season with half of the seasonings.

Step two: Cook the chicken breast for 4-5 minutes per side, or until an internal thermometer reaches a minimum temperature of 165ºF (74ºF) in the thickest part of each piece. Remove from the skillet.

Step three: Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet, along with the mushrooms. Toss to coat them in the butter and add the remaining seasoning. Cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

Step four: Add in ¾ cup of heavy cream to the skillet, scraping the bottom of the pan with the end of a wooden spoon to get all the browned bits incoporated into the sauce. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened.

Scraping up cream from a skillet and adding parmesan cheese.

Step five: Add in the parmesan cheese, and stir until melted. Add in the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream to thin the sauce.

Step six: Grab 2 heaping handfuls of fresh spinach (5-6 cups) and add it to the skillet, stirring to coat it in the sauce.

Adding spinach to a skillet with a cream sauce.

Step seven: Cook until the spinach is cooked down and wilted, stirring often. If needed, add a few. more splashes of cream to thin the sauce.

Step eight: Add the chicken breasts back into the skillet, taste and adjust the amount of salt and pepper, and spoon the sauce over each breast before serving.

Spooning creamy sauce over a chicken breast.

For Serving

This creamy and tender chicken with spinach and mushrooms is a super flavorful dish, and is one of our favorite healthy meals. It pairs really well with subtle sides, and you can customize the meal according to your dietary needs (gluten free, low carb, etc.).

Here are a few of my favorite side dishes:

Steamed veggies
Cauliflower rice
Hot cooked rice
Roasted veggies (like my recipe for roasted asparagus and carrots)
Pasta
Low carb pasta
Mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower
Crusty bread
Roasted potatoes
Garden salad
Caesar salad

A skillet with chicken in cream sauce, with a chunk of parmesan on the side.

Variations and Substitutions

With chicken broth: If you want to make this recipe a little lighter, you can substitute half of the heavy cream for chicken broth, or use half and half in its place.

Mushrooms: Use any type of mushroom you like best. White mushrooms, cremini, baby bella, and chopped portobellos all work great. Specialty mushrooms will likely work just as well!

Chicken thighs: If you prefer dark meat, you can substitute the chicken cutlets for boneless skinless chicken thighs. Be sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165ºF, which may require a longer cooking time than chicken breasts.

Using frozen spinach: Thaw your spinach and drain it in a colander. Use your hand to squeeze the spinach firmly, removing as much liquid as possible before adding it to the cream sauce.

With cream cheese: Instead of the heavy cream, deglaze the pan with ¾ cup of chicken broth and stir 4-6 ounces of softened cream cheese into the sauce until combined.

More Easy Chicken Recipes