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…..!!!
Made this recipe yesterday for lunch. So easy & great taste. Love it, sure will make it again.
Thank you Nagi!!
That’s so terrific to hear Helen! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
My family really enjoyed this tonight!! What really set it apart from other stuffed chicken recipes was the homemade Italian dressing. Really excellent.
That’s so great to hear Lindsey, thank you for letting me know! N xx
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 🙂
That’s fantastic to hear Tina! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! N xx 🍜
This was amazingly delicious. Wow. Thanks. 🙂
Fantastic!🙌🏻 I’m so pleased to hear that Steven! N xx
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 ❤️👍👍
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
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?
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 🙂
Thanks for the reply! I can’t wait for your resource on shooting videos!
Going to make this on Friday for a group of friends. Don’t want to be cooking while they are visiting so …. if I prepare this ahead of time, keep in refrigerator and then just put into oven without cooking on top of stove ….
Will it still have good flavor bc it wasn’t cooked on top of stove first?
How long to cook if directly from refrigerator to oven? I will be making 5 breast.
Will it still get browned if not originally started on top of stove?
Thank for your assistance!
Hi Colleen! It won’t brown quite as much, what you can do is skip the stove then after baking, flick on the broiler/grill for a few minutes and it will brown the top nicely. 🙂
Can I use Honey Dijon rather than plain Dijon
You sure can! 🙂
Can I marinade it over night?
You sure can, it will be even TASTIER! 🙂
I made this recipe recently, but I skipped the cheese due to cholesterol concerns and I put in some sliced fresh mushrooms. I used brown sugar, too, rather than white. It turned out Wonderful! I Love it! Will definitely make it again!! Thank you, Nagi, for sharing your talents with us!
That’s fantastic to hear Kathy! Thanks for letting me know!! ?
I am thinking Havarti or Swiss might be pretty yummy with Mushrooms and maybe some prosciutto
I used Swiss. Was much tastier than the mozzarella. Love this recipe.
YES. Good swiss or gruyere is fabulous in this!
how bout smoked who da for da cheese?
Whatever cheese you want! Just as long as it melts 🙂 N xx
Ooh YES to that!
Hi i was looking for a recipe with ingredients
i already have at home. Would it still work if i used yellow mustard instead of dijon mustard?
Absolutely! 🙂
Just made this and it was so easy and so delicious! I accidentally skipped the step where I was supposed to brown it on the stovetop first, but I just left it in the stove a little longer :). Yum!
That’s fantastic Renee! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it! N xx
I’m not very good at creative adaptions to recipies so if I wanted to change this up to, say, a mushroom, cheese, bacon type filling, what sort of marinade flavors (okay, ingredients) would work? This looks so quick and easy for weeknights but I’m not always in the mood for Italian flavors…
Easy change up – skip the Italian herbs, add another herb of choice or just leave it out completely. 🙂 That is a very classic flavour and will suit any type of filling, I love the idea of mushroom, bacon and cheese! Might see that on here soon…..
I’m on a sugar cleanse. I would love to make this without sugar. Any ideas on subs?
Hi Michelle! Just skip it, it will be totally fine 🙂
Just finished dinner! For the win! Delish even without the sugar! Thanks so much from me and my dog Jezebel! She’s been following me around the house since I let her lick the plate! Alright I gave her a little bit of chicken too! lol
Yes! So fantastic to hear you enjoyed this Michelle! N xx
Wow ! I made this tonight , it was delicious ! I certainly will make again , thanks so much
Hi Jocelyne! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N xx
So good.
I’m so pleased to hear that Leonore, thanks for sharing your thoughts! N xx
Hi what could I served with this any suggestions?
Hi Luke! For something super quick, handful of salad or steamed veggies, then in a jar shake 1 part lemon with 2 parts oil + sugar, salt, pepper and garlic. Drizzle! 🙂
could I make this with a creamy dressing? ie ranch? with rosemary, thyme and sage?
Oooh yes!
Nagi so I do not have to marinate these before I stuff them? I thought dipping them in Italian low fat dressing for a bit more flavor? Would you sub jest it or not? Will be first time I am making them. That will be tomorrow.
Thank you so much.
Hi Phyl! No need to marinate, because the chicken is halved there is less meat for the flavour to penetrate. But you could definitely marinate if you wanted to! Even up to 24 hours 🙂
Can you tell me what Italian mixed “her” and red pepper flakes means?
Hi Camella! Typo – it’s “Italian Herbs” and red pepper flakes are also known as chilli flakes 🙂
I just made this dinner for my hard working bride. I thought it was going to split the chicken breasts, but the toothpicks held tight. excellent dinner. Thanks Nagi….
George
I’m so pleased to hear you both enjoyed it George, thanks for letting me know! N xx