Stuffed Flounder Florentine is a delicious restaurant-quality dish that is perfect for a date night dinner or fancy dinner party. Yet easy enough to make a family for a week-night dinner.
Mild flaky flounder stuffed with a mixture of spinach and cheese, baked to perfection in a mornay sauce, is a classic stuffed flounder recipe that won’t break the bank but impress your guests with its simple elegance.
And the great part is, that it takes almost no time to prep! And did I mention it was OMG delicious?
If you love flounder, my Crabmeat Stuffed Flounder and Fried Flounder are two of my favorite recipes.
What ingredients do I need to make Stuffed Flounder Florentine?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Stuffed Flounder Florentine. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I make this dish with other fish?
Absolutely! You can use any mild white fish fillets that you like. Tilapia, sole, perch, walleye, and even catfish are good fish to stuff. The fillets just need to be thin enough to roll.
How do I make Stuffed Flounder Florentine?
- Saute the baby spinach in a little olive oil, and let the spinach cook down completely (add a little water if necessary); this should only take a few minutes.
- Place the spinach in a colander to drain. When it’s completely cooled, squeeze out any remaining water. It should be moist, just not wet.
How do I make Béchamel and Mornay Sauce?
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add in the flour and mix well to make a roux. Allow the roux to cook on low heat for about 5 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add your heated stock to the roux to make a bechamel.
- Remove ¼ cup of the bechamel to add to your spinach.
- Add the milk, and allow to cook for a few minutes. If the sauce is too thick, it can be thinned out with a little more milk or water. You have now made a Veloute’.
- Add the shredded cheddar (or cheese of your choice) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- You now have made this into a Mornay sauce. Set aside and allow to cool.
How do I stuff flounder?
The first step is to mix the cheese, spinach, roasted red peppers, and bechamel sauce together to make the stuffing mix for the flounder.
- Place the flounder fillets on a sheet pan or flat surface.
- Divide the stuffing between the flounder fillets.
- Roll the flounder fillets so that the flounder surrounds the stuffing.
- Place the fillets in two individual baking dishes or one large enough to hold all four rolls without them moving around too much. Make sure the fillets are seam-side down so the flounder does not open up while baking.
- Add a little water to the pan and place in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and drain off the water, add the mornay sauce to the casserole dish with the stuffed flounder rolls and return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes ( I overfilled the dishes with mornay sauce and ended up taking some out. You should actually be able to see the flounder rolls).
Finish baking the Stuffed Flounder for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve with lemon wedges and your favorite side dishes. Since I already had spinach in the dish, I served my stuffed flounder florentine with seasoned rice, and it was ah-mazingly delicious!!
Recipe FAQ’s:
Yes, you can. This dish can be prepared up to a day ahead of time. Make sure to keep it well-covered and refrigerated until it’s time to bake the stuffed flounder. Then place the dishes in a preheated 350-degree F. oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top gets golden and bubbly.
I like to use a blend of cheese in my mixture using mozzarella, goat cheese, and gorgonzola. But you can use cheddar, swiss, gruyere, bleu cheese, fontina, or any cheese that you enjoy eating that melts well.
Yes, you can. Allow it to cool completely, then double-wrap the container with plastic wrap to ensure freshness. When reheating, allow the stuffed flounder to defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then unwrap the plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F has been reached.
Anna S
I made this for supper tonight using tilapia instead of flounder, and it was a huge hit. It’s definitely going in the ‘make this again’ recipe file. The fish was perfectly cooked, and even my normally-picky mother came back for more. I did a medley of roasted summer vegetables as a side dish, which was colorful but simple enough to let the presentation of the stuffed fish be the star of the table. Great recipe, thanks for sharing it!
Chef Dennis
hi Anna
happy to hear that you enjoyed my recipe, and tilapia was good substitute for the flounder!
Kathy W
I made this for dinner two nights ago, and it was so delicious, that I bought more flounder and spinach, so I could make it again! Thank you, Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis
thanks so much for letting me know that you enjoyed the stuffed flounder so much you’re making it again!
chefandsteward.com
I like the look of this. I think it is a nice recipe for guests too. Could you sub any white fish for flounder? I haven't seen flounder in the markets in Dubai. You are such a great resource. Keep on doing what you are doing because you certainly do it well!!
Magic of Spice
Delightful recipe, looks so delicious…and a delicious giveaway as well! Hope you had a wonderful valentines day 🙂
Daydreamer Desserts
Wait… wait… wait… Chef? Did I hear you correctly? You have a box of this amazing toffee to give away? Please sign me up! 🙂
Lin Ann
Looks so good!
grace
your skill continues to impress, dennis! great giveaway–the very thought of a pound of toffee makes me giddy. 🙂
Monet
What a great post! You know I would love that toffee 🙂 I think Ryan can relate to your wife's love/hate relationship with blogging. Sometimes, he wishes I didn't spend so much time on it…but mostly he loves the food we create for it! This flounder looks delicious, Dennis. I wish you could cook this for us on Friday night 🙂 Thank you for sharing, sweet man!
MarmandeintheKitchen
Yum, I love flounder, especially with a buttery sauce. Looks delicious!
5 Star Foodie
The flounder florentine sounds amazing, I love the mixture of the cheeses in the spinach filling, excellent!
rosemarried
Your blog always makes me drool. This looks positively gorgeous, I will have to try it!
Drick
that's the thing about the mother sauces, you can can't go wrong starting out with one… great stuffed fish, flounder is a favorite of mine…
Kate @ Diethood.com
I'm glad you're busy with your blog because I love it! I really enjoy reading your posts and copying your recipes. 🙂 Such as this one… great choice of fish and I love the stuffing…my husband will be over the moon when I prepare it for him.
Juliana
Dennis, your stuffed flounder looks delicious with the sauce that you have with it…mornay sauce 🙂
Mikaela Cowles
Salivating and not even hungry…