20 Minute Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe

This post is brought to you in partnership with California Walnuts.

The secret to never-boring chicken breast!

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are a convenient ingredient that’s a staple in most kitchens. But let’s face it, sometimes it can be hard to get excited about another chicken breast dinner. If that’s where you are, let me tell you: slicing a chicken breast open and stuffing it with a little bit of melty cheese and loads of Mediterranean flavors, is next level delicious! Best part? You can make this stuffed chicken breast recipe in just over 20 minutes!

What do you stuff chicken breast with?

The great thing about stuffed chicken breast recipes is that they’re so easy to customize based on your mood and what you have in your pantry. The possibilities are endless! I wanted to add a bit of Mediterranean, slightly Italian, flare to my filling. Here’s what I used to make the filling for this stuffed chicken recipe:

Cheese: a combination of 1/2 cup ricotta and 1/4 cup each part-skim mozzarella and grated Parmesan (melty tasty goodness without overwhelming the stuffed chicken). Spinach: because we’re using 5 ounces of thawed frozen spinach, we really don’t need to spend time cooking it. It can just go right into the filling mixture, but be sure to wring out all the liquid. Aromatics and seasoning: Sundried tomatoes, fresh garlic, parsley, and oregano: Mediterranean favorites that give our cheese and spinach filling so much flavor! Extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil also helps to moisten the filling mixture so that everything is well-incorporated. Walnuts! Now this is the secret ingredient here, and yes, it’s another Mediterranean favorite. I used 3/4 cup of walnut hearts. The walnuts (finely chopped) truly elevate the filling by adding texture, flavor, and nutrition.

The secret ingredient: walnuts!

When it comes to walnuts, many of us think of sweets like banana walnut bread or apple strudel. But in my mother’s Mediterranean kitchen, they were also used in a lot of savory dishes (you may have come across my Muhammara walnut dip and this fried eggplant recipe). So when I was thinking of a way to amp up the flavor and add more texture and substance to the filling for today’s stuffed chicken, walnuts were a no brainer. You’ll love the subtle nuttiness and extra crunch in this recipe! Fun fact! For those who follow the Mediterranean diet, incorporating walnuts in your cooking or even as a daily snack can have some great benefits. I recently attended an amazing virtual harvest tour with California Walnuts and learned that one ounce of walnuts is a powerhouse of important nutrients for optimum health, including: 2.5 g of ALA Omega-3 fatty acids, 4 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber. (Lots more good information here). Lucky for us, there is no shortage of quality walnuts here in the States, thanks to the fertile soils of California’s central valley! Cooking this spinach stuffed chicken breast is fairly easy. Once you mix the filling ingredients together, make a little “pocket” for the filling in each chicken breast. From there, cook the chicken in a pan or cast iron skillet for about 10 to 12 minutes in total. Here’s how it goes.

How to make spinach stuffed chicken breast: step-by-step

(print-friendly recipe just below)

Baked option

If you’d rather bake these stuffed chicken breasts instead, turn the oven on 350 degrees F. Arrange the chicken in a lightly oiled baking dish, and bake on the center rack of your heated oven for about 16 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part registers 165 degrees F.

How to serve it

Allow the chicken about 5 minutes to rest before serving. From there, you can decide whether to serve each person their very own chicken breast (this is a very satisfying and generous portion). Or, you can slice each breast into smaller portions. This will show off the beautiful filling inside and will also allow you to serve more people (up to 6 people).

What to serve with it?

Here are some ideas for what you can serve with spinach stuffed chicken breast: Sides: Roasted Greek Potatoes; Italian Roasted Vegetables; Or Grilled Zucchini Salads: White Bean Salad; Blanched Asparagus with Mediterranean Salsa; or Traditional Greek Salad