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!
Video
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.
We enjoyed this recipe! It had great flavor. I did add fresh Thyme. I liked using fresh spinach as someone suggested. I’m going to try to do it in the oven next time just to see if it more moist.
Very tasty! Reading some comments about the stuffing coming out I decided to take 3 toothpicks per breast and soak it in water for a couple of hours. After stuffing the breasts I then cut the toothpicks in half, and strategically placed them along the cut line through both sides then I took butches twine, and laced the seam up. Worked perfectly with no stuffing oozing out. I paired the chicken with a strawberry spinach salad. Excellent! I think I’m going to make more stuffing and use it as another reader suggested to stuff a pork chop! Yum!
Thanks, Linda!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10 for flavor, 8 for ease of preparing and 10 for presentation. Simple ingredients that I had on hand except for the walnuts, so I substitueted pine nuts that I toasted and chopped. It did take a few minutes longer to cook that recipe called for but in my experience with cooking chicken, it was not hard to decipher when it was done and it only was a few extra minutes in the cast iron and then sitting in the pan of the heat for a few more minutes while I prepped and finished making a salad. As usual, all the recipes I have tried from here have been winners! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Peggy!
Is there a way to cook the chicken in my oven? Cooking then in a pan in my apartment creates too much smoke and didn’t cook the chicken all the way through.
Hi, Chris! I think that would work. I have never tried, so it’s hard for me to advise on details, but maybe try 375 degrees F until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees F (probably 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven).
I love this recipe and have made it many times now. I’ve had times where the cooking process was painless, but more times where the exterior is over-charring combined with a raw interior while filling is oozing out all over the pan. I saw some other folks having this trouble as well. Regardless, though, I keep making it, so that tells you how good it tastes! I’ve learned to finish it off in the oven at 375 for maybe 6 to 10 minutes (generally just keeping an eye on it), with foil loosely tucked around each breast to keep the filling in. Flatting large breasts beforehand is a good idea, too. Hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing your tips, Grayson.
Put a lid in the pan and cook chicken for the first 3 minutes then turn chicken and cover for another 3 minutes. Take off lid and brown both sides of chicken 2-3 minutes each side.
I have chicken thighs. Is there a way to make this with them without the stuffing method?
Hi, Julia… I don’t think that would work very well here. The stuffing of the chicken in key to the recipe.
very good dish, be sure to cook this thoroughly. 7 mins per side were not enough for my thick cutlets. i’d recommend doing this on cast iron and doing some combination of stovetop and oven, not just stovetop. flavors were amazing as per usual
Thanks, James!
I tried this the other night. Taste wise-it was really good. But my chicken breasts were in no way fully cooked in the time you stated. They were large breasts and too thick to cook as quick as you said. I would recommend that you tell people that if the breasts are thick, to pound them down. It would also help with having more room for the filling which oozes out too much. I am trying the recipe tomorrow again and will pound the breasts to flatten them and see if that works better. The problem with cooking the breasts longer in a cast iron skillet is that they get charred and then get hard on the outside So thinner is better. I may also add mushrooms and a bit more spice to the mixture. Do you have any specific spice recommendations to kick it up a notch?
Hi, Linda! You could try some red pepper flakes to jazz it up.
Absolutely delicious!! With 2 small children, I am able to whip up the filling quickly and the chicken cooks in no time! My 2 year old eats it and my family enjoys it. Healthy, fast and so tasty. Thank you for a great home cooked chicken recipe!
So glad this is one the whole family loves! Thanks, Dee Dee!
Can you bake this instead?
Hi, Colleen! I’m sure there is a way to bake them, but I have not tried that with this particular recipe yet, so it’s hard for be to advise.
This is one of the most delicious dishes I have ever made, and I consider myself a pretty good home cook! I made it over a month ago and we’re still talking about it. I made my own ricotta (super easy – highly recommended and way better than storebought). I also used fresh spinach, which I wilted first, instead of frozen. The flavor was unforgettable 🙂 I served it with Suzy’s roasted cauliflower, which was also delicious.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jen!
can i use fresh spinach?
Sure!
Excellent — Yummy — perfect! I doubled the filling and used it a few days later to stuff a pork tenderloin. YUMMMMMM — so good!!!
Great idea!
I recently needed to make big changes in my eating habits and I decided to try the Mediterranean diet, but I didn’t know where to start. I discovered your website this week and I’ve spent hours every day drooling over your recipes. I did a major shopping trip today and loaded up on ingredients. We had the stuffed chicken (the filling is to die for) and the roasted Italian veggies for dinner tonight and they were both FANTASTIC!! I can hardly wait for the leftovers to be eaten so I can keep working my way down my list. Thank you so much, especially for the videos, which I LOVE.
Lori
Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish, Lori! Hope you find lots of recipes you enjoy!!!
Oh, believe me, I AM! We haven’t eaten this good in years. 🙂
Really quite good! Love this way of cooking.
Thank you so much, Cynthia!
This recipe is fantastic. I made it yesterday and the whole family enjoyed it. Definitely a keeper!
Wonderful! Thanks, Nart!
We love stuffed chicken breasts, but I love the addition of walnuts in this. It looks delicious.
It’s so good! Please give it a try and let us know how you liked it!