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Creamy Parmesan Chicken and Spinach Tortellini…the best any night of the week dinner that feels extra special. Lightly breaded chicken seared until golden with nutty browned butter. The chicken is finished in a simple white wine pan sauce with spinach and parmesan cheese. It’s delicious, especially with an extra sprinkling of parm on top. Every bite is layered with delicious flavors and the creamiest sauce. The perfect way to spend a relaxing night in the kitchen with family and friends.
Some nights require something fun, while other nights require something crazy easy, but yet still totally delicious. Tonight we needed crazy easy and totally delicious. And that’s exactly what this chicken tortellini is. I can’t really tell you what inspired this, but what I can say is that this entire year I’ve really been on a cheesy tortellini kick. This cute little cheese-filled pasta has made its way into many recipes. This dish is just yet another and proves it has many ways of being delicious.
I love simple skillet dinners like this. This is an idea I’ve had in the back of my head for a bit now. I finally made it, and it actually turned out better than the picture I had in my head. That rarely happens with recipes, so I knew right away this dish was special.
Jumping right into the details of this one!
The simple details.
If you love a good skillet seared crispy chicken, you’ll love this slight twist even more. It’s all about that creamy parmesan sauce. It’s hinted with garlic and butter and really just one of those sauces that everyone loves.
Start with the chicken. If you’ve made chicken parmesan this is very similar. Simply dredge the chicken through a mix of flour, then pan-sear it in a hot skillet. This allows the chicken to form a nice golden crust on the outside. Using thin chicken cutlets is key. The thin chicken cooks evenly and browns nicely in a short amount of time.
Tip: if your grocery store does not carry chicken cutlets, as a swap, try asking your butcher to pound out chicken breasts for you. This is super easy to do at home, but truthfully…it’s just not that much fun. The butcher can quickly pound out the chicken and save you the trouble…and the mess.
Also, you can easily make this chicken gluten-free by replacing the flour with almond flour. Or use your favorite gluten-free flour blend (I like cup4cup).
Once the chicken is seared, pull it out of the skillet and toss in a bit of butter, shallots, garlic, and plenty of thyme. Again, allow that butter to brown, creating an even more delicious flavor around the garlic. Now, stir in the spinach and let it wilt into the butter.
At this point, add in the wine, simmer until reduced, then stir in the tortellini and cream. Allow everything to simmer and thicken into a delicious creamy sauce. I add the tortellini towards the end of cooking to ensure it doesn’t get mushy in the creamy sauce. It only needs a few minutes to soften before it’s ready to serve. When the tortellini is just about ready, I add the chicken back to the skillet and let it cook another minute or two until everything has warmed throughout.
SIMPLE.
Finish it up.
I like to first spoon the chicken out onto a plate, then spoon the sauce and tortellini over the chicken, really submerging the chicken in the sauce. The saucier, the better.
And then lastly, I squeeze a little lemon over top for a layer of freshness.
Yummm…and super easy. Perfect for just about any night of the week. I love how quickly and easily this comes together. It really is one of those “no fuss”, easy, delicious dinners that everyone loves. Already excited to make it again very soon.
Cannot wait!
Looking for other skillet dinners? Here are a few to try:
One Skillet Cheesy Cuban Chicken Rice Bake
Skillet Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo
One Skillet French Onion Tater Tot Casserole
Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Parmesan Chicken and Spinach Tortellini be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Parmesan Chicken and Spinach Tortellini
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 732 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken cutlets or 3 boneless chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
- red pepper flakes
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- juice from 1 lemon
Instructions
- 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken through the flour mix, pressing to adhere.2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet.3. To the skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the shallots, garlic, thyme, and a pinch each of red pepper chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes, until fragrant. Add butter and spinach. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.4. Pour in the wine and broth. Cook 8 minutes until reduced slightly, then add the tortellini and cook another 2 minutes. Pour in the cream and add the parmesan, stirring until melted and creamy. Add the chicken back to the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes or until warmed through and the sauce has thickened slightly. 5. Serve the chicken topped with the spinach cream sauce. Squeeze over a bit of lemon juice and a sprinkling of parmesan.
Made as written and absolutely delicious! As someone else said, I like that the cream sauce wasn’t super thick. Just right!
Hey Julie,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
This was so good. I followed the recipe as written, and it did not disappoint. It was a great switch up from my typical pasta meals. I also loved that the cream sauce was not super thick.
Hey Jen,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩
Delicious and easy! Would change anything!
Hi Sarah,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! 👻
Hi wanted to try this tonight, but was going to making it gluten free!
What would you suggest for that instead of white flour ?
Thank you ! Excited to try this.
Family and I love almost all the recipes I have tried from you. Big fan of your recipes here
Hey Nashin,
You should be able to use a gluten free flour in place of the all purpose flour:) Thanks so much for your kind message, I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you! xT
10/10! I loved this recipe. I just did chicken broth because no wine at home. I loved it. One of my fav recipes from you. I bought tortellini I had to boil, so I boiled it partly then added it to the chicken broth to finish cooking.
Hey there,
I am so glad to hear that this recipe was tasty for you and appreciate you giving it a try! xxT
Im making this tonight! I only have a pale rose on hand. Do you think that will throw it off?
Hey Mollie,
I think that should be okay for you to use! I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
We didn’t have spinach so I used broccoli, no tortellini either so I used gnocchi.
It was gooooood!
Hi Beth,
Fantastic! I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was tasty for you! xT
I’m making this soon and am wondering – 1) is the tortellini already cooked when you add it or does it really only need two minutes? 2) could fettuccine noodles be used and when would you add to account for their cooking time?
Thanks so much!
Hi Claire,
The recipe calls for fresh tortellini so yes, it only needs a couple minutes to cook. If you want to use fettuccine you will want to fully cook those and then follow the recipe as written. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hi! We love this dinner so much! It might be my favorite meal of all time. Is it possible to make it ahead and freeze it?
Hey Mary,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so excited it was enjoyed! I’ve never frozen this before, I’m not sure it would be the best option for freezing! Hope you’re having a great weekend! xx
I was looking for a recipe to use up some chicken breast and tortellini and I knew Tieghan would not disappoint! The sauce is sooo good. So easy too! Will definitely make this again and again.
Hey Danielle,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this tonight, and it is a new favorite! Delicious! So much flavor and easy to make!
Hey Mandy,
Wonderful! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xx
I made this recipe several times, and it’s delicious every time. One of my family’s favorites!
Hi Tracy,
Happy Friday! Thanks for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was a winner! ? xx
Hey Tieghan! I didn’t have any white wine and I read on google that you can substitute it with white vinegar. I only used 1/4 cup since it’s so strong in smell and flavor. The whole flavor in the end was just off. I also didn’t have fresh thyme so I used one tablespoon of dried thyme. That was pretty much all I could taste. I know I did a lot of things wrong, could you give me some pointers?
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues. In place of white wine, I would use chicken broth next time:) When using dried herbs for fresh, you will want to cut the measurement in half. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was a hit for my family. I added mushrooms and some lemon ? peel to the sauce. Delicious ?
Hey Roice,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed:) xx
I’m sorry, this was yum but it took a lot of work to rescue it.
When I added the parmesam it all clumped together into a big stretchy ball and no amount of stirring would help. Ended up having to pour all the sauce off in another pot and thickening it all over again.
Please can you help as I usually love your recipes but this was a bit off-putting.
Hi Robyn,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues. Was your parmesan room temp and freshly grated? It’s really key to use the good stuff and not the fake kind:) I hope this helps! xTieghan