I love spinach artichoke dip. It’s tasty, flavorful, and feels sort of healthy because it has vegetables and classy because it has that fancy vegetable, artichokes. However, I know that realistically a dinner of tortilla chips and spinach artichoke dip, which traditionally has a lot of cheese in it (shhhh don’t tell anyone), is extremely unhealthy and likely to make me feel extremely guilty the next day. This recipe aims to combine my love of spinach artichoke dip with my need for a decently healthy and protein rich dinner option. Removing the usual cream cheese and adding in some chicken thighs brings these desires to life in a sophisticated dinner option, that’s not just boring grilled chicken breast and broccoli.
Spinach and Artichoke Chicken
Spinach and Artichoke Chicke
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds Chicken Thighs or 4 to 6 individual thighs depending on size
- 8 oz fresh Spinach
- 14 oz canned artichokes
- 1 Yellow onion medium size
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 4 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 TBSP Olive oil
- 1 TBSP Butter
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 TBSP Flour or a pinch of xanthan gum if you want to go gluten free
- Pinch Nutmeg less than ¼ teaspoon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain the can of artichokes and roughly chop
- Mince the garlic, dice the onions, roughly chop the spinach and set aside
- Open up your chicken thighs, pat dry and lightly season with salt & pepper
- In a saute pan heat one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. Once the mixture starts to get bubbly add in the garlic and let it get fragrant.
- Place your thighs in the hot pan being careful not to crowd the pan and allow them to sear on each side for 4 to 5 minutes each. You’re looking for a nice, crisp, golden brown color.
- Once the thighs have a crispy exterior and the outside looks cooked remove from the pan and set on a plate to rest. Leave the garlic and butter oil mixture in the pan. The thighs aren’t finished cooking, but you want to use the pan to start the spinach artichoke mixture.
- Add the onions to the pan and allow them to cook down. Once they are 80% cooked add in the artichokes allowing some of their moisture to deglaze the pan.
- Once the pan has adequately deglazed add in the spinach and allow to saute and wilt.
- In a small saute pan or pot warm half of the cup of milk on low heat adding in the pinch of nutmeg. Be careful with the nutmeg, it can be very overpowering, less really is more, but it adds essential flavor to any white sauce.
- Slowly add in the flour, stirring the milk continuously until it begins to thicken. You can also do this using xanthan gum to make the recipe gluten free, however, you will need ¼ teaspoon or less. Once the first ½ cup of milk has thickened slowly add in the remaining ½ cup.
- Once the white sauce is finished add it to the spinach and artichoke mixture. Stir to combine and let warm through for a minute or two, then mix in the majority of the parmesan cheese reserving some to sprinkle on top when its finished.
- Return the chicken thighs to the pan and turn the heat down to low.
- Put a lid on the pan and let cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through. It’s best to check doneness using a meat thermometer. For chicken the safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° Fahrenheit.
- Once your chicken is done serve up a thich with some of the spinach artichoke mixture, or serve the whole pan family style on the dinner table.
