Chicken with Spinach and Cannellini Beans. Boneless chicken bites sautéed in oil with spinach, diced tomatoes, and cannellini beans.
Welcome to the third recipe in our Chicken with Cannellini Beans series of recipes. In this version, Chicken with Spinach and Cannellini Beans, we are using spinach to change up this dish. This recipe is a very subtle change, as the first version of this recipe calls for diced tomatoes and beans. However, a small change like this really does make a completely different dish and eating experience.
Look for more recipes to be coming out in this series, Chicken with Cannellini Beans.
NOTE
Before beginning the recipe remember to read the “Invent Your Recipe” section below for additional suggestions, recipe combinations, or ingredient alternatives.
How to Make Chicken with Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Preparing the Chicken:
- Begin by cutting the boneless chicken breasts into stripes. In a large skillet add in the canola oil and bring to a high heat.
- Next, add in the chicken and sauté on all sides until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes total). Remove the chicken from the skillet and drain the oil.
Bringing the Recipe Together:
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add in the spinach, diced tomatoes (with liquid), cannellini beans (with liquid), salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally.
- Next, add the chicken back into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally.
To Serve:
- Serve the chicken with spinach and cannellini beans with crusty Italian bread.
More Chicken Recipes
Spinach and Artichoke Chicken
Spinach and Artichoke Chicken. Chicken bites sautéed with garlic, diced tomatoes, artichokes and spinach.
Baked Chicken Recipe
Baked Chicken and Garden Vegetables. Vegetables from the garden seasoned and baked in extra virgin olive oil with chicken.
Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe
Perfect Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe. A whole chicken seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and roasted over a bed of vegetables.
The Recipe
Chicken with Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breasts about 1 lb. cut into stripes
- 1 bag 10-12 oz. baby spinach
- 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes or 2 plum tomatoes diced
- 1 15oz can of cannellini beans or equivalent
- ¼ cup canola oil or equivalent
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Before beginning the recipe remember to read the "Invent Your Recipe" section below for additional suggestions, recipe combinations, or ingredient alternatives.
Preparing the Chicken:
- Begin by cutting the boneless chicken breasts into stripes. In a large skillet add in the canola oil and bring to a high heat.
- Next, add in the chicken and sauté on all sides until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes total). Remove the chicken from the skillet and drain the oil.
Bringing it all Together:
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add in the spinach, diced tomatoes (with liquid), cannellini beans (with liquid), salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally.
- Next, add the chicken back into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally.
To Serve:
- Serve the chicken with spinach and cannellini beans with crusty Italian bread.
Invent Your Recipe
Nutrition
Invent Your Recipe:
I enjoy boneless chicken breasts the most with this recipe, however, I have used boneless pork loin and London broil before as substitutes, and have been happy with the result. You could even use shrimp, scallops, or calamari if you wanted to make this a seafood dish.
For the beans, you can pretty much use anything you like. I am not sure if I would like this chicken with spinach and cannellini beans dish as much with black beans, however they would technically work. I would recommend kidney beans, navy beans, garbanzo, or pinto beans as substitutes for the cannellini beans.
For the tomatoes, fresh diced plum tomatoes are always preferred by me, however, diced tomatoes are inexpensive and easy to use. I have also used sun dried tomatoes, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers in this dish. I encourage you to try a variety of ingredients to pair with the chicken and beans.
For the spinach, you could substitute many vegetables, including Swiss chard, kale (add some cooking time), eggplant, zucchini, green beans, peas, Brussel sprout. Really the list of vegetables is endless. Use what you have in the house, or try some new combinations of vegetables. That main thing is having fun and enjoy.
I just made this but of course I used the recipe as a guide. It was delicious and here is what I did differently. I used a rotisserie chicken breast instead that I cut into bite size pieces, I added some thyme, sage, salt & pepper, dehydrated onions, & some chicken seasoning. I also only had fire roasted tomatoes. I put the beans, tomatoes, spices & spinach in a deep frying skillet, I simmered it until the spinach was cooked to my liking. I then added the chicken. I didn’t use oil & the flavor was delicious.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Peggy, thank you so much for sharing and inventing your version of this recipe. This sounds delicious!
Rotisserie chicken is so versatile, and I loved how you used it here. The herbs were a fantastic addition, and the order in which you cooked everything was a nice touch. There was no need for oil! That was smart.
Thanks again for sharing.
This was an awesome recipe. Not only was it easy, and quick, it was so flavorful. My hubby loved it. I used Great Northern beans because I didn’t have cannellini beans. This is definitely a keeper, especially when it is one of those nights you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. THANK YOU!
I am delighted you liked the recipe. Using great norther beans was a nice idea. I agree, this is a perfect recipe when you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. Thanks for sharing and inventing!
Just made this tonight for my family of 4. We all loved how the flavors came together. The spinach, tomatoes, and beans (I used Great Northern beans) were a delicious combination. Thanks!
I am glad your family enjoyed this dish! Thanks for sharing.