Easy Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe

This cheesy stuffed chicken breast recipe is filled with your favorite Mediterranean flavors like sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and feta cheese. It’s super quick and easy to make but has an elevated flavor and presentation perfect for your next special dinner!

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Recipe

• This stuffed chicken breast is perfect for a date night dinner, but easy enough to throw together on a busy weeknight. With its beautiful presentation, guests will think you’ve spent the whole day in the kitchen, but in reality, the dish can be prepped in about 15 minutes and then cooked whenever you’re ready to eat.
• It’s loaded with fresh Mediterranean flavors like sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and garlic but you can switch up the ingredients to suit your family’s taste. This recipe is super versatile which makes it a perfect “clean out the fridge” dinner.

Ingredients for Stuffed Chicken Breast

• Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are my favorite for stuffing. But you could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs which often come in smaller pieces if you’re looking to stretch the recipe further and get smaller individual servings. If you use thighs you may need to bake the chicken for a bit longer.
• Herbs & Spices: Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder are the perfect trifecta to add tons of flavor to the chicken breast itself and the filling.
• Spinach: Fresh baby spinach is my favorite for this filling. You can use your favorite leafy green.
• Cream Cheese: Cream cheese acts as a binder and helps to hold the filling together. Skip the low-fat cream cheese for this recipe as it has more moisture and not as much flavor.
• Mozzarella Cheese: Whole milk mozzarella is my favorite melty cheese for stuffed chicken. You can also use part-skim if you like.
• Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan cheese adds a delicious nutty flavor. Use shredded from the grocery store or shred it yourself but skip the grated Parmesan that you would shake onto pizza. It’s not going to have as much flavor as shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese.
• Feta Cheese: I love the tangy flavor that feta adds and when it’s heated it gets beautifully melty and creamy. Skip it if you don’t like feta and just add more Parmesan cheese instead.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes: My favorite sun-dried tomatoes are julienne-cut, oil-packed, and have Italian herbs in the oil. But you can use any kind of sun-dried tomatoes.

How to Make Greek Stuffed Chicken at Home

Mix fresh spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, half the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper until well combined.

Season the outside of the chicken breasts with the remaining half of the Italian seasoning, paprika, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cut a small slit in the side of each chicken breast creating a pocket. Divide the filling evenly between the chicken breasts, stuffing each pocket as full as possible.

Sear chicken for about 6-8 minutes on each side or until a golden brown crust forms. Sear in batches depending on the size of your pan. Transfer the large cast iron pan to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and reaches 165 degrees internally at its thickest part.

Garnish with parsley and crumbled feta if desired and enjoy!

Tips for Making

• Use a sharp paring knife to carefully create a large pocket on the side of the chicken breast. You want to cut almost all the way to the other side of the chicken but don’t actually cut through the chicken. This will create a pretty large pocket for all that filling.
• This recipe uses about 2 pounds of chicken which makes 4 pretty big servings. You could split each serving in half to create 8 smaller servings. You could also halve the recipe if you’re just feeding 2 people.
• Add whatever you’d like to the filling in this stuffed chicken recipe. Sauteed mushrooms, crispy bacon, or fresh basil leaves are all delicious additions!
• If you’re not into feta cheese, just replace it with more Parmesan cheese or omit it entirely! I am obsessed with feta cheese – the tangy flavor, the crumbly, melty texture – but if you don’t like it, just add more Parmesan or skip it altogether.
• This filling is pretty thick, once the cream cheese is really well incorporated throughout, but if you’re worried about the filling coming out while you’re cooking the chicken, you can use a couple toothpicks to secure each pocket full of stuffing.
• If you don’t have a large cast iron pan or some type of pan that can go from the stove to the oven, you can transfer the seared chicken breast to a baking dish before putting it in the oven.

FAQ

How do you stuff a chicken breast?

Use a sharp paring knife to carefully slice a pocket in the side of the chicken breast. Then gently spoon the stuffing into the pocket, filling it as full as you can. You can use toothpicks to seal the pocket, but in this recipe, the filling is so thick it really isn’t necessary.

How to make a pocket to stuff chicken breast?

A sharp paring knife is key. Carefully use the knife to make a small slit on the side of the chicken breast. Then use your knife to cut in a gliding motion around the inside of the breast, making a large pocket.

Is it better to bake chicken at 350 or 400?

I like to bake this stuffed chicken at 375 degrees after searing it on the stove. I find that this gives the best texture – cooking the chicken through without drying it out or making it rubbery.

Make-Ahead Instructions

I love this cheese-stuffed chicken breast recipe because it can be made a day or two in advance! Assemble the stuffed chicken breast as directed through step #6 and store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 48 hours. When you’re ready to eat, cook the stuffed chicken breast according to the recipe instructions, but plan to add a bit of extra baking time to account for the cold temperature.

Storing Leftover Stuffed Chicken Breast

Store leftover stuffed chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezing Stuffed Chicken

Store cooked stuffed chicken breast in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating Stuffed Chicken Breast

Reheat stuffed chicken in a baking dish covered with foil in a 325-degree oven. Bake until warmed through.

Try these chicken recipes next!

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