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Or well, my version of Mom’s Chicken Florentine.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Because I couldn’t possibly NOT mess with a recipe.

Like I clearly do not know how to do that.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

But I only made it easier, and added some polenta, other than that, all the ingredients and flavors are 100% the same!

Growing up, this was my favorite dish that my mom made. Granted my mom didn’t make a whole lot of dinners, desserts were more her thing, dinner was my dad’s. Anyway, Chicken Florentine was my mom’s specialty dish. She only made it every so often, but when she did, it was the best. Everyone loved it. Well, actually now that I think of it, my brothers never ate it, you know, the whole spinach thing, didn’t work for them. So I guess that really just leaves mom, dad and me. Ok, so the three of us loved it.

That works too.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

The original recipe made you do all this extra work, like baking the chicken in the oven first, then making the cream sauce and then layering the chicken, spinach and sauce. Basically, it was three pans and too much work for such a simple dish.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

So, what I did was sear the chicken in an oven safe skillet, make the sauce in the very same skillet and then add the chicken right back into the sauce. Then I stirred in the spinach and called it a day. This way only uses one pan and takes about twenty minutes. Then just bake it in the oven for another twenty or so minutes and done! Same awesome flavors, creamy-ness and taste, just um…simpler! Which I kind of love.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I don’t really remember my mom serving the Chicken Florentine over anything, but to me, there needs to be something there to soak up all the delicious cream sauce. Normally I just go for pasta, but then it’s kind of like fettuccine (but better), but then when I was out hiking (which always gets me thinking), the idea popped into my head to serve the Chicken Florentine over some creamy Italian polenta.

I feel like polenta is good with just about anything, so I went with it. AND I added some roasted garlic because of all the health benefits (right)…Duh.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

And then that’s kind of it. Pretty simple, but so perfect for these cold winter days and even into spring when you get those rainy, cold days. Which if you ask me, well, I’d rather have the snow than rain.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

My lucky younger brother is spending the next two weeks in Monmouth, CA for a snowboard competitions. He says it sunny and 50 degrees there. Can you say, livin’ the life? Ya, I think so.

Totally jealous.

Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Mom's Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 961 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless chicken tenders or breasts about 4 breasts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 ounce containers frozen spinach de-thawed + squeezed dry, 12
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt + pepper
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese plus more for topping
  • 1/3 cup parsley chopped + more for serving

Roasted Garlic Polenta

  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup polenta
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Chop off the top portion of the garlic head to reveal cloves. Peel any excess paper/skin off from the bulb of garlic. Place the cloves onto a piece of tin foil and pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top. Cover with the foil. Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the garlic is golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool five minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of the paper skin into a bowl and mash well with a fork.
  • Meanwhile, heat a large oven safe brasier or sided skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, once hot, add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Sear on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and place on a plate. Drizzle with lemon juice.
  • To the same pan, add the butter. Once melted add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute or until bubbly. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you add the milk. Stir in the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Place the egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk in about 1/3 cup of the warm milk mixture. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into cream sauce until smooth. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
  • Add the chicken and thawed spinach to the sauce. Make sure the chicken is immersed in the sauce. Sprinkle the top of the dish with grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Place in the preheated 400 degree oven for 20-15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
  • While the florentine bakes, make the polenta. Pour the water and milk into a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and slowly whisk in the polenta. Cook, stirring frequently, until the polenta is soft and thick, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in as much of the mashed roasted garlic as desired, season with salt and pepper. If the polenta seems a little thick you can add a tablespoon more of butter or milk to thin it.
  • When the florentine is done cooking, divide the polenta among plates and top each with a piece of chicken and cream sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan. Enjoy!!
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Mom’s Chicken Florentine with Creamy Roasted Garlic Polenta | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Ok, but let’s be serious. That’s a dreamy plate of food right there.

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Comments

  1. Good heavens, lady! This is just perfect for the winter blues…and I love using something other than pasta to soak up the creamy goodness! And super jealous of your brother…

  2. JUST made polenta myself for the first time and it is SO good, I wish I had this recipe before I did it! looks amazing, Mom should be proud 😉

  3. Is the Polenta what u make yourself from cornmeal or Polenta u buy a tube Thanks for your help This looks so good Love spinach and love Polenta

    1. Hey Nancy,

      it’s polenta that you make from dry polenta, not the tube. Let me know if you have any other questions!

      Tieghan!

  4. Tieghan, oh my goodness. This IS seriously a dreamy plate of goodness! I LOVE polenta with chicken and seriously cannot wait to try this! and love that you put your spin on your mom’s recipe! very cool!

  5. Mmm…this looks amazing! In my opinion, everything gets 100% more delicious when served over polenta. It really does look like a perfect meal for a cold wintry day – and I completely agree that snow is way better than rain (especially freezing rain)!

  6. If I didn’t have chicken last night for dinner I would be making this for sure. I LOVE everything going on here Tieghan!

  7. Girl this is my kinda meal! Roasted garlic makes anything better and the creamy chicken florentine is pure perfection. Definitely adding to our dinner menu ASAP!

  8. I’ve never actually had chicken florentine! But, I want this version to start with! There’s a whole lotta creamy goodness going on here that would make the perfect comfort food dinnah! Pinned!

  9. I’d rather have snow than rain too! Yes, even here in Buffalo =) Rain is so dreary. My husband and I went out to a restaurant that was serving chicken florentine and it was terrible! Worse, our tab was over 60 bucks! The meal was $26 a piece and the portions were tiny. Live and learn, I will stay home, snuggle with my dogs and cat by the fire and make this instead!

  10. Its 20 below here and this dish looks like it would be perfect to warm everyone up…definitely adding it to my to do list.

  11. This just looks so creamy and wonderful.
    Just perfect for a comfort food on a cold day.
    Could eat this for breakfast right now.