An epic baked stuffed chicken breast! Slathered in tasty Italian flavours, then stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and cheese, this chicken breast is juicy and oozing with flavour. Five minutes is all it takes to prepare this with no marinating time required.
This is one of those recipes that’s so easy and versatile, you don’t even need a recipe for it. The variation possibilities are endless in case you don’t have the exact ingredients called for, and I’ve provided a handful of ideas. So you can make this tonight with whatever you have!
One of the pleasures / tortures of working in the food industry is constantly being surrounded by food. Whether on social media, research, creating and testing recipes, jobs for clients, for my monthly feature in Super Food Ideas magazine, and even when I’m with friends and family, I live and breath (and eat) food for most of my waking hours.
In fact, I see so much food that it takes something seriously good to grab my attention. And when this Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken from Yammie’s Noshery came across my radar, I jumped on it straight away. It was just meant to be. I had everything to make it, and I made it that very night. Well, a variation of it. Because – you know. That’s just what I do. I rarely stick to the script. 😉
This is one of those secret weapon recipes that tastes so ridiculously good and yet you barely need a recipe for it. In fact, these photos are all you need:
The beauty of this baked stuffed chicken breast recipe is that it’s a base that you can adapt to your own taste using whatever ingredients you have. Assuming that you have chicken breast. And cheese. Because….well, you know. The end result just wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t have both of those……
So I’ve added a bunch of suggestions in the recipe notes. Basil, ricotta, feta, other pickled / marinated vegetables, frozen spinach, olives, to name a few.
I love making this with sun dried tomato because for a relatively unattractive looking shrivelled up vegetable, it packs a lot of flavour punch which is right up my alley. So I always have a jar lurking in my fridge. Just a bit of sun dried tomato can make anything so much more interesting. Think – omelettes/frittas, pastas, salads.
The one thing I did differently from the original recipe was swapping out the bottled Italian dressing for a simple homemade Italian dressing that is thicker than what I use for salads. It’s more like a thin paste. By making it thicker than usual salad dressings, the flavour sticks to the chicken breast better which eliminates the need for marinating time.
Speed and no advance preparation is what this recipe is all about!
I am quite particular about how I cook with chicken breast. It’s so lean, I find it either has to be marinated, or pounded thin so it cooks quickly and stays nice and juicy. I honestly have no memory of my mother cooking with chicken breast when I was growing up. Asian food is all about “dark meat” which is fattier and has more flavour – thigh fillets, wings, drumsticks. (No feet and other questionable parts for me!)
However, this method of cooking chicken breast works really well to keep it beautifully juicy. It cooks faster than a whole chicken breast even though it is stuffed because the stuffing is not as dense as chicken flesh.
And as it roasts, the juices from the sun dried tomato and cheese bastes the chicken which is already slathered in the Italian dressing, so when you take it out of the oven, you will find plenty of sauce in the skillet to pour over the chicken when you serve it.
I know I’m talking this up as a fast midweek meal, but I swear, I would happily serve this up for company too. It’s one of those crowd pleaser meals, don’t you think?? – Nagi x
- 6oz/180g small chicken breasts (2 pieces), boneless and skinless
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomato (oil packed. Use enough to cover the chicken, cut into strips)
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese (or other melting cheese of choice)
- leaves Handful of spinach
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sugar, any
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp EACH Italian mixed herbs and red pepper flakes (Note 1)
- Salt & pepper
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
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Whisk together the Italian Dressing ingredients in a bowl. It will be thicker than salad dressing.
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Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, taking care not to cut all the way though.
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Coat the chicken (inside and out) with the Italian Dressing.
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Place chicken on work surface. Stuff with sun dried tomato, top with cheese then finish with spinach leaves. Just stuff in as much as you can.
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Seal with toothpicks (just stick them in on the diagonal - see photo in post).
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Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden.
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Transfer to oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and chicken is cooked through. Rest for 3 minutes before serving, drizzled with the juices in the skillet.
1. Use whatever dried herbs you have - thyme, oregano, parsley, basil.
2. Typically, a 6oz/180g chicken breast (which is a small chicken breast) will take 25 minutes to roast at 180C/350F. This recipe takes less time to roast because: a) it is started on the stove; and b) because the breast is stuffed, it cooks a bit from the inside because the stuffing is not as dense as chicken flesh.
Roasting times for different chicken breast sizes (2 - 4 breasts, for more, add a few minutes) at 180C/350F:
Small 6oz/180g - 15 minutes
Medium 7 oz / 210g - 18 minutes
Large 8oz/250g - 20 minutes
3. Other ideas for stuffing: Spinach (thawed frozen spinach, excess water squeezed out), ricotta, feta, olives, other pickled / marinated vegetables, fresh herbs, bacon (of course).
4. Slightly adapted from this Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach and Cheese Chicken by Yammie's Noshery.
5. Nutrition is per serving, for a whole 6oz/180g chicken breast per person. If you use chicken breast much larger than this, each chicken breast can serve 2 people.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Baked Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Turns out he loves sun dried tomatoes and asparagus as much as his Mama. 😉 (OK OK….he got some chicken too…..)
PS Yes I am using chopsticks feed him. Soooooo Asian, I know…..!!!
Could you substitute the sugar for honey?
That will be fine Linda! 🙂 N x
Made this last night and it was unbelievably delicious! Pretty simple too. The Italian dressing is perfect.
One thing I would DEFINITELY change is not using the toothpicks next time to seal it. After it comes out of the
oven with all the ingredients melted and browned all over the place, you will first of all, forget there are toothpicks in there like I did and end up with one in your mouth or have a hard time finding them. I don’t think it needs them. The chicken stays together pretty well on it’s own.
Thanks so much!
For a crowd, you can use chicken chunks layered with the othet ingredients. It makes a winning casserole that is always a big hit.
Amazing, so juicy and flavourful.
Sounds like a great recipe! But… as I don’t have an oven (I know.. I am missing out sooo much..), is it also possible to bake them completely in a pan? Maybe with a cover on low heat, to kind of try to make it an oven feeling? What do you think about that?
Hi Merel! I think you’re right 🙂 What I would do is cook on medium low and cover it, that will help create an oven type situation on the stove!
Hi Nagi!
I’m going to make your Chicken Cordon Blue recipe…and noticed that the recipe called for a temp of 390F,
yet this recipe (very similar) calls for a temp of 350F.
Are they both accurate? I don’t want to make any mistakes!
My family has loved all of your recipes I have tried so far. 🙂
Hi Rosalind! Higher temp for the Cordon Bleu because it’s coated in breadcrumbs 🙂 Where as this is naked chicken being baked!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit!! Thank you for such an incredibly delicious recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! I am making this tonight! I might mix some colby cheese with the mozzerella
This recipe sounds great! Do you think it would work with cheddar? I’d like to save a trip to the store. Lol!
Definitely!
Making this chicken recipe for dinner tonight. And a salad with Granny Smith apples candied walnuts feta cheese thin sliced red onion with mixed greens. Basamic dressing.
Hope you love it Karen!! N xx
I had some skinny skinless chicken breast that I couldn’t put a pocket in, so pounded flatter. I used a tube of sun dried tomato paste and just squeezed some on, added cheese and spinach and rolled up. I still used your marinade because it sounded so good and just seemed to fit with all the other ingredients . Browned and then baked…I really like this recipe…easy and delicious.
LOVE hearing that Nancy!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
Hi, would you suggest NOT using fresh mozzarella? Looks like yours was sliced firmer kind. A really horrid day here, so I’m making this with whatever I have, but just wondering if fresh mozz. would be too soft.
Hi, I made this for the first time last night. Absolutely delicious, and a recipe that will be used again and again. Thanks Nagi, your recipes never let me down and your blog is a joy to read – I love Dozer !!!
I love hearing that Catherine!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
I made the stuffed chicken breasts and they were wonderful thanks
Made this tonight for dinner. Yummmmmm! I pounded the breasts flat and rolled them up which worked great. Also used fresh mozzarella cheese which was delicious. Thanks!!
So pleased to hear that Kris! N x ❤️
How about roasted red peppers in place if the sun dried tomatoes along with the spinach & cheese?
I have made this many times and always receive raves, so when I needed to make a casserole type dish for a party, I modified this recipe. I cut the chicken into cubes and simply layered all of the ingredients in a dish, similar to making lasagna. When it came out of the oven, it was gorgeous and there wasn’t a morsel left at the end of the party.
Love hearing that Nancy! So glad you enjoyed this – N x ❤️
I stumbled across this yesterday when trying to figure out something different to do with chicken breasts. It was delicious! I am so glad I found your blog. The video’s are super helpful and the notes you put at the end of each are fantastic. I’m sure this will be the first of many I make.