Portions: 6 servings Calories: 383kcal |
No boring and dry chicken here! This easy stuffed chicken breasts recipe is sure to be your new favorite. Creamy, juicy and flavorful, get these chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and cream cheese ready in no time.
Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation
Why I ❤️ it
There is a good reason why stuffing chicken breasts works so well, and why you'll love this spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts recipe: It not only adds much-needed juiciness to a pretty dry cut, another advantage is the addition of flavor, and even extra nutrition.
The extra good news, is that this is not cooked in the oven, which to many is an advantage, makes the cooking time shorter, and dinner will be ready in no time!
Stuffed chicken breasts recipe
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Utensils and tools
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 2 tablespoon of salted butter
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk (or skim)
- 1 cup of chopped raw spinach
- 1 cup of cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), (or more, to taste)
For the chicken
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil, or ghee (clarified butter)
- 6 chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- ¼ teaspoon of sweet paprika
Preparation
Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.
Step 1
To prepare the stuffing, heat the butter in a skillet over very low temperature. Add the onions and cook and stirring them until they become translucent. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer until the onions are very soft (stir frequently and add a teaspoon of water if it seems as if it might burn).
Step 2
Once the onions are soft, sprinkle the flour, stir vigorously until all the flour has been incorporated into the mix and is no longer white. Pour in the milk and stir vigorously to combine.
Cook stirring until the mix is very thick. Once the sauce has thickened, add the spinach and cream cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. The spinach will continue cooking in the heated pan.
Step 3
To stuff the chicken, carve a deep pocket into each chicken breast. Season them with salt, pepper and paprika.
Stuff the chicken breasts with equal amounts of the cream cheese and spinach mix. You can close the pocket with a toothpick.
Step 4
To cook the stuffed chicken breasts, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet (all 6 chicken breasts should fit in it).
Carefully place the chicken breasts on the skillet making sure the stuffing doesn't pour out. Cook the chicken breast until it turns golden brown on one side. Turn and repeat (about 4 minutes each side).
Step 5
Lower the heat to medium, and cover with a tight fitting lid, cooking two more minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken from the stove, remove the toothpicks, and serve.
Variations
Do you want your stuffing to be extra extra cheesy? Add some mozzarella when stuffing the breasts. It's crazy good stuff.
Top tips
If you don't mind the extra fat, use heavy cream instead of milk, it makes for a richer filling.
When cooking chicken, please remember good hygienic practices.
Serving suggestions
French fries, mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes are all great choices to serve with this spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts recipe. Some green salad also goes perfectly with it to complete a well-rounded meal.
These tomatoes stuffed with mashed potato are also a great side dish choice.
Nutritional information
Calories: 383kcal - Carbohydrates: 6g - Protein: 50g - Fat: 17g - Saturated Fat: 3g - Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g - Monounsaturated Fat: 8g - Trans Fat: 1g - Cholesterol: 150mg - Sodium: 670mg - Potassium: 958mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 3g - Vitamin A: 604IU - Vitamin C: 5mg - Calcium: 72mg - Iron: 1mg
FAQs
How to cook stuffed chicken breasts?
You can cook these stuffed chicken breasts by pan-frying them on a skillet.
How long to cook stuffed chicken breasts?
For safety, these are cooked a total of 12 minutes, the thickness of the breast is smaller than it would regularly be, so it doesn't required as long cooking as whole breasts.
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Chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and cream cheese
Ingredients
For the stuffing
For the chicken
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (cor ghee)
- 6 chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- To prepare the stuffing, heat the butter in a skillet over very low temperature. Add the onions and cook and stirring them until they become translucent. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer until the onions are very soft (stir frequently and add a teaspoon of water if it seems as if it might burn).
- Once the onions are soft, sprinkle the flour, stir vigorously until all the flour has been incorporated into the mix and is no longer white. Pour in the milk and stir vigorously to combine.Cook stirring until the mix is very thick. Once the sauce has thickened, add the spinach and cream cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. The spinach will continue cooking in the heated pan.
- To stuff the chicken, carve a deep pocket into each chicken breast. Season them with salt, pepper and paprika.Stuff the chicken breasts with equal amounts of the cream cheese and spinach mix. You can close the pocket with a toothpick.
- To cook the stuffed chicken breasts, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet (all 6 chicken breasts should fit in it).Carefully place the chicken breasts on the skillet making sure the stuffing doesn't pour out. Cook the chicken breast until it turns golden brown on one side. Turn and repeat (about 4 minutes each side).
- Lower the heat to medium, and cover with a tight fitting lid, cooking two more minutes on each side.Remove the chicken from the stove, remove the toothpicks, and serve.
Notes
Originally published on Jul 28, 2013
Kelsey M
When I was growing up both my parents were very busy and didn't cook much at home. My mom tried to teach me to cook when I was much older but I had no interest whatsoever until I was living on my own in college. Seeing as I am so passionate about food and cooking now, I would love to have memories from when I was little of cooking with my mom- at least now I have more recent memories of doing it from when I visit her!
-Kelsey