Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Spinach

This Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe is juicy, full of flavour and never boring -I promise! You get all of the goodness of spinach, the flavour from a mix of three cheeses and one of the easiest recipes you could ever make. This is a great weeknight chicken recipe but you could absolutely serve this to guests too and they will swoon. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader!

I love these stuffed chicken breasts so much that I make these a lot. And this is coming from someone that doesn't always like chicken breast! It's so simple but it doesn't taste like it. If you like spinach and cheesy dip then you'll love this stuffed chicken breast!

Tips for Making Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Spinach and Cheese

1 - These stuffed chicken breasts are easiest when done in a large skillet with an oven proof handle because you brown the chicken in the pan and then place the whole pan in the oven. If your skillet doesn't have an oven proof handle you can move the browned chicken breasts into an oven proof dish.

2 - Chicken breasts are super large these days at around 300g/10.6ozs. You need a very large skillet to fit 4 chicken breasts, around 28cm/11inches at least.

3 - How to butterfly the chicken breast? Cut through the curved side of the chicken breast. This is the thickest part of the breast. After you butterfly the breast it should look like a heart, like above.

4 - Can I use frozen spinach? Yes! Just make sure to drain it really well of the excess water. Fresh baby spinach has very little water in it and the wetter the mixture the looser it is.

5 - You can also use English spinach in this recipe instead of baby spinach.

6 - Make sure that your cream cheese is cold so that it holds together better when you mix it with the parmesan, mozzarella and spinach.

7 - Use toothpicks to seal up the chicken breasts. You do not need to soak the toothpicks as they only go in the oven for less than 15 minutes. Just make sure to remove them before serving!

UPGRADE OPTION: brine the chicken breasts beforehand to make them super juicy and tender. All you need is 30-60 minutes! Dissolve 100g/3.5ozs fine salt in 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs of hot water and then top it up with 3 cups/750/0.8 quart cold water. Place in a container in the fridge for 60 minutes. That's it! I will do this if I am making these for guests.

I absolutely love having friends over to eat. This past weekend we had friends over for lunch and it was a crowd that gets on really well. It was Queen Viv, Miss America, Valentina and Peter as well as Mr NQN and I. They've met each other so often that it's never awkward and conversation really flows. There are always great stories whenever Queen Viv and Miss America are invited. They have been friends for most of their adult life and they recently went away to the Iris van Herpen fashion exhibition in Brisbane.

We always joke that I have opened a CIA folder on Queen Viv who always finds herself in the most intriguing situations. I have promised her that on her wishes, I will reveal the contents of this folder at her funeral so that all of her friends and family will know that she was always up to something even if she did appear to be cool, calm and collected.

This trip they were staying at an Airbnb and after negotiating the unfamiliar streets of Brisbane and getting lost, they finally made it to their accommodation. The owners of the house were a young couple, the woman was heavily pregnant and they lived next door to the house they had rented. The first thing they needed before heading out to lunch was a cup of tea. Miss America was putting things away in his room while Queen Viv was looking for a phone charger. Mrs Airbnb rang just then just to check that everything was all fine and while they were chatting they suddenly heard a very loud alarm.

They walked into the kitchen where there were flames at the stovetop. Queen Viv had put the plastic electric kettle on the gas stove!

Miss America continued, "We just stood there looking at it saying 'what do we do?' and then the husband bounced in through the front door and picked it up and muttered under his breath 'It's quite obvious it's an electric kettle...'". After an apology and $95 to replace the kettle that was thankfully the most dramatic part of their holiday!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like stuffed chicken breasts? And are you the friend with the interesting stories at a dinner party?

Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Spinach and Cheese

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 3 or 4

• 4x300/10.6oz chicken breast fillets
• 120g/4ozs baby spinach leaves
• 120g/4ozs cream cheese, cold (not light)
• 60g/2ozs finely grated parmesan cheese
• 60g/2ozs grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 20g/0.7oz garlic aioli or mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Olive oil for frying

For Spice Rub

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder (hot or mild)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 220C/428F. Have an oven proof skillet ready (make sure the handle can go in the oven). Take the chicken breast fillet and on the curved side and the thickest part of the fillet, cut through the fillet in half horizontally but only cutting 3/4 of the way through. Open it up and it should create a heart shape. Set aside in the fridge.

Step 2 -Roughly chop the spinach and then mix this with the cream cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, onion powder, garlic aioli and garlic powder. I find this easiest to do with my hands. Season the chicken breasts on the inside with salt and then divide the spinach mixture into four. I try and leave a little border around the edge. Take 2 or 3 toothpicks and seal them each breast up.

Step 3 -Mix the smoked paprika, salt, chilli powder, garlic powder and black pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle this spice mixture on the outside of the chicken breast front and back. Place a large ovenproof skillet onto medium heat and once it is hot add oil and sear the chicken breast for 4 minutes on each side. Then with the presentation side of the chicken breasts up, slide the pan into the hot oven for 12-15 minutes. Make sure to wrap an oven mitt or a couple of teatowels around the handle because it can remain hot for a long time afterwards and it's very easy to grab the handle without thinking (I've done it!). Rest for 5-10 minutes and then serve with salad.

Note: If your chicken breasts differ in size they may need less or more time in the oven.