Stuffed Chicken Breast
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My stuffed chicken breast recipe features a creamy spinach, cheese, and sun-dried tomato filling tucked inside juicy chicken breasts. It’s quick enough for weeknights yet impressive enough for guests and special occasions.
Why I love stuffed chicken breasts
If you are looking for an easy yet elegant chicken dinner, my stuffed chicken breast recipe is the answer. It is one of my favorite ways to elevate a simple chicken breast and a recipe I make for both weeknight dinners and special occasions.
The creamy spinach, cheese, and sun-dried-tomato filling keeps the chicken juicy and flavorful, while making it look far more impressive than the effort involved. Here’s why you should make it:
- A filling that never disappoints. Creamy spinach and cheese are a match made in heaven and you can never go wrong with this combination of ingredients. And sun-dried tomatoes are just there to make things even better.
- Perfect for making ahead. I often stuff the chicken breasts the night before (and sometimes up to two days ahead) and keep them refrigerated until I’m ready to cook.
- Naturally low carb. It’s packed with protein and flavor, and I don’t rely on breadcrumbs or heavy sauces.
- Three cooking methods. I prefer using the skillet because it’s fast (10 minutes) but I’ve included my air fryer and oven methods, too.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Exceptional!! So tender and creamy filling… loved it!” – Jess
Table of Contents
Ingredients needed
- Chicken breast. I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but skin-on chicken works well too. If you do opt for the latter, be sure to pat dry the skin to ensure it turns out crispy.
- Spinach. Baby spinach, chopped. Please do not use frozen spinach, as the excess liquid seeps into the mixture, resulting in a watery filling instead of a creamy one.
- Cream cheese. Softened for easy mixing. Avoid using low-fat or fat-free cream cheese, as it will release moisture during cooking.
- Sun-dried tomatoes. Packed in oil, not water. I find the water-soaked tomatoes tend to lose it’s flavor once cooked.
- Parmesan. Freshly grated. My #1 tip when working with recipes that call for cheese is to always grate or shred by hand. It melts more easily and tastes better. I’ve also had success with freshly sliced mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
- Feta. I prefer a soft feta cheese, such as Greek or Danish feta. Generic feta cheese will also work, but it will be a little chunkier VS creamier.
- Salt and spices. I use black pepper and smoked paprika for this recipe.
- Butter. To cook the chicken breasts. You can also use olive oil for this, but I like the golden sear butter gives.
How to make stuffed chicken breast
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep the chicken breasts. Butterfly the chicken breasts, fold them open, and season the outer side with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Step 2- Make the filling. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese with grated Parmesan cheese, feta cheese, chopped baby spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Step 3- Stuff the chicken. Put some of the cream cheese mixture on one side of the butterflied chicken breast, then fold over and secure with toothpicks.
Step 4- Cook. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a knob of butter to it and brown the chicken on all sides. Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Alternative cooking methods
While I prefer to cook stuffed chicken on the stovetop, I’ve also tested this recipe in the air fryer and the oven! Here is how you’d do it:
Air fryer method: Add the stuffed chicken to a greased air fryer basket. Air fry at 200C/400F for 12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Oven method: Prep the chicken as instructed, then add it to a cast-iron skillet or oven-safe dish. Bake at 180C/350F for 35-40 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160F (plus 5 minutes resting). For an even juicer chicken, sear it before baking.
Arman’s recipe tips
- You’ll know the chicken is fully cooked once the thickest part reaches an internal temperature of 160F (plus 5 minutes of resting time). Use a meat thermometer to double-check.
- Rest the chicken for 5 minutes before serving. The juices will redistribute, and the chicken will be even juicier.
- Broil the chicken for 1-2 minutes before serving for an even crispier exterior. Be wary, though, that doing this for even a few minutes extra will burn the chicken.
- Use softened cream cheese. It will make the mixture mixable and creamy. If my cream cheese is a little too hard, I’ll microwave it for 15-20 seconds.
- Having trouble stuffing the chicken? Here’s how I butterfly them with ease. Slice it horizontally through the middle without cutting all the way through, then open it like a book.
Frequently asked questions
The easiest and most efficient way to seal stuffed chicken is with toothpicks, but you can also use strings. Just remember to discard before serving.
Fold open the chicken breast, cover it with cling wrap, and pound it to flatten it. I use a meat mallet, but any hard object will work (I’ve used a cast-iron skillet, a rolling pin, and even a saucepan before!).
What to serve with stuffed chicken
I like to keep the sides on the simple side, to really let the chicken shine:
Stuffed Chicken Breast
Video
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breasts skinless and boneless, 600g/21 ounces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 6 ounces + 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened, 200g
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese 35g
- 1/3 cup feta cheese 50g
- 1 cup baby spinach chopped, 30g
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, 40g
- 1 tablespoon butter to cook
Instructions
- Butterfly your chicken breasts by slicing them horizontally through the middle and stopping just before it cuts them in half. Sprinkle the outside with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, baby spinach, and sun dried tomatoes.
- Stuff the chicken breasts with the filling, and use toothpicks to hold everything in place. Don't worry if some of the filling falls out.
- Place a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and once hot, and the chicken and brown all sides of it. Cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165.
Notes
Nutrition
More skillet chicken breast recipes
Originally published August 2022
Made this tonight and holy yum it’s so good!!
We didn’t have feta cheese. The recipe without feta is still over the top. I added some fresh crushed garlic and chopped onion to the sauce. A definite #1 if you are serving guests.
Absolutely delicious 😋 I added some shallot and garlic as well.
I am going to try to make this tonight I will let you know how it turns out.
Please do, Kammy! 🙂
Fantastic chicken with stuffing from your suggested recipes! I am 73 with arthritis hands so the mixing of the cheeses was alittle rough but al and all easy to prepare and cook
Thank you
Enjoyable dish, I use feta, ricotta, creamed cheese & spinach
Love the description and recipe, but I have a problem with the toothpick thing. Found that they didn’t come out very smoothly after cooking and id Hate to serve someone splinters. I tried it a second time, instead of closing that way, wrap them in plastic and roll tightly, like you were doing a pastry, throw em in the fridge for maybe an hour, even overnight prep, and when you pull them out to cook and unwrap them they hold very well in tiny almost burrito shapes! Got me a ton of brownie points serving to the in-laws last week =D
Thanks for sharing your method, Fred. I hear you- some toothpicks can be a little weak or brittle, which defeats the purpose. I’m glad you found a workaround 🙂
I actually never made stuffed chicken. Only plain.
This could be life change haha.
This is one of our families new favorites. I make it exactly as written but I do bake it for a few minutes after sautéing in the butter
This recipe turned out fabulously! Moist and cheesy. I added chopped bacon instead of the sun dried tomatoes. My only complaint is that the recipe took a lot longer to make. Closer to 1/2 hr for me. Still a keeper
Exceptional!! So tender and creamy filling.. loved it!
Thanks, Jess!
It’s currently in the oven as I write, but smells soooo good! Was a simple great idea. This is my first time making any kind of stuffed chicken, so I had a learning curve on butterflying the breasts (it didn’t help it was Costco Jumbo breasts from frozen that I thawed out) as they were already thin and not plump. Some, I was able to butterfly nicely, while others I just rolled up after flattening out like a pin wheel. In the end it didn’t matter, seemed to be about a quarter inch of chicken wrapped around a creamy cheesy filling either way. I didn’t have the sun dried tomatoes so I used sauteed mushrooms instead…. Oh the timer just went off. I’ll finish my comment after dinner and let you know how it turned out…. Wow!!! Even the young kids, 9 and 11 said it’s a keeper! Such an easy meal that is restaurant quality at home. 9.5/10 is what my most picky eater said. And as the cook I like how easy it will be to change a little here and there depending on what’s available in the fridge and make it your own. Next time I’m adding jalapeno bits inside and breadcrumb coating outside. Defiantly a keeper! Thank you for sharing.
Blair, what a wonderful comment- thanks for keeping me updated throughout the process too 🙂 I’m so glad the kids also enjoyed them. What a great idea to use sauteed mushrooms! I hear you on Costco chicken- I’ve stopped buying it from there for that reason- I do not understand how some of them can be over a pound each!!!!
These stuffed chicken breasts are the best I’ve ever had!!! So yummy with all the cheese and spinach. Can’t say enough good things!! Thank you…
So this is actually chicken filled with cream cheese and seasonigs aswell?
Loved it. Made it with roast pumpkin in place of the tomato
Thanks for another simple delicious recipe
This was so good. My husband wants me to make it with asparagus next