This easy spinach-stuffed chicken breast recipe is loaded with a delicious blend of three cheeses, walnuts, and sun dried tomatoes. It’s rich and creamy but not heavy. Plus, it’s ready in 20 minutes!
Chicken breasts sometimes get a bad wrap for boring weeknight dinners. But treating them as a blank canvas for decadent flavors transforms the rather lean meat into a total crowd pleaser. And these spinach stuffed chicken breasts with a melty cheese filling are the perfect example of weeknight chicken done right!
With bright sun dried tomatoes, creamy ricotta cheese, and aromatic oregano, they boast big Italian-style comfort but aren’t overly heavy. They’re the perfect balance of indulgent and nutritious! And, because they cook quickly in one skillet, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or a special night in without the fuss.
Table of Contents
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast Ingredients
I wanted this spinach stuffed chicken breast recipe to be very much a “grab on the way home from work” situation. You’ll likely have most of what you need, so you only need to grab a few things! Here are the ingredients:
- Spinach: Frozen spinach, which is already wilted and shrunk, is the secret to packing loads of this superfood into a recipe with little effort.
- Walnuts: I prefer walnuts for the filling because they are so buttery-tender that they don’t overwhelm the creamy texture.
- Sun dried tomatoes add a bright flavor and chewy texture. I prefer the dried variety we sell in our shop over oil-packed but either will do.
- Parsley brings freshness.
- Garlic adds its signature sweet-savory-bold flavor.
- Cheese: A 3-cheese mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan is rich and flavorful without being heavy.
- Oregano brings an aromatic quality. Look for Greek oregano, which is earthy and peppery, rather than Mexican oregano which is anise-like.
- Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the other flavors.
- Extra virgin olive oil holds the filling together and adds richness. I love our buttery Italian Nocellara with this recipe.
- Chicken breasts are lean and thick, making them perfect for stuffing.
Swaps and Substitutions
The great thing about making stuffed chicken breast is that it’s so easy to customize based on your mood and what you have in your pantry. I went for an Italian-style flair for the filling, but you can tailor it according to what you have on hand.
- Swapping fresh for frozen spinach: You’ll need to adjust for the difference in volume and water content. To swap 5 ounces of frozen spinach for fresh, start with about 1 pound of fresh spinach. Saute or blanch it until it’s wilted (it will shrink quite a lot), then allow it to cool before pressing or squeezing out the excess moisture.
- Walnuts: Almonds or pine nuts.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Green olives or chopped preserved lemons.
- Parsley: Basil.
- Oregano: Dried thyme, rosemary, or Italian seasoning.
- Chicken: If you love stuffed chicken breasts, try spinach stuffed salmon!
How to Make Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Using frozen spinach is the key to getting spinach stuffed chicken breasts on your table in under 30 minutes. Here are the steps:
- Drain the spinach. Place 5 ounces of thawed frozen spinach into a clean (but not precious) kitchen towel and twist to remove the excess water.
- Make the stuffing. Add the spinach to a medium mixing bowl along with 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, 6 chopped sun dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil, and mix until well combined.
- Prep the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Now, you need to make a pocket in each chicken breast. Lay a chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Place a hand firmly on top of the breast. Insert a good chef’s knife in the thickest part of the breast and slice to make a pocket about 3- to 4-inches wide (only cut 3/4 of the way in or you will split the chicken breast).
- Stuff the chicken breasts. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the pocket of each chicken breast (try to equally divide the stuffing among all four pieces).
- Sear the chicken. In a large cast iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken in and cook on one side for 5 to 7 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes or so (chicken’s internal temperature should register 165°F).
- Finish and serve. Remove from heat and allow the chicken 3 to 5 minutes to rest. If you like, slice the chicken into smaller pieces. Garnish with the remaining walnuts, a bit of parsley and sun dried tomatoes. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Because chicken breasts are a leaner meat, I like to turn them into a satisfying yet healthy meal with a hearty salad. The flavors of this Italian potato salad are a beautiful complement to the chicken.
A grain salad is another great option–this colorful Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Peppers, Cucumbers, Olives and Feta would go well with the creamy stuffed chicken.
Of course, you can’t forget dessert! Wrap things up with a lovely lemon tart or a bright and refreshing lemon sorbet. I like a little pop of citrus to balance the richness of the cheesy filling.
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Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped (divided)
- 6 sun dried tomatoes, chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Drain the spinach. Place the spinach into a clean (but not precious) kitchen towel and twist to remove the excess water.
- Make the stuffing. Add the spinach to a medium mixing bowl along with 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (save 1/4 cup walnuts for later). Add the sun dried tomatoes, parsley, garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. Season with the oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and mix until well combined.
- Prep the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Now, you need to make a pocket in each chicken breast. Lay a chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Place a hand firmly on top of the breast. Insert a good chef’s knife in the thickest part of the breast and slice to make a pocket about 3- to 4-inches wide (only cut 3/4 of the way in or you will split the chicken breast).
- Stuff the chicken breasts. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the pocket of each chicken breast (try to equally divide the stuffing among all four pieces).
- Sear the chicken. In a large cast iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken in and cook on one side for 5 to 7 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes or so (chicken’s internal temperature should register 165°F).
- Finish and serve. Remove from heat and allow the chicken 3 to 5 minutes to rest. If you like, slice the chicken into smaller pieces. Garnish with the remaining walnuts, a bit of parsley and sun dried tomatoes. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil and oregano used in this recipe.
- To thaw spinach: Leave it in the fridge overnight, microwave it for a minute or two, or run it under warm water in a strainer.
- Baked option: You can bake this chicken in a lightly oiled baking dish at 350 degrees F heated for about 16 to 18 minutes or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees F.
Nutrition
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This post has recently been updated with new information for readers’ benefit.
trying to eat better
Came out perfect as I baked in the oven ! I did not have walnuts so used 2-4 almonds when wizzing up the filling with the spinach, mozzarella etc, also used a dollop of Philadelphia ( had no ricotta) . Suzie I follow so many of your recipes and you are a queen of tasty Mediterranean dishes! I know when I go to your recipes it will be tasty , healthy and amazing! Thanks my dear 🩷
You are so sweet, Emma! Thank you!
Like everything I have tried from the cookbook and the site, this recipe was greatly enjoyed by my family. I used homemade mozzarella and ricotta, and subbed the parm for feta. Very easy, very tasty. I’ve made similar in the past but this was hands down the winner. The walnuts really make a difference too!
Thank you for the kind review, Ash!!
Hi Suzy
This looks like a great recipe but I think I missed something. In the picture you feature showing the skillet and the breasts cooking, I also see what looks like parsley, and other ingredients that you haven’t mentioned. Can you tell us what else you added to the cooking pan and the oil when you cooked these breasts?
Also, in the past when I have cooked stuffed chicken breasts, the directions always always warned the cook to use only about 1 and1/2 tablespoons of stuffing per breast. The stuffing expands as it is heated and perhaps this is why so many people commented on having their stuffing escaping from the breasts. I know my tendency is to want to put as much of the good stuffing into the breast as possible, but I learned from experience not to over-stuff them. Hope this helps some readers. And hope you can tell us what was added to the cooking pan other than olive oil.Many thanks!Sue H.
Hi, Sue. The ingredients you are seeing in the cast iron skillet at the end of cooking the garnishes of the remaining walnuts, a bit of parsley and sundried tomatoes mentioned in the last step of the instructions. Hope you give this recipe a try!
No flavor. Took 3 times as long to cook as depicted. Sorry, didn’t do it for me.
This was so good and easy to prepare
I sliced each breast in half or third. Seasoned as called for. Spread the filling on each piece of breast. Then I rolled each one & used toothpicks to hold them together. Brown them in cast iron pan the finished them in oven. I lost a lot of melted filling the other way.
Love the flavor of filling!!
Can’t honestly understand the times. 5-7mins each side? Was raw all the way through. More like 12 each side.
Good recipe! Thank you!
So, can you just spread the “stuffing” on top? Hubs prefers the thin breast cutlets.
This 20 minute stuffed chicken breast recipe is out of this world! It was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe and it came out perfect! For just the two of us, I halved all the ingredients. It was a lot for one sitting, so we had the other half of each breast the next night and it was wonderful just reheated accompanied by a nice tossed spring salad! Thank you for such a fun and easy recipe! Loved it!
My pleasure, Debbie! Glad you enjoyed it!