Chicken Florentine Casserole
Ahhh, creamy pasta dishes. Not something you’d think would be included in a healthy eating plan.
You’ll never guess that this dish clocks in at only 8 grams of fat per serving. This simple casserole will please the whole family, and you may even get your kids eating spinach and liking it!
I would even keep this dish handy for entertaining. Paired with a nice salad and warm vegetable side, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!
This version is gluten free, but adjust according to your needs. You could easily substitute for whole wheat pasta, and whole wheat flour as a thickener instead of a gluten free flour in the white sauce.
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Yields: 6 Servings | Serving Size: 1-1/2 Cups | Calories: 315 | Previous Points: 7 | Points Plus: 8 | Fat: 8 g | Carbohydrates: 33 g | Dietary Fiber: 2 g | Sodium: 396 mg | Sugars: 0 g | Protein: 26 g
Ingredients
- 4 x 3 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pre-cooked, cut into cubes (rotisserie chicken works too)
- 1/2 box frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed to remove access liquid
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp flour (I used Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free flour
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups no-salt added chicken broth
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, blended to make smooth consistency
- 2/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (use small holes on grater)
- 1/2 pound whole grain pasta (I used brown rice spirals)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a 9 x 11 baking dish with oil. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large pot, heat olive oil to medium-low and saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and whisk for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Add lemon juice, nutmeg, oregano & pepper. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat and add blended cottage cheese, spinach, chicken, Parmesan cheese & pasta. Stir to combine. Place in casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden & bubbly.
http://skinnyms.com/chicken-florentine-casserole/Recipe by Kristine Fretwell. Find Kristine’s “Busy But Healthy Recipe Club” on Facebook for more healthy recipes.
Kim – I would briefly sauté' it in the olive oil right before adding the flour.
Deb – I will try to find out about the spinach, but I would go with a cup or 2, depending on how much spinach you enjoy. The garlic I would sauté' briefly just prior to whisking in the flour.
OMG! This recipe is awesome! I made this last night and the whole family ate it up! There was only a little left over for my husband's lunch today. The only issue I had was trying to figure out when to add the garlic (I see now after reading the posts) but it still turned out excellent! Thanks for yet another yummy meal!
Laurie, GREAT…so happy your family enjoy!
Looks delicious! I will be putting this on my menu this week!
Great! Keep us posted…
can i substitue the cottage cheese with sour cream? I don't like cottage cheese?
Should work fine or Greek yogurt would work as well.
I made it this weekend…it is delicious. Thanks! I get tired of trying healthy receipes that taste like crap. This was great!
Well, thank-you so much! And, I agree by the way.
I made this over the weekend, and my whole family LOVED it! I almost had none leftover for lunch today! I did want to make a comment though, I didn't know when to use the garlic, so I put it in the sauce after I added the broth. Thanks for the awesome recipre!!
Sandy, Thank you!
Can you freeze this?
Betsy, Hmmmm…I've never frozen this recipe, so can't say for sure. If you freeze it let us know how it turns out.
How about Ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese?
Ingrid, That would work great!
My family loves this! It has been added to my box of "keeper" recipes and put in the menu rotation. Last time I doubled the spinach and they all ate it up! Thans so much
Jenn, You are so welcome.
Very good! I would omit the nutmeg next time around. Pretty pungent flavor that didn't seem to mix with garlic. I also added mushrooms after sauteeing them first.
Jane, Thanks for letting us know.
YUM. Do you think silken tofu would work for a GF/DF option?
I love love this recipe, and can't wait to try it. Question though: why frozen spinach? Why not fresh, chopped up? So many recipes I find have frozen spinach as an ingredient. I prefer to use fresh, but will this compromise the recipe in some way? Thanks for your advice, and fantastic recipes!
Frozen spinach has the same nutritional value as fresh, but most recipes I find call for frozen spinach because it's cheaper and already cooked. You should have no problem using fresh spinach in place, you'll just need to wilt it down and you'll need A LOT. I've substituted fresh for frozen in recipes when I haven't had any in the freezer and it worked fine. I hope that helps!
This is baking in the oven and I just realized I forgot the garlic! Please add it to your directions. I hope it will still be OK!
Is there any nutritional info available? Thanks!!
I am on a low sodium diet, so I can't wait to try this! Thanks!
This recipe caught my eye and I thought maybe I can make this gluten free. And then I read the recipe and it already was! I will definitely be making this =)
Can't wait to try this recipe. Weight Watchers points plus value is an 8. For 1 1/2 cups of a creamy pasta dish that is awesome. Always looking for quick and easy or slow cooker recipes, especially this time of year with the kids being in sports. This recipe will definitely be tried within the next couple of weeks.
This was delicious. My fiance and I both loved it. I doubled the spinach because we both like spinach. I am definitely adding it to my meal rotation. Thanks!
Love hearing that!
Made this last night and we loved it! My DD's, 6 & 9, were skeptical, but immediately asked me to make it again!
Great!
I would love if this site could sync up nicely with Peppeplate. Such a great app when you are at the grocery store and want to make a recipe.
and this site has great recipes that I want to add.
oops..forgot the R in my first post. pepperplate
Joy, Thanks so much. That’s a great idea about the app…it’s on our list of ‘to dos’.
OH YUM!!! Had this for dinner tonight – it was excellent!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Great! Thanks so much for the feedback.
If im using a rotisserie chicken, how much chicken would I use? Thanks!
can you substitute fat free cream cheese instead of the cottage cheese?
Rachel, I haven't tried it, but should be fine.
This may seem like a crazy question -but do you cook the pasta first? I'm hoping to make this tonight, but can't figure that out!
oops.. just reread the instructions.. ignore my question! Will let you know how it is.
Pam, No problem!
Pam, Yes, cook the pasta first…just until it's al dente as it will continue to cook when in the oven. I aways like to slightly undercook the pasta when adding to a casserole. Hope you enjoy!
Can you put instead of chicken broth like cream of chicken soup? Also instead of cottage cheese? Any suggestons
We don't recommend using canned soups because they contain so many unhealthy ingredients, including corn syrup. You could probably sub low-fat Greek yogurt for the cottage cheese. I have tried it, but it should work fine.
Can you modify the print settings to include a picture with the recipes?
Amanda, Thought they were included in the recipe. We’ll look into this. Thanks for letting us know.
made this for dinner tonight and it was terrible! Even my grandson who will eat anything didn't like it!
Wow. Closest ingredient I had on hand to cottage cheese was coconut milk and half and half (lol not a big deal for a casserole right!) . Subbed that in and added green Thai curry. Also used fresh spinach. Can I say yummy!?. Next time I will try the original recipe but if you want to switch it up, this was great!!