This spinach stuffed chicken breast recipe combines three cheeses, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach to give you big Mediterranean flavor in just 20 minutes!
Chicken Breast Recipe Bursting with Mediterranean Flavors
Chicken breast gets a bad rap for being boring, but I like to think of it as a blank canvas for some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors. They just need a delicious filling to wow even the most skeptical diner. When it comes to flavor, those of us with Mediterranean heritage know a thing or two about combining bold flavors for maximum impact!
With bright sun-dried tomatoes, creamy ricotta cheese, and aromatic oregano, they this chicken breast recipe has Italian-style comfort but it isn’t overly heavy. And, because stuffed chicken breast cooks quickly in one skillet, this easy dinner recipe is perfect for busy weeknights.
It also feels like a special night in without the fuss. As Lisa said in the comments: “This was delicious! My daughter said, “Mom, this is restaurant good!” I would have to agree! It was easy too!” Best compliment ever!
Ingredients and Substitutions
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:
- Chicken breasts: You can also use chicken thighs and adjust the cooking time. Or you can even make spinach stuffed salmon.
- Frozen spinach: Already wilted and shrunk, it’s the secret to adding plenty of this superfood with almost no effort.
- Swapping fresh for frozen spinach: Start with about 1 pound of fresh spinach. Sauté 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: Substitute with another very tender nut, like pine nuts or almonds.
- Sun dried tomatoes: I prefer the rich flavor of unsulfered sun dried tomatoes. Swap with green olives or chopped preserved lemons.
- Parsley: Substitute with dill, basil, or mint.
- Garlic: Swap with green onion, shallot, or yellow onion.
- Cheese: A 3-cheese mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan is rich and flavorful without being heavy.
- Oregano: Look for Greek oregano, which is earthy and peppery, rather than Mexican oregano, which is anise-like. Substitute with dried thyme, rosemary, or Italian seasoning.
- Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor.
- 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.
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 lean meat, I like to turn them into a satisfying yet healthy meal with:
- A hearty salad: Italian potato salad or Mediterranean orzo salad would be lovely.
- A vegetable salad: Fattoush or Greek Salad
- Grain or starch: Basmati Rice or Quinoa Salad
- For dessert: I like a little pop of citrus to balance the richness of the cheesy filling. Lemon tart or lemon sorbet both come to mind, but if lemon isn’t your thing, try Greek Yogurt Cheesecake.
More Chicken Breast Recipes
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
This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s best to use thick chicken breast. Press you non-dominate hand on the top of the chicken breast and with the knife in your other hand, slowly make a horizontal in the center of the chicken breast without cutting all the way through the back. Widen the cut from one side to the other until you have a wide, pocket.
Some filling will likely fall out, but you can reduce the likelihood of that by following a couple of guidelines. First, don’t overstuff the pocket. Second, let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing. This gives the filling a chance to cool slightly and become less runny.
Yes, you can prepare the chicken and make the filling up to 1 day in advance, keeping them in separate containers. Then the day you want to serve them stuff and cook.
Yes—chicken breast is considered a lean protein, and the spinach-feta-walnut filling adds iron, calcium, and healthy fats. My recipe doesn’t have breading or heavy cream.
Another delish recipe that I make on repeat now in our house. I disagree about how quickly this comes together (maybe if your ingredients are all pulled and chopped it’s that fast), but if you aren’t worried about it being “20 minutes” it’s wonderful.
Fabulous dish and easy to follow recipe. I did finish it in the oven as the chicken breasts were quite thick.
Can’t eat cheese, what can I substitute in place of it?
I followed directions to the T! This was delicious! My daughter said “mom, this is restaurant good!” I would have to agree! It was easy too! I forgot to garnish the pieces at the end though…..
Yessss! What a huge compliment! Thank you!
This recipe was very good. It cooked beautifully in my skillet, perfect brown color. I was a little nervous it wasn’t going to be cooked through because of previous comments. I checked the temperature and it wasn’t at 165, but the juice in the plate it was on looked done but I still cooked it at 350 in 6 minutes in my oven. It seemed a little dry but my husband said it was really good and I thought the flavor was great too. I will make it again. Thank you for all the great recipes.
So glad you enjoyed this one, Sandra!
Can I bake this instead of frying? If so, what temp?
I am so excited for this dish!!
Hi, Diane. I’m sure there is a way to bake them, but we have not tested that with this particular recipe yet, so it’s hard for me to advise on the time/temp. If you decide to give this a try, please stop back and let us know how it went!
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!