This Mediterranean Chicken is my recreation of a dish from a restaurant here in Louisiana called Spirits. A pan-seared chicken breasts are topped with garlicy sautéed spinach, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and crumbles of soft, warm goat cheese. It’s all topped off with a simple, light lemon butter pan sauce. It’s a meal that looks and feels impressive but comes together in under 30 minutes with just a handful of ingredients.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Garlic Spinach
- Olive oil
- Baby spinach
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Apple cider vinegar – Or lemon juice.
Mediterranean Chicken
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Dry white wine – Or a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth with a little white wine vinegar added to it.
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Fresh lemon juice
- Butter
- Sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
- Marinated artichoke hearts
- Goat cheese crumbles
How to Make Mediterranean Chicken Breasts
- For the garlic spinach topping, you’ll sauté some spinach with garlic and salt and pepper and then add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice.
- For the chicken, you’ll sear it and cook covered on the stovetop then build the sauce right in the pan with white wine or chicken stock, lemons, garlic, and butter.
- To finish, you’ll top each chicken breast with the spinach, some chopped up sundried tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts, and a little handful of crumbled goat cheese.
- That all gets heated through briefly and then served with the pan sauce. Delicious!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover components separately. You can reheat and assemble as needed. Enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- Serve alongside rice or noodles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this with chicken thighs?
You can, although thighs are richer and fattier than breasts. The breasts probably pair better with the light lemon sauce, but both would be delicious.
Can I bake the chicken?
If you prefer cooking chicken in the oven you could do that. I would recommend using a skillet that can go from stovetop to oven. That way you can still sear it on the stovetop, cook it in the oven, and then build your sauce back on the stovetop.
Mediterranean Chicken Breasts
These Mediterranean Chicken Breasts look (and taste) fancy, but you can make it start to finish in 30 minutes! Creamy goat cheese, salty sun dried tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts, and garlicky spinach all combine in this amazing dinner!
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
Sautéed Garlic Spinach
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil bacon grease or butter work as well; the type of fat doesn't matter much here
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 – 2 teaspoons Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice
Mediterranean Chicken
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts boneless, skinless, 4 breasts
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth + 1-2 teaspoons white wine vinegar added to it or ½ cup dry white wine
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- juice of 2 small lemons
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil chopped
- ¼ cup marinated artichoke hearts chopped (about ½ of a 6 ounce jar)
- 3 ounces goat cheese crumbled, Feta would also work
Instructions
Sautéed Garlic Spinach
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the spinach and most of the garlic (save about 1 tablespoon of garlic to add near the end. Also, you might need to add about half the spinach and allow it to wilt a little before adding the rest).
- When the spinach has cooked down to where it's about at the top of the pan, add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring very frequently, until the spinach is almost completely cooked down and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and vinegar or lemon juice. Set aside 1 cup for this recipe, then reserve the rest in an airtight container to use for meal prep bowls, omelets, etc.
Mediterranean Chicken
- In a heavy skillet with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. While the oil is heating, season the chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. When the pan is hot, add the chicken breasts and cover the pan. Cook for 7 minutes (you might want to check while it's cooking and make sure the chicken isn't sticking to the pan). After 7 minutes, flip the chicken breasts and cook for another 7 minutes or until an internal temperature reaches 165℉.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce ingredients–measure out the chicken broth + vinegar or the wine, slice the lemons in half, mince the garlic, and measure the butter. If you still have time, prepare the toppings–have the spinach ready to go, chop the sun dried tomatoes and artichokes, and crumble the cheese. Set aside.
- When the chicken breasts are done cooking, remove from heat and lower the heat to medium-low. Add the chicken broth mixture or wine to the pan and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan into the liquid. Add the garlic, butter, and squeeze the lemons into the pan. Return the chicken breasts to the pan and top with the spinach, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and goat cheese. Cover the pan and heat until the spinach is heated through and the cheese is soft and warm.
- Transfer the chicken breasts to serving plates and spoon the sauce from the pan over the chicken. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Serving: 1breast with toppings, Calories: 511kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 43g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 134mg, Sodium: 446mg, Potassium: 1209mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 7306IU, Vitamin C: 35mg, Calcium: 140mg, Iron: 4mg
Calories: 511kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
This recipe was magnificent and easy to do. I substituted boneless skinless chicken thighs for breasts and feta cheese for the goat. Also added a few kalamata olives for pretty and finished them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Triple WOW for taste and presentation.
Soooo glad to hear this!! Funny story—I went to this restaurant and ordered this yesterday and it was RAW. So. Very glad I can make it at home because I think I might be ruined. ???
Just finished making this and gobbling it up!!! It was DELICIOUS!!! Definitely making it again very soon! It would be yummy with fresh basil on top! Wow….thanks for another great recipe!!
Made this tonight and it was a big hit! Everyone, including the 4 year old and 1 year old ate everything on their plates! I subbed Gouda cheese for the goat cheese because that is what I had on hand. It was good but I bet the goat cheese is even better? Thanks, Kate, for this great recipe!!!
Made this tonight. I am not a big fan of artichokes, but I made it with them anyway just to try them one more time. ?My boys liked just the plain chicken with the lemon/broth sauce. I still didn’t care for the artichokes, but other than that it was super tasty. (My hubby’s stomach can’t tolerate fresh garlic, so I subbed powdered and it worked just fine.) The sauce is definitely the best part!!
This chicken dish looks like it has so much flavor! I wondered if someone did not like goat cheese, if cream cheese could be used it its place in a dish like this?
Thanks!
Absolutely!