Chicken Florentine crepes are an elegant, low-carb lunch or dinner that comes together in under thirty minutes once the crepes are made. Coconut flour crepes filled with chopped chicken, spinach, cream, and two cheeses, rolled and baked in a buttered dish with more mozzarella on top until golden. The filling is rich and savory in the direction of a chicken Florentine, which is the Italian culinary term for a dish prepared with spinach, applied here to the crepe format.
The recipe uses four coconut flour crepes to make six portions, each crepe rolled with filling and then either served as is or the recipe yields six depending on how you portion the filling. The coconut flour crepes need to be made first, either from a separate recipe or from a preferred low-carb crepe method. Standard wheat crepes work here if you’re not following a low-carb approach and produce the same flavor with a slightly thinner, more delicate texture.
The chicken and spinach filling
Melt two ounces of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken breast cut into small pieces and cook for about seven minutes until fully cooked through. Small pieces rather than strips or chunks cook more evenly and fit better inside a rolled crepe without creating lumps that tear the crepe as you roll.
Add the spinach and cook for two minutes. Fresh spinach wilts down quickly; frozen spinach should be thawed and squeezed dry before going in so excess water doesn’t thin the filling. The filling needs to be cohesive, not wet. Add the seasoning, the two tablespoons of heavy cream, the grated parmesan, and half the mozzarella. Stir until the cheese has melted and the filling is smooth and slightly saucy. Remove from the heat.
The parmesan adds a sharp, salty depth and the mozzarella adds the stretchy, melty quality that makes the filling feel substantial. Together they create a filling that holds together when rolled and doesn’t slide out of the crepe. The cream ties everything together and adds a slight richness that makes the filling more cohesive than it would be without it.
Rolling and baking
Lay each crepe flat on a clean surface. Divide the filling equally between the four crepes, spreading it evenly but leaving a small border around the edge. Roll each crepe like a cannoli, which means rolling into a cylinder rather than folding over like a burrito. Place each roll seam-side down in a buttered baking dish. The seam-side-down placement holds the roll closed during baking without needing any fastening.
Scatter the remaining mozzarella over the top of all four rolls. Into a 350-degree oven for fifteen minutes until the cheese on top has melted and turned slightly golden. The baking step is brief because the filling is already fully cooked; you’re just heating through and melting the cheese topping.
Chicken Florentine as a concept
Florentine in a culinary context means prepared with spinach, a term that comes from Catherine de Medici, who brought spinach from Florence to the French court in the sixteenth century. Whether the story is fully accurate or not, the convention stuck: eggs Florentine, sole Florentine, chicken Florentine all indicate spinach as a central ingredient. In this recipe, the spinach is cooked into the filling and merges with the cheese and chicken rather than appearing as a separate bed of greens.
I find this format useful for low-carb cooking because the crepe is substantial enough to feel like a real vessel rather than a lettuce wrap or a bowled substitution. The coconut flour crepe has a mild, slightly sweet flavor that works well against savory fillings and holds up to the baking step without tearing. Makes four filled crepes, serves four as a main. Nutrition per serving: 343 calories, 4g carbohydrates, 3g net carbs, 21g protein, 27g fat.
Make it ahead
The filling can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated. Assemble the crepes and bake when ready to serve, adding an extra five minutes to the bake time if the filling is cold from the fridge. The assembled but unbaked crepes can also be covered and refrigerated for up to a day before baking. This makes it a practical dinner-party dish since almost all the work can be done in advance.
Chicken Florentine Crepes
Description
Coconut flour crepes stuffed with chicken, spinach, cream, and two cheeses, rolled and baked in a buttered dish. Low-carb. Ready in 30 minutes, serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a baking dish.
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Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for about 7 minutes until fully cooked through.
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Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes.
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Add the garlic powder, salt, pepper, heavy cream, Parmesan, and half the mozzarella. Stir until the cheese has melted and the filling is cohesive. Remove from heat.
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Lay each crepe flat and divide the filling equally between them. Roll each crepe into a cylinder and place seam-side down in the buttered baking dish.
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Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly golden..
Note
Servings set to 4 (one crepe per person). Squeeze frozen spinach dry before using. Seam-side down in the baking dish keeps the rolls closed. Nutrition per serving (estimated): 343 calories, 4g carbohydrates, 3g net carbohydrates, 21g protein, 27g fat, 1g fiber. Nutrition is an estimate and will vary based on crepe recipe and ingredients used.
