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Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast has a tender juicy chicken breast stuffed with creamy, garlicky spinach and 3 different kinds of cheese. It’s a deliciously cheesy chicken recipe that’s ready in 40 minutes!
Need more easy chicken recipes? Try my Sticky Chicken or Chicken Piccata next!
Why I Love This Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
- Cheesy and Flavorful – No more boring chicken! This chicken breast recipe is stuffed with a creamy mix of spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and garlic.
- Ready in 40 Minutes – Just mix up the filling, stuff the chicken breasts, brown on the stovetop, and finish in the oven.
- A Perfect Weeknight Chicken Recipe – This recipe uses basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand! It’s perfect for a busy weeknight.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – Try to pick chicken breasts that are similar in size for more even cooking.
- Frozen Chopped Spinach – Or fresh spinach that is chopped and sauteed first.
- Cream Cheese – I like full-fat, but you can also use low-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese – Freshly grated if possible.
- Mozzarella Cheese – I prefer freshly shredded mozzarella for this recipe so that it easily melts into the filling.
- Green Onions
- Fresh Garlic – Fresh garlic has the best flavor, but you could also use garlic powder or jarred minced garlic.
- Seasonings – Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, and Black Pepper.
- Oil – Any neutral cooking oil will work here, like canola or vegetable oil.
How To Make Spinach Stuffed Chicken
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Dry The Spinach – Squeeze all the water out of the thawed spinach.
Make The Filling – Mix up the spinach, softened cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, green onion, and red pepper flakes.
Stuff The Chicken – Slice a pocket into the chicken and stuff with the spinach-cheese filling. Season the outside of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Saute The Chicken – Heat the cooking oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken breasts in batches for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Finish In The Oven – Place all the chicken back in the skillet and place in a preheated 375°F oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the chicken breasts are fully cooked and have reached 165°F.
Serve and Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve Spinach Stuffed Chicken with a salad, like Caesar Salad or my Olive Garden Copycat Salad, or vegetables, like Roasted Broccolini or Garlic Green Beans.
Add a starchy side or two like Angel Hair Pasta or Garlic Butter Pasta and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat in a 350°F oven until the chicken has reached 165°F.
Expert Tips
- Stuffing The Chicken – If you are having trouble with the stuffing falling out of the chicken, you can take a little of the filling out and use toothpicks to secure the pockets shut.
- Low Fat Cream Cheese – You could lighten this recipe slightly by using a lower fat Neufchatel cheese in place of the cream cheese. I do not recommend using fat-free dairy items for this dish.
- Using Fresh Spinach – If you don’t have frozen chopped spinach, you could saute 3 cups of chopped fresh baby spinach and squeeze out the excess moisture just as you would with the frozen.
- Butter vs. Oil – For a bit of a richer dish, you could replace 2 tablespoons of butter for 2 tablespoons of the oil when frying the chicken. Make sure to keep at least 1 tablespoon of oil, so that your butter doesn’t burn due to the high heat.
- No Oven Safe Skillet? If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer the chicken to a sheet pan to finish baking it.
More Chicken Recipes
- Breaded Chicken Cutlets
- Apricot Chicken
- Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
- Cheesy Baked Pesto Chicken
- Chicken and Rice Bake
- Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 green onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375℉.
- Place the thawed spinach into the center of a tea towel and use it to wring out all of the moisture you can get. You don’t want to water down the filling with the trapped moisture in the spinach. Place the dried spinach in the bottom of a medium bowl.
- Add the cream cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, green onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a ½ teaspoon of pepper to the spinach and mix until evenly and well combined; set aside.
- Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into each chicken breast horizontally, making sure to be careful and not cut all the way through.
- Stuff ¼ of the filling into the pocket of each chicken breast, making sure you can fully close the chicken around the filling.
- Season the outside chicken breasts with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add the oil. When the oil shimmers and is hot, saute the chicken breast in batches (so you don’t crowd the pan) for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Place all chicken in the skillet and place the skillet in the preheated oven and cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until a thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the meat registers 165℉.
- Remove chicken to a serving platter or cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Hi Kristin,
Stuffed chicken breast that are seared with that nice golden brown and those wonderful brown bits on the bottom of the pan has so much flavor in it. I always swirl the chicken breasts around in that lovely browned bits. I stuff mine with mozzarella and spinach. So good. I started making that in 1995. It’s so darn good 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂
Hugs,
Teresa
You are so welcome Teresa! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.