One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese
This One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese is what ooey, gooey comfort food dreams are made of (at least mine!). I’d say this dish is a “grown-up” twist on mac and cheese, but I think kids will love this too. Besides, what adult doesn’t love traditional mac and cheese? This one is a delicious variant though. With a rich cheese sauce made from sharp Parmesan and creamy Mozzarella, this pasta tastes decadent. You’d never guess it’s just 310 calories or 7 WW Points per cup. To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here! Plus, it comes together in just one pot for easy clean up! What’s not to love?
If you’re wondering why I called this “Florentine,” in culinary terms that basically means “with spinach.” So if you see Chicken Florentine or Eggs Florentine on a menu, it generally just means the dish includes spinach. Sometimes I’ll just say spinach in the title, but today I decided One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese sounded better than One-Pot Chicken and Spinach Mac and Cheese. I know, “what’s in a name?” and all that, but I thought I’d explain quickly in case you were unfamiliar with the term!
Looking for more tasty one-pot comfort food recipes like this One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese? Check out my One-Pot Barbecue Chicken Mac and Cheese, One-Pot Creamy Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Spinach, One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac, One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta, One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Lemon Garlic Chicken and Beans Skillet, One-Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta, One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Spanish Chicken and Rice Skillet, White Chicken Chili, Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta, Chicken Pot Pasta, Beef Enchilada Pasta Skillet, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, and so many more in the One-Pot Meals category of my recipe index!
One-Pot Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons light butter, I use Land O'Lakes light stick butter
- 1 ½ cups skim milk
- 2 ½ cups water
- 10 ounces dry whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 2 ounces shredded 2% Mozzarella cheese
- 3 ounces fresh spinach leaves
Instructions
- Season the chicken pieces with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and the ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder. Drizzle the oil in a 5 QT Dutch oven or large pot and bring to medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and browned. Remove the chicken to a side plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- In a small dish, stir together the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper with the flour. Place the butter into the pot and bring over medium heat. When the butter is melted, whisk the flour mixture in a little bit at a time until smooth. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter/flour mixture a little at a time, until combined and smooth. Add the water and whisk to combine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot from cooking the chicken.
- Increase the heat to med-high and stir occasionally until boiling. Reduce the heat to med-low and add the macaroni. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking, until pasta is cooked.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses until melted into the sauce. Add the spinach leaves and stir until wilted. Return the cooked chicken pieces from step 1 to the pot and stir together. Cook for another few minutes until heated through and serve.
Where can you get Land O Lakes light butter in “stick” form. I no longer can find it in any store. Now it’s only available in a tub, which is more difficult to measure out. It seems that LOL isn’t making it anymore… ??? Thanks
I just looked after seeing your comment and saw they discontinued it on their site. I’m so sad!! I use it all the time. I had a bunch on hand that I’ve been using, but I guess I’ll have to switch to using the tub for recipes as well (I already use it as spread butter). Bummer!
Can you use frozen spinach instead of fresh in this recipe?
Made this tonight, it came out delicious! Also pro tip: don’t forget to rinse your spinach unless you love that extra gritty crunch.
good and the rest of fam liked it too 🙂
YUM! I made this and used almond milk instead of skim milk and it came out so deliciously creamy. All of these flavors melt together so nicely and I thought of it as an alfredo vs a mac n cheese. Either way, EB made yet another winner for our family and this will definitely go into our rotation. LOVE this blog and everything she makes!
This turned out creamier than any other lower calorie mac and cheese recipe I have tried! I’ve been really missing that super decadent texture! Unfortunately, the taste seemed just a little flat. I think I will swap the water for chicken broth next time to see if that gives it a little more punch.
I made this tonight and it was simply delicious. Shared recipe with friends and told them a must make!
Your recipes are the best! Just made this tonight and it was awesome- my husband and two boys loved it as well. Thank you!
Hi Emily! I’m just checking that the servings for this recipe is 9 servings? Because it’s only 10 ounces of pasta, I’m sure of the other ingredients all add up.
Hi Sally,
Yup, it’s 9 servings!
I smoked some chicken yesterday. I think I’ll try it in this.
Loved this! Due to grocery store availability, I had to use regular macaroni noodles vs wheat and regular butter vs light, but the points weren’t bad even with those subs (especially with 0 pt chicken if you’re like me). It was super creamy and tasty, and the recipe was easy to follow. 1 cup was a surprising good portion; my husband and I were both surprised. It would sub well with broccoli.
Made this last night and we all loved it! I used half chicken broth and half water. Added a little more as needed- great flavor!
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The cuisine is tasty and well-prepared, and it’s much better when you teach everyone how to cook it.
The food is tasty and well-cooked, and it tastes even better when everyone knows how to make it.
I printed this recipe out in 2020 when it was first posted and just got around to making it! This was definitely a keeper. I used Brummel and Brown as my light butter of choice. Since the spinach wilts so much, I used 10 ounces and it was fine. Great recipe! The only thing I will do differently next time is add a little more salt.