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
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Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 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
Italian Dressing
- 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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Whisk together the Italian Dressing ingredients in a bowl. It will be thicker than salad dressing.
- Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, taking care not to cut all the way though.
- Coat the chicken (inside and out) with the Italian Dressing.
- 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.
- Seal with toothpicks (just stick them in on the diagonal - see photo in post).
- Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden.
- 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.
Recipe Notes:
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.
Nutrition Information:
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…..!!!
laura justice says
Thank you for this recipe! I am making this tonight! I might mix some colby cheese with the mozzerella
Sheila says
This recipe sounds great! Do you think it would work with cheddar? I’d like to save a trip to the store. Lol!
Nagi says
Definitely!
Karen says
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.
Nagi says
Hope you love it Karen!! N xx
Nancy says
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.
Nagi says
LOVE hearing that Nancy!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
Beth Bilous says
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.
Catherine Hall says
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 !!!
Nagi says
I love hearing that Catherine!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
Caroline says
I made the stuffed chicken breasts and they were wonderful thanks
Kris says
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!!
Nagi says
So pleased to hear that Kris! N x ❤️
Vivian says
How about roasted red peppers in place if the sun dried tomatoes along with the spinach & cheese?
Nancy says
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.
Nagi says
Love hearing that Nancy! So glad you enjoyed this – N x ❤️
Lesli says
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.
Kristina Johnson says
This recipe is so delicious! I literally just made this tonight and I’m happy I did. It’s super easy and fairly quick to make. I think next time, I’ll add more cheese, I lost most of my cheese when it melted out. Fantastic recipe, thank you for posting!
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Kristina! Thank you for trying my recipe! N xx ❤️
Jacqui says
I made this with small chicken marylands with the skin on. It is delicious. The yummy melted cheese and tomatoes with the Italian sauce are a match made in heaven. Thank you Nagi.
Nagi says
That’s great to hear Jacqui! Thanks for leaving a review! N x
Lori says
Hi Nagi,
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but planning on making it.
I would like to know if this chicken will re-heat well for the next day if there are leftovers? Thank you!
Will the meat still be soft with re-heating it? And how will you re-heat it? Oven or microwave?
Nagi says
Hi Lori! Breast is always more juicy when eaten straight after cooking but yes it reheats well and I like to microwave it (keeps is moist!)
Elyce says
I do not have a pan/skillet that goes in the oven… so after browning in pan… what should be my next steps… please advise… this looks soooo good. Thank you!
Nagi says
Hi Elyce! Just transfer to a baking tray 🙂 N x
Elyce says
thanks… thought there would be more to it… since the skillet is already hot and with juices… no prob… thanks for responding so quickly.
sue says
I love pounding chicken breasts too–makes them extra tender and more uniform in thickness, cook faster. I tend to use a lower heat as I’m afraid of dry chicken–gak.
Nagi says
Agree Sue! 🙂 Just made this one super quick 🙂 N xx
Helen says
Made this recipe yesterday for lunch. So easy & great taste. Love it, sure will make it again.
Thank you Nagi!!
Nagi says
That’s so terrific to hear Helen! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
Lindsey says
My family really enjoyed this tonight!! What really set it apart from other stuffed chicken recipes was the homemade Italian dressing. Really excellent.
Nagi says
That’s so great to hear Lindsey, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Elle says
Made this on Saturday for my partner and we both LOVED it. Oh gosh, it was so good. I don’t have toothpicks, so the juices ran a little all over the place but it was still amazing. I’ll be definitely making this again – thanks for another great recipe. I’ll try the Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta next to use up the rest of the tomatoes I have.
PS. Dozer is so so cute. Love you feeding him with chopsticks 🙂
Nagi says
That’s fantastic to hear Tina! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! N xx 🍜
Steven. says
This was amazingly delicious. Wow. Thanks. 🙂
Nagi says
Fantastic!🙌🏻 I’m so pleased to hear that Steven! N xx
steven says
Made this again. Soooo delicious. You’re recipes are amazing. Tonight I added a few things like kalamata olives, balsamic-marinated mushrooms, basil and did a mix of mozzarella & gruyere. Omg. I also made your honey Salmon the other night. Yum!! Tomorrow for breakfast will we your egg, ham & cheese wraps. Thanks ❤️👍👍
Nagi says
Awwww! FULLY LOADED stuffed chicken!! Thank you for trying so many of my recipes, I’m so pleased you enjoy them so much! N xx
Iryna Bychkiv says
Nagi, as always your pictures are beautiful. Your Food Photography book has been my favorite reference point when it comes to food styling, lighting and props. I’m just getting my feet wet in food videos and I was wondering whether you use natural or artificial lights for all your videos? And maybe you can share some resources where can I learn more about shooting videos?
Nagi says
Hi Iryna! I’m so happy to hear my book is helping you! I use natural light but I recently got a new artificial light and in fact, this Wednesday, I am sharing my first photos taken using these lights! Regarding videos, I will be putting together a resource soon, it has been on my list of things to do for ages! I shoot my videos at the same place I take my photos 🙂
Iryna says
Thanks for the reply! I can’t wait for your resource on shooting videos!