Description
A delicious and elegant stuffed chicken breast recipe featuring sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, and creamy mozzarella cheese, all coated in a flavorful Italian dressing and oven-baked to perfection. This dish offers a perfect balance of tangy, savory, and fresh flavors, making it ideal for a quick yet impressive meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 6 oz / 180 g small chicken breasts (2 pieces), boneless and skinless
Stuffing
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomato (oil packed, cut into strips)
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese (or other melting cheese of choice)
- Handful of spinach leaves
Italian Dressing
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sugar, any kind
- 1/2 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Additional
- 2 tsp olive oil (for searing)
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) to prepare for baking the stuffed chicken breasts.
- Make Italian dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar or lemon juice, sugar, Italian mixed herbs, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper until well combined. The dressing will be thicker than a typical salad dressing.
- Prepare chicken pockets: Carefully cut a pocket into each chicken breast without cutting all the way through, creating space for stuffing.
- Coat chicken: Generously coat each chicken breast, both inside the pocket and outside, with the prepared Italian dressing to infuse flavor.
- Stuff the chicken: Place the chicken breasts on a work surface and stuff each pocket first with sun dried tomato strips, then top with mozzarella cheese slices, and finally add spinach leaves. Stuff as much as possible without overfilling.
- Seal pockets: Secure the openings using toothpicks inserted diagonally to keep the stuffing intact during cooking.
- Sear chicken: Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add the stuffed chicken breasts and sear for about 1½ minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Bake chicken: Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the chicken is cooked through.
- Rest and serve: Remove the skillet from the oven and let the chicken rest for 3 minutes. Serve drizzled with the flavorful pan juices.
Notes
- Use oil-packed sun dried tomatoes for best texture and flavor; drain excess oil but keep some to retain moisture.
- Adjust seasoning of the Italian dressing to taste, especially salt and pepper.
- To avoid overfilling, carefully stuff the chicken so it can close properly and cook evenly.
- Make sure the skillet used for searing is ovenproof to safely transfer from stovetop to oven.
- Resting the chicken after baking allows juices to redistribute, ensuring moist, tender meat.
