Who likes spinach and artichoke dip? That question, with the picture below, created a lot of excitement on my Facebook page. I most certainly understand why. Make a healthy version of spinach artichoke dip, and cook chicken in it. What do you have? A dinner to die for, that’s what! This new recipe came out about 10 times better than I expected. It really does taste like the unhealthy dip! But this is a fraction of the fat and calories as spinach and artichoke dip you’d find in a restaurant. You’d never believe that the secret to the creaminess is a can of light coconut milk. Plus, you only need a few tablespoons of Parmesan to make it taste authentic, without a lot of extra calories.
What’s even better than the taste? Well the fact that its super easy to make and done on the stove top in less than 30 minutes. Talk about a new weeknight favorite! If you happen to have leftovers, those, are amazing the next day too.
No dryness with this chicken. The final bit of cooking simmering in the sauce adds a great flavor to the chicken, and an almost melt-in-your mouth chicken breast.
The dairy ingredients in this recipe is the Parmesan cheese, so if you’re dairy-free, I recommend the Go Veggie Dairy-Free Parmesan. You can also easily substitute the butter for vegan margarine. I like Earth Balance.
If you love spinach and artichoke dip, I’m pretty much insisting you make this. I promise, you’ll love it!
- 4 6 oz chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped
- 1 cup frozen spinach
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular all purpose if not gluten-free)
- Optional: salt & pepper (as needed)
- In a large skillet, heat to medium high heat. Spray with oil if needed for non stick. Season chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper (if using).
- Brown each chicken breast on both sides (about 5-6 minutes per side if thick).
- Remove from pan and set aside on a plate (they won't be cooked through at this point).
- In the same skillet, turn down to medium heat, melt the butter, and add in the chopped garlic and let cook for 30 seconds to let the garlic get a bit golden. Then add the flour and whisk until it makes a rue. Let it cook for 30 seconds, then slowly add the can of coconut milk. Keep whisking until the milk mixture is smooth (aside from the chunks of garlic).
- Let the milk mixture thicken a bit, then add in the parmesan cheese and whisk until its melted in. Sauce will start to thicken. Add in the chopped artichokes, and frozen spinach. I added in my spinach frozen (they were spinach nuggets) and separated it as it melted. If its frozen spinach in a box, you might want to thaw it in the microwave beforehand and squeeze out a bit of the excess liquid and measure out 1 cup.
- Place the chicken breasts back in the spinach/artichoke mixture and simmer all together with the lid off until the chicken is cooked through. The sauce will thicken a bit more as it simmers...just make sure you keep the lid off or it might get watery.
