Portions: 6 servings Calories: 383kcal |
No boring and dry chicken here! This easy cream cheese-stuffed chicken breast recipe is sure to be your new favorite. Creamy, juicy, and flavorful, get amazing chicken breasts stuffed with a flavorful spinach and cream cheese filling ready in no time, and no oven required.
Why I ā¤ļø it ⢠Recipe ⢠Ingredients ⢠Preparation
Cream cheese stuffed chicken.
Why I ā¤ļø 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 low-carb, keto-friendly recipe is not cooked in the oven, which to many is an advantage, it makes the cooking time shorter, and dinner will be ready in no time!
Chicken spinach cream cheese recipe
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Utensils and tools
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 2 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tablespoons 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 of freshly-cracked black pepper, (or more, to taste)
For the chicken
- 6 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or ghee (clarified butter)
- 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: Cook flour
To prepare the stuffing, heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. 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: Finish filling
Once the onions are soft, sprinkle the flour, and 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: Stuff chicken
To stuff the chicken, butterfly the chicken breasts with a sharp knife. Season on all sides with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
Stuff the chicken breasts with equal amounts of the cream cheese mixture. Fold, and close the pocket with a toothpick.
Step 4: Sear chicken
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 on each side).
Step 5: Finish cooking
Lower the heat to medium, and cover with a tight-fitting lid, cooking for two more minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken from the stove. Discard the toothpicks, and serve.
Variations
Do you want your stuffing to be extra extra cheesy? Add some cheddar cheese or mozzarella when stuffing the breasts. For a stronger taste, mix in two tablespoons of freshly-grated parmesan cheese to the finished filling. 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 oven-fried 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 require as long cooking as whole breasts.
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This is just a printer-friendly summary, some useful details are found in the recipe above.
Chicken with Spinach and Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
For the stuffing
For the chicken
- 6 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or ghee) Ā (clarified butter)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- ¼ teaspoon of sweet paprika
Instructions
Step 1: Cook flour
- To prepare the stuffing, heat theĀ butterĀ in a skillet over medium heat. Add theĀ onionsĀ 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: Finish filling
- Once the onions are soft, sprinkle theĀ flour, and stir vigorously until all the flour has been incorporated into the mix and is no longer white. Pour in theĀ milkĀ and stir vigorously to combine.Cook stirring until the mix is very thick. Once the sauce has thickened, add theĀ spinachĀ andĀ cream cheeseĀ and mix well. Season withĀ saltĀ andĀ pepperĀ and remove from the heat. The spinach will continue cooking in the heated pan.
Step 3: Stuff chicken
- To stuff theĀ chicken, butterfly the chicken breasts with a sharp knife. Season on all sides with salt, pepper,Ā onion powder,Ā garlic powder, andĀ paprika.Stuff the chicken breasts with equal amounts of the cream cheese mixture. Fold, and close the pocket with a toothpick.
Step 4: Sear chicken
- To cook the stuffed chicken breasts, heat theĀ vegetable oilĀ 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 on each side).
Step 5: Finish cooking
- Lower the heat to medium, and cover with a tight-fitting lid, cooking for two more minutes on each side.Remove the chicken from the stove, remove the toothpicks, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
By Tia Clara
, published Jul 28, 2013 on
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