Tuscan Stuffed Chicken is stuffed with a creamy filling made from cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. So much great flavor!
This easy stuffed chicken recipe looks impressive enough for company, but is simple enough for a weeknight dinner. It takes about 25 minutes from start to finish and pairs beautifully with roasted vegetables, pasta, or a garden salad.
Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Chicken and Creamy Tuscan Shrimp are two of my favorite recipes, so I’m on a mission to come up with as many Tuscan-style recipes as possible. Tuscan flavors are bold and flavorful and the perfect way to liven up a boring old chicken breast.
Other Tuscan-style recipes to try are Tuscan Chicken Pinwheels, Creamy Tuscan Salmon, and Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Dip.
How To Make
(More detailed instructions and video in recipe card below.)
- Make the filling. Mix the softened cream cheese with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, mozzarella, parmesan, and Italian seasoning.
- Cut a pocket in the chicken breasts. Cut a pocket horizontally in the thickest side of each chicken breast.
- Season the chicken. Season the outside of the chicken and inside the pocket with salt and pepper. Season the outside with paprika.
- Stuff the chicken. Stuff the filling inside the pockets and secure with toothpicks.
- Sear until golden. Heat the olive oil and sun-dried tomato oil in an oven-safe skillet. Sear both sides of the chicken.
- Finish in oven. Transfer pan to a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Large chicken breasts may take longer.
Tips For Making Tuscan Stuffed Chicken
- Don’t forget to season the inside of the chicken too.
- Cram as much filling as you can get in the pocket, but try to resist overstuffing it. It will just ooze out as it cooks.
- Use toothpicks to keep the chicken breasts closed if you need to.
- You’ll want to use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. They have so much more flavor, plus you’ll use some of the oil to saute the chicken.
- Stuffing chicken breasts is a really easy way to add lots of flavor to lean chicken meat. The hardest part is cutting the pocket in the chicken. You don’t want to risk cutting through the other side, but you want to make sure the pocket is plenty big to hold lots of filling so that you get some filling in every bite.
- You’ll want to use an oven-proof pan for this recipe. First you’ll sear the chicken on the stove to get the exterior nice and golden. But the oven is a great way to finish cooking the chicken without drying it out.
- If you don’t have an ovenproof pan, you can just transfer the chicken to a baking dish.
Temperature To Cook Chicken To
Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. You want to be careful not to overcook it, especially chicken breasts which are very lean. For best results, use an instant-read thermometer.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. Reheat covered in a 325 to 350 degree oven until warm or in the microwave.
More Stuffed Chicken Recipes
- Spinach-Feta Stuffed Chicken
- Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- Bacon-Wrapped Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken
- Bacon, Mushroom, and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- Greek Stuffed Chicken
- Pimento Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItTuscan Stuffed Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
- 1/3 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- wooden toothpicks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomato jar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together cream cheese, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning until evenly mixed. Set aside.
- Cut a pocket in each chicken breast. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken and inside the pocket with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with paprika.
- Stuff each pocket with cream cheese mixture. Secure each opening with a few toothpicks.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil and sun-dried tomato oil in an oven-proof skillet. (Either cast iron or stainless steel work well for this.)
- Add chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook until browned on the other side.
- Transfer skillet to oven and cook another 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Larger breasts may take longer. Check with an instant-read thermometer to make sure the inside is 145 degrees.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published September 19, 2019.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Just made this for Sunday lunch. I used fresh spinach instead of using frozen. It was absolutely delicious!
Great to hear you enjoyed it Carl!
Loved it- great combination of flavours
Can I cut pocket on top of chicken breast instead of the side? If so, how do I flip it to brown the top side without the filling falling into the pan? please advise.
Made it for our family Easter Dinner. It was so easy to make and it was delicious! Thank you. Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Do you cook it covered or in covered
Made this for my leap year dinner . As a side dish I included garlic polenta topped with pesto. If I had to rate this dinner I’d say, $29.99 chicken dinner.
Can I use fresh spinach instead?
Yes, just briefly saute or steam it first so that it is easier to stuff in the chicken.