Description
This Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe offers a delightful combination of tender chicken breast filled with a savory mixture of sautéed mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and baby spinach, topped with melted mozzarella cheese. The chicken is seared to golden perfection before being baked to lock in juiciness and flavor, making it a perfect elegant yet simple dinner option.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 2 x 220g / 7oz chicken breast, skinless boneless
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Filling
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 200g / 7 oz mushrooms, sliced 3mm (1/8″) thick (~2 heaped cups)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 80g / 3oz mozzarella, sliced (or other melting cheese)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°F fan) to prepare for baking the chicken.
- Prepare Chicken Pockets: Cut pockets into each chicken breast on the side with the fold without cutting all the way through, keeping the smooth side intact for stuffing.
- Season Chicken: Season both the inside of the pockets and the outside of the chicken breasts with half the salt and pepper to enhance flavor.
- Make Mushroom Filling: Melt butter in a heavy-based ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Add minced garlic, thyme, remaining salt and pepper, and cook for another 2 minutes until mushrooms are nicely golden.
- Add Spinach to Filling: Stir in baby spinach into the skillet and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds.
- Stuff Chicken: Spoon the mushroom-spinach mixture into each chicken pocket, then top with slices of mozzarella cheese. Seal the opening with toothpicks to hold the filling in place.
- Sear Chicken: Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, then sear each side of the stuffed chicken breasts for 1 1/2 minutes until golden brown.
- Bake: Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 65°C / 149°F.
- Rest: Remove the chicken from the oven, transfer to a plate, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving to allow juices to redistribute.
Notes
- Chicken breast is essential for this recipe due to its shape and size, allowing for pockets to hold the filling. Thighs or other cuts are not suitable.
- Other herbs such as dried thyme, chives, parsley, rosemary, oregano, or marjoram can be substituted according to preference.
- Baby spinach can be substituted with chopped English spinach, silverbeet (Swiss chard), kale, or even cabbage.
- Nutrition values provided are per one chicken breast.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed chicken breast
- Calories: 430
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 670mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 45g
- Cholesterol: 120mg
