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
My husband loved this so much I made it two nights in a row! Next time I want to try adding diced up artichoke hearts to the mix as well. 🙂
Sounds great! I’m glad you both enjoyed this.
Natasha, you are like a breath of fresh air amongst all the cooks out there! You are genuine and fun. I feel like I’m sitting with my girlfriend in her kitchen as she cooks! Thank you for the delicious recipes😁
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Nancy! 🙂 I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes and videos!
Natasha, you are my go to Chef…. I think you are fabulous…Where can I get you cookbook?
Thank you, Maria! I appreciate your love and support. I am still working on my cookbook, it will be ready by the fall of next year.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I have an induction stovetop so I do not have a pan that I can use on the stove that can also be put into the oven. Suggestions?
Hi Anita! If you have an oven-safe dish, like a casserole dish, you can transfer the chicken to that and put it in the oven.
I made this last night and it was the best meal I have had in a while. Thank you for sharing. I already shared it with all of my friends and I am encouraging them to try it too. I can’t wait to have this again. I did notice that for the salt for the filling is not mentioned in the instructions. I did add it to the filling.
Thank you for your feedback, Grant! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I finally cooked the stuffed chicken breast tonight for the first time. I thought it was very good. It will definitely be a dish I make again. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipes with us Natasha.. They are fantastic…
Hi Crystal great to know that you loved this recipe! Thank you for the review, we appreciate it.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I didn’t get my pockets cut very evenly so some parts of the chicken were thicker than others. I baked it for 20 minutes after putting it in the oven and it came out perfectly done. There was a little more stuffing left over after I filled the chicken so I just spooned that into the pan when I put it into the oven and it was great for spooning over the finished chicken. My kids gobbled it right up which is high praise! Will make it again soon!!
That’s wonderful! So glad your family enjoyed this meal. Thank you for sharing, Chandra.
This was amazing!
Tips…
-go heavy with seasoning
-add sun dried tomato
-maybe bacon too
Great tips! Thank you so much for sharing!
Firstly, thank you for sharing, this sounds delicious! However, I’m a busy mom and I like meal prepping for busy weeknights, is this a recipe I could prepare, freeze, and then bake without running into any problems?
Thank you (:
Hi Rebeca! I haven’t tried freezing this, if you experiment please let us know how it goes. Stuffed chicken is best served fresh, but it does reheat well so if you are interested in that, see recipe notes for instructions on how to reheat this.
I rarely comment on recipes but this one truly deserves it! My entire family loves it and my kids request it at least once a week. I’ve made it so often that I now have it memorized. Every one of your recipes that I’ve tried have been amazing; thank you so much for sharing!
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me, Nikki!
Thank you SO much. I made this for the first time for relatives who were sick with covid. It really was a blessing. They loved it.
I’m glad to hear that they enjoyed it! I hope they will get well soon. Prayers for your family.
I’ll come back to review recipe tomorrow after we eat it.
You wrote stuff each breast with 1/4 of mixture. There are 3 breasts. Should it be 1/3 or do I use the remainder as a topping?
Hi Suzanne, you are absolutely correct, I made a typo and have corrected it. It should read 1/3 of the mixture since there are 3 chicken breasts. Thank you for pointing that out.
I am fixing your delicious spinach and cheese stuffed chicken. How do I reheat and not dry out dish?
Hi Anne, I recommend using the “How to Reheat Stuffed Chicken” instructions in the post.
I plan to make the stuffed chicken tonight ant suggestions for a side dish?
Hello Mary, how about some pasta, rice, potatoes or salad?
I’ve made this dish before and it’s delicious . Could I start this one day saute’ chicken and finish next day in oven?
Hi Anne, I haven’t tried making ahead that way, but I would be concerned about leaving the chicken not fully cooked through and then cooling it down and reheating it. If not cooking it within an hour or so, it might be safer to finish the dish and then reheat it using the “How to Reheat Stuffed Chicken” instructions in the post.
I made the Stuffed spinach recipe. It was easy to follow and came out delicious (according to my family). This was the first of your recipes I make and I will be making more.
Thank you for the good comments and feedback, Ramon. I hope your family will love all the recipes that you will try for them.
Added water chestnuts for crunch. This is amazing! Very tasty and filling. Will make it again.
Sounds delicious!
I made this last week. So good and easy. All the goodness inside stayed there. Will be making this again soon.
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, Bev. Thank you for the review.
I have to tell you, this recipe is absolutely delicious! The ONLY thing I changed was to add a little water to the skillet before I put it in the oven so I’d have more sauce. Winner, winner…..
Thank you so much for the great feedback, Randi, We appreciate it!
We are a family of seven, including twin boys who play high school football. This is their favorite dish, and beg me to make it all the time. Thank you for this recipe and all of them! My cooking has greatly improved using your recipes!
You’re welcome and I am happy to hear that, Julie! Keep up the excellent work.
Hi Natasha – I never enjoyed cooking and wasn’t very good at it until I started following you. Thank you. You make it fun and uncomplicated. My husband says thank you also because I’m cooking a lot more and a lot better. Love your videos.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
Made this today with rave reviews! I love that I can make your recipes with confidence, knowing they will always be a hit! Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Wendy! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.