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Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken is such a popular and easy dinner recipe. This easy cheese stuffed chicken breast recipe has a delicious creamy spinach filling and is baked until tender and juicy. It’s delicious and less than 350 calories! A perfect chicken dinner recipe that’s low carb and keto-friendly!
When it comes to a hearty, healthy and delicious weeknight meal, you can’t go wrong with Cheese Stuffed Chicken! Perfectly marinated chicken is loaded with a creamy ricotta filling and popped into the oven. It doesn’t get easier than this!
In under one hour from start to finish, you can have this cheese and spinach stuffed chicken on the dinner table in no time! With fresh spinach, garlic, three kinds of cheese, and the right blend of spices, the creamy filling will take your taste buds on a ride.
This is chicken delicious, healthy, and perfect for keto. So, low in carbs and high in fat with little protein. Less than 330 calories per serving. The spinach is a great way to get some potassium in too!
I’m always looking for ways to jazz up a chicken dinner, and if you’re hunting for delicious chicken recipes too, you’re in the right place! Why not also try my addictive Buffalo Chicken Tacos or my Easy Avocado Chicken Salad.
Table of Contents
- Why this stuffed spinach and Cheese Chicken is the best
- Ingredients for baked spinach stuffed chicken
- How to make this Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Tips and Substitutions for cheesy stuffed chicken
- What to serve with chicken stuffed with spinach
- Check out these other delicious chicken recipes
- Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Recipe
Why this stuffed spinach and Cheese Chicken is the best
- A Delicious Filling: A blend of creamy ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses really sends this stuffed chicken over the top. You just can’t go wrong with three cheeses! Throw in some fresh spinach and the perfect blend of spices and seasonings and you have a melty, cheesy, heavenly filling that’s fit for a king!
- Easy: If you’re looking to simplify your dinner routine, this chicken stuffed with spinach is for you! It’s really as simple as 1-2-3. Simply cut, stuff, and bake – easy! This looks like it’s restaurant quality, but it really couldn’t be easier.
- Healthy: With only 330 calories per serving, this cheese stuffed chicken is perfect for if you’re trying to watch what you eat. Plus, spinach is rich in nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, iron, folate, and potassium. But the low calories and extra nutrients doesn’t mean it’s bland! This chicken is literally packed with flavor.
- Family Friendly: This recipe is always a winner winner, chicken dinner at our house! Because the spinach is blended with so many creamy cheeses, the kids won’t even realize you snuck an extra serving of veggies into their dinner!
Ingredients for baked spinach stuffed chicken
- Chicken Breasts: We need boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. The thickness of breasts allow for easy cutting and stuffing for maximum cheesiness! Ideally, go for organic/free-range if at all possible.
- Seasoning: The seasonings used for this cheese stuffed chicken breast are simple and you more than likely already have them in your spice cabinet! We use a blend of Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Red Pepper Flakes: These add just a touch of heat to your chicken dinner, as well as additional flavor. Feel free to add as much or as little as you’d like!
- Cheese: A mix of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. We love to shred our own cheeses whenever possible, as pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as well. Feel free to mix up the cheeses to your liking! Any creamy, melty cheese will do.
- Olive Oil – I usually opt for olive oil when cooking because it can be used at high temperatures. However any mild oil will do here such as vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
- Spinach: I like to use fresh spinach here, as frozen spinach will take time to thaw. We’re going for quick and easy with this cheese stuffed chicken! Make sure your spinach is steamed until just wilted, and then squeezed dry with a paper towel. You can use frozen spinach if that’s what you have.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic is the way to go for this spinach and cheese chicken!
- Salt: Divided
How to make this Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- Make the Marinade: In a small bowl, mix olive oil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic
powder, onion powder, and salt. Mix everything together until combined and set aside while you work on your chicken. - Cut the Chicken: Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket in the chicken, but be sure you don’t cut all the way through. Rub the chicken with marinade and store in the fridge until ready to use. One hour is preferred, but you can take it out whenever you’re ready for it.
- Make the Filling: While the chicken is marinating, mix the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, spinach, and garlic in a small bowl. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook: Stuff the filling into the chicken and secure with a toothpick if needed. Bake for 25 mins or until the chicken is nicely browned. When it’s ready, serve it up with a nice side salad or steamed vegetables. Asparagus would work beautifully!
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh spinach is always great, but of course, you can use frozen. If you’re using frozen spinach, thaw it thoroughly first and take up a handful and squeeze out the water before mixing it with the cream cheese. If you’re using fresh spinach, cook it first.
I use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Lay them flat on a cutting board. Then cut a pocket parallel to the cutting board, that remains connected on three sides.
You can either stuff the chicken or lock the fillings in, by closing the chicken with a toothpick. Or you can stuff the chicken and turn it upward, almost like a bowl, so the fillings are on top.
Tips and Substitutions for cheesy stuffed chicken
- You can use fresh or frozen spinach, just make sure to drain off the water.
- Try different cheese if you like, but keep them melty! Swiss would work as well as feta.
- Allow your chicken to marinate in the fridge, an hour is good, but you can take it out quicker.
- An instant-read thermometer is your best bet for determining the temperature of your chicken. 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature.
What to serve with chicken stuffed with spinach
Healthy Garlic Oven Roasted Mushrooms Recipe
Oven Roasted Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
Check out these other delicious chicken recipes
- Easy Butter Chicken
- Air fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Keto Chicken Fajita Wraps
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Greek Chicken Bake
- Mediterranean Chicken
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Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes, or to your taste
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp. Salt, divided
- 4 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
- 4 ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 4 ounces Grated Mozzarella
- ¼ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1½ cups Chopped Fresh Spinach, steamed just until wilted, squeezed dry with paper towels and chopped
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 9×13 baking dish with some oil.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine olive oil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt, mix well and set aside.
- Place a chicken breast on a cutting board and carefully insert the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Cut an opening about 4 inches wide to create a pocket without cutting all the way through.
- Pour the prepared rub all over the chicken and using your clean hands generously rub on all sides and inside of the pocket. Refrigerate and let marinate until ready to use.
- While the chicken is marinating, prepare the cheese filling.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then mix until well combined.
- Remove the chicken breast from the refrigerator and stuff each breast with the cheese mixture. Secure the pockets with a toothpick, if needed.
- Place the stuffed breast into the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes until chicken is nicely golden brown, flipping halfway through to ensure even browning. Alternatively, you can cook it on the stovetop.
- Remove the toothpicks and serve warm. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These chicken breasts were tasty, creamy, moist and tender. The only negative comments are that browning the chicken was left out of the recipe, and I didn’t read in the ingredient list that the spinach had to be steamed until I was ready to stuff the breasts. It was not included in the actual steps of the recipe. I also had to let the stuffed chicken cook about 10 mins. longer because the browning part was also left out of the recipe directions. We will be having this again! It was delicious. Thank you.
Hi. I’m in the middle of making this dish and when I watched the video wondering why it was taking longer, I realized that you pan seared the chicken first. I only had it in oven on 375 for minutes and it was still somewhat raw. I was following the written instructions though. So, now I just turned the heat up to 400 and hopefully it won’t dry it out from being in there longer than recipe. So, I think you skipped that part in your instructions? Other than that, it looks and hopefully will taste very good once its done! Thanks for posting.
can i use chicken thighs instead
yes you can