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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.

a bowl of creamy chicken spinach pasta

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!
ingredients for creamy chicken spinach pasta in prep bowls

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.

pan frying chicken in a skillet and making sauce for pasta

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.

adding in spinach and parmesan to a skillet with creamy chicken spinach pasta

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

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.
closeup of a skillet with creamy chicken spinach pasta

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.

a bowl of creamy chicken spinach pasta
4.98 from 84 votes

Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta

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.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

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

Calories: 665kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 158mg, Sodium: 500mg, Potassium: 842mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 4430IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 212mg, Iron: 2mg

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.

Leave a star rating and comment below!

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!


Hi! I’m Natasha.

Salt & Lavender is a recipe blog with a focus on delicious comfort food using everyday ingredients. Beat the weekday grind with hundreds of easy-to-follow and hassle-free recipes!

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4.98 from 84 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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258 Comments

  1. Liv says:

    5 stars
    Made this for my family as I’m vegetarian, they loved it! Will use again x

    1. Natasha says:

      Wonderful! 🙂

  2. Amanda says:

    5 stars
    So quick and yummy! Always on the hunt for something that can be cooked and on the table in under an hour.

    1. Natasha says:

      So pleased you liked it, Amanda! 😀

  3. 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!!

    1. Natasha says:

      So glad you were able to make it GF, Kyrsten!

      1. Nicole Burns says:

        I did too with GF fettuccine and the whole family loved it even though i ommited the mustard. Thank you!

        1. Natasha says:

          So glad to hear it!

  4. 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!

    1. Natasha says:

      Wonderful! So glad it was a hit. 😊

  5. 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.

    1. Natasha says:

      I am so happy you liked it, Judith!

  6. 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.

    1. Natasha says:

      So pleased to hear it, Rachel! You’re very welcome. 🙂 Thanks for following along!

      1. 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!!

        1. Natasha says:

          That makes me so happy!!

  7. 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 😉

    1. Natasha says:

      Yay! So happy to hear it. Thanks, Simon 😀

  8. 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

    1. 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!

  9. emily says:

    Do you leave the butter in the pan or do you take it out after removing it from the heat?

    1. Natasha says:

      Leave it in 😊

  10. Natasha's Sister says:

    5 stars
    Hi I’d like you to deliver this to me but without chicken thanks.

    1. Natasha says:

      No.