Creamy and cheesy Spinach Stuffed Chicken is so juicy and tasty. Searing on the stove then finishing it off in the oven ensures it is perfectly cooked in the center. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
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Spinach Stuffed Chicken Video
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Why You Will Love Stuffed Chicken Breast
We love stuffed chicken breast recipes from Stuffed Chicken Parmesan to Easy Chicken Kiev, and let’s not forget Chicken Pesto Roll-Ups. If you are looking for new chicken dinner ideas, this Spinach Stuffed Chicken is a must-try!
My brother-in-law Vitalik shared this Spinach Chicken with my husband and we lost no time in recreating the dish. Tender chicken stuffed with cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh chopped spinach. It was love at first bite! The filling becomes super creamy and cheesy in the oven and it keeps the chicken breast really juicy.
Ingredients for Stuffed Chicken
The key to making great stuffed chicken breasts is to use even-sized pieces. This way they all finish baking at the same time.
- Chicken Breast – we use 3 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts totaling about 1 3/4 to 2 lbs.
- Seasoning – salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to season the outside of the chicken.
- Cream Cheese – use 4 oz of cold block-style cream cheese
- Mayonnaise – makes the filling extra creamy so it melts easier without curdling. Mayo makes many things better!
- Garlic – adding fresh garlic cloves to the filling is a must. We use a garlic press for this.
- Spinach – freshly chopped spinach works great. See our notes below on substituting with frozen.
- Cheese – the combination of mozzarella and parmesan adds the perfect balance of saltiness and melty cheesiness.
How to Make Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Make Filling – use a fork to mash together cream cheese, mayo, minced garlic, and salt. Mash in chopped spinach, shredded mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Cut slits in chicken – lay chicken breast flat and use a sharp knife to cut a slit about 3/4 of the way into the chicken.
- Stuff chicken – fill each chicken breast with 1/3 of the mixture then seal edges with toothpicks.
- Sear chicken – heat a large 10″ oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and saute chicken 4 minutes per side until browned.
- Bake – transfer your hot skillet to the preheated oven at 425˚F for about 10-15 minutes (depending on chicken thickness), or until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of your chicken registers 165˚F.
Pro Tip: Make sure you don’t cut all the way through the chicken so the filling is less likely to leak out. If you do, no problem, just seal the other side with a toothpick.
Common Questions:
Some very large chicken breasts will have a strip of chicken tender meat attached. Remove tenders and use them to make Crispy Chicken Tenders.
Chicken thighs are more difficult to seal and require a little more trimming of fat, but it would work to stuff thighs. Follow the method we used on our Stuffed Chicken Thighs Recipe.
Frozen spinach works if thawed and squeezed dry to remove the excess liquid.
If you cut three chicken breasts in half, you can easily serve 6 people with about 5 oz of chicken each. You can also use 4 small chicken breasts for 4 generous portions, just be sure to reduce the cooking time accordingly with smaller chicken breasts.
Serving Tip: Some of the fillings will escape and turn into tasty pan drippings. Spoon that yummy pan sauce over your chicken when serving.
How to Reheat Stuffed Chicken
Chicken breast is a lean protein so it can be challenging to reheat without it getting tough or having that reheated chicken taste. Stuffed chicken is best served fresh, but it does reheat well. Be sure the chicken reaches 165˚F in the center on a thermometer.
- Oven – this is the preferred method. Preheat oven to 325˚F, cover with foil to prevent drying out, and bake 10-15 minutes until hot.
- Stove-top – place in a lightly oiled skillet over low heat, cover, and saute until hot. Flip chicken at least once.
- Microwave – this is the least desirable method, but if you insist, cut chicken in half so the heat penetrates better. Sprinkle water and any pan juices over your chicken, heat on 50% power, and check at 30-45 second intervals until steaming hot throughout.
Cream cheese and spinach stuffed chicken breast is adventurous and tastes like a restaurant-quality dish, but it’s really easy to prepare. I hope you absolutely love this recipe!
More Chicken Recipes to try
If you love this Stuffed Chicken then you won’t want to miss these easy chicken dinner ideas.
- Lemon Chicken
- Spatchcock Chicken
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Classic Chicken Parmesan
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
For the Chicken Breasts:
- 3 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 3/4 to 2 lbs, even-sized pieces)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
For the Filling:
- 4 oz cream cheese, cold
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F with a rack in the center. In a mixing bowl, mash together cream cheese, mayo and garlic with a fork then stir in mozzarella, parmesan and chopped spinach leaves until combined.
- Lay chicken on a flat surface and cut slit 3/4 of the way through without cutting all the way through. Stuff each chicken breast with 1/3 of the mixture and seal horizontally with a toothpick (make sure the chicken breast can lay flat on the sides for searing.
- Season the outside of the chicken breast all over with 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp paprika, or season to taste.
- Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in an oven-proof pan such as cast iron, or large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté for 4 minutes per side until golden brown on each side.
- Flip a second time and immediately transfer skillet to preheated oven. Bake at 425˚F for 10-15 minutes until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers at 165˚F. Rest chicken 5 minutes before slicing. Spoon pan juices over chicken to serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
Loved your recipe and made it the other day. I made 2 substitutions. Instead of only spinach, i made it with a 50/50 blend of spinach and arugula (love the peppery taste) and used 1/3 lower fat cream cheese. It came out heavenly. I love your recipes and watching your videos
Nice to know that worked out great! Thanks for sharing that with us, Peter.
So easy to make and VERY delicious!
Thank you for your great feedback, Trish!
Amazing! Hubby loved it!
So glad to hear that he loved it! I hope you’ll both love every recipe that you will try.
Super easy! Carb friendly. The garlic is just the right touch to this recipe. Definitely something I too would order in a restaurant.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Kathy!
Made this tonight, had large chicken breasts I seared them for 5-6 min on both sides and into the oven at 425 for 15 min. I was surprised that they were done because they were huge. I made the smashed potatoes for a side. My daughter said the meal was restaurant quality. Husband gave thumbs up and taking leftovers for lunch. Great recipe as usual.
Wow, that’s very heartwarming! So great to know that your family loved this recipe. I hope you and your fam will love all the recipes that you will try!
Hi Natasha, you do add salt in the filling, right? it’s in the ingredients, but not in the steps, so thought I’d ask. Thanks! Can’t wait to make it and try it, will let you know how it turns out.
Hi Elean, we Season the outside of the chicken breast all over with 3/4 tsp salt, listed in step 3. The 1/4 tsp salt is mixed into the filling. Please see this section in the recipe “How to Make Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast.” — “Make Filling”
Amazing recipe! Husband thought is was in the top 10! Can’t wait to make again.
Wow, thanks for the compliment, Cindi!
Wow This looks so good! Just for a little extra goodness, soak the chicken breasts in buttermilk for 4 hours first. You will love it!
That’s a good suggestion, thanks for sharing that with us, Carol!
Hi Natasha
I made this for our dinner tonight and it was a big hit! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
That’s so great Susan! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
So yum! My family loved this and it was so easy to make. Definately will make again.
Great to hear that, Michaela! Thank you for your good comments and review.
This looks amazing, Natasha! What do you serve with the chicken?
Thanks!
Hi Cheryl, there are a lot of options it just depends on your preference but it’s good with different types of pasta, veggies, potatoes and so much more.
I made this recipe last night for dinner after seeing it on Instagram. It was a hit, smelled great while it was cooking too. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I will make this again!
I’mm glad you loved the result, Kim! Thank you for sharing your great experience making this recipe
I made this recipe and my family loved it! They said it tasted like a dish you would get at a high-end restaurant.
Wow! Sounds like you executed it perfectly and you have a new favorite! That’s so great!
Thank you it looks delicious I am going to try it for my family 😋
I hope they all love this recipe!
Your stuffed spinach chicken was a huge hit! Followed most of your recipe except added some ricotta cheese into the mix. I also bought some powdered cumin today so I added it to the chicken with the paprika and spices!Needed extra toothpicks to keep breast together! Amazing flavor to palate!
I’m so glad to hear that, Jeff! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This is absolutely delicious! Thank you Natasha for sharing this recipe, me and my husband truly loved it, in fact, he wanted me to make it again so we could bring to my Mom-in-law on Mother’s Day.
That’s just awesome! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
The recipe looks good,what side dish would you suggest with this
Hi Sharon, you can try it with rice or potatoes. Salads work great as well.
здравствуйет Наташа.
We made this last evening for supper, and once again, they were a huge hit. The only deviation from your recipe was that we used grape seed oil instead of olive oil. Everything else was pure Наташа.
Yum! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
Hi Natasha!
Love this recipe, it was a hit.
Do you have any suggestions for what to do with some left over filling? I made two breasts instead of three and couldn’t toss the delicious filling, I’m hoping to use it for something else.
PS, I am a huge fan of you and your cooking! I look forward to all of your new videos and posts.
Hi Melissa, you could always add it to the pan and just have more pan juices or warm it in a small saucepan and have a very tasty spinach chip dip.
Just made these, couldn’t wait to write a review. There are no words, just DELICIOUS! The only problem I had was cutting the slits and with the toothpicks. But its probably just because this was the first time I ever made stuffed chicken breast. They still turned out wonderful!! Im making this again just as soon as I get some more chicken breast!!
Hi Charity, so awesome to hear that you loved this recipe! It will get better as you practice that’s for sure. Thanks for sharing your great review with us.
can you made cordon bleu please it will be so nice from you as always
Hi Jana, I don’t have a recipe for that yet but thanks for the idea and suggestion! I”ll try to add that to our list.