Creamy Spinach Chicken

This chicken dish with spinach and artichokes blends juicy chicken, rich cottage cheese, tangy artichokes, and fresh spinach for a protein-loaded meal that's satisfying but still light. It's perfect when you need something tasty but don't want to spend all evening cooking.

I came up with this dish while trying to use up cottage cheese and spinach before they went bad. What started as random kitchen tinkering has turned into one of my family's favorite meals, especially when we want something comforting without loads of carbs.

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts: go for fresh boneless skinless ones as they're the perfect base for our tasty toppings
• Cottage cheese: brings amazing creaminess and extra protein while keeping everything moist. The full fat kind tastes best
• Fresh spinach: adds lots of vitamins and pretty color. Pick bright leaves with no yellow spots
• Artichoke hearts: gives a nice tang that cuts through the richness. Canned or jarred are fine but drain them well
• Garlic: fresh minced garlic adds wonderful aroma. Look for firm cloves without sprouts
• Parmesan cheese: brings that savory kick. Grating it yourself makes the dish taste much better
• Olive oil: stops everything from sticking and adds flavor. Extra virgin works wonders here
• Salt and pepper: brings out all the other flavors. Try sea salt and fresh ground pepper for best results

Step-by-Step Instructions

Warm Up and Cut Chicken:

Turn your oven to 400°F so it gets hot enough to cook everything fast without drying the meat. While it's heating up, chop your chicken into 1-inch chunks so they'll all cook at the same speed. Making them the same size means no pieces will end up dry while others stay raw.

Mix Your Creamy Stuff:

Now let's build all the yummy flavors that will make the chicken special. Put the cottage cheese in a bowl for creaminess, toss in the bright green spinach for health points, add chopped artichokes for their zingy taste, throw in the garlic for that amazing smell, and mix in Parmesan to bring it all together. Stir it all up really well so every bite has a bit of everything.

Get Your Dish Ready:

Pour olive oil into your baking dish and swirl it around so it coats all sides and corners. This stops sticking and makes everything taste better. When you add your chicken mix, spread it out flat instead of piling it up in the middle. This helps everything cook evenly so you don't get any raw spots.

Cook Until Done:

During the 25-30 minutes in the oven, something amazing happens. The chicken gets tender, the cottage cheese turns into a sauce, and all the flavors start mixing together. Make sure your chicken hits 165°F by checking a few pieces with a thermometer, especially the ones in the middle.

Eat Right Away:

This dish tastes best straight from the oven when everything's still bubbly and smells amazing. Sprinkle some fresh spinach on top for a pretty touch and to balance out the rich, baked parts.

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What I love most about this dish is how the cottage cheese changes when it bakes. I wasn't sure about using it in a hot dish the first time, but it turns into this amazing creamy sauce that's way more interesting than heavy cream or regular cheese sauce. My husband always said he hated cottage cheese but he couldn't even tell it was in this dish and now he asks for it all the time.

Storing Leftovers

This chicken dish stays good in the fridge for up to four days which makes it great for planning meals ahead. Keep it in sealed containers so it stays fresh and doesn't pick up other smells from your fridge. The flavors actually get better overnight so day two might taste even better than when you first made it. When you want to eat it again, just microwave a portion for about 90 seconds or warm it in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes until it's hot all the way through. Unlike a lot of chicken meals, this one stays juicy even after you reheat it.

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Simple Swaps

You can easily change this recipe based on what you've got at home. Turkey breast works just as well as chicken and takes about the same time to cook. If you don't do dairy, you can try ricotta instead of cottage cheese, though the texture will be a bit different. For a meat-free version, swap the chicken for firm tofu chunks or cooked white beans and cook it for about 20 minutes instead. You can use kale, baby arugula or Swiss chard instead of spinach, just cut out any tough stems first. Adding fresh herbs like basil, thyme or oregano tastes great too if you happen to have some.

What To Serve With It

This dish goes well with lots of different sides depending on what you like to eat. For a low carb meal, try it with a simple green salad with lemon juice and olive oil. If you want some carbs, it's great with roasted sweet potatoes or some crusty bread to soak up all the creamy sauce. It also tastes amazing over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice. When I have friends over, I sometimes put it in small individual dishes with a little side salad, and it looks fancy but doesn't take much work.

Frequently Asked Questions

→ Can fresh spinach be swapped out for frozen?

Definitely! Just make sure to defrost and squeeze out the extra water so the dish doesn’t end up too watery.

→ What’s a good alternative to cottage cheese?

If cottage cheese isn’t your thing, you can try fluffy ricotta or creamy cream cheese instead.

→ How do I check if the chicken is done?

A meat thermometer is your best friend here—look for an internal temp of 165°F (74°C). Make sure the chicken is white with no pink inside too.

→ Can this meal be prepped in advance?

Sure! You can mix everything ready to go and store it in the fridge for up to a day before baking.

→ What should I serve alongside this dish?

Fresh salad, roasted veggies, or cooked grains like quinoa or even rice all pair perfectly with this meal.