Bacon stuffed chicken breast recipe has the creamiest filling that consists of cheese and spinach. All you need is just a handful of smart ingredients for a delectable midweek dinner! Cozy, easy and delicious!
There is something about chicken stuffed with cheese, spinach and bacon that makes this combination just taste right. Because bacon and cheese impart flavor and moisture to the chicken, while stuffed chicken holds everything together.
The contrast between the cheesy spinach filling, bacon and chicken makes for an amazingly delicious and flavorful stuffed chicken dinner. Stuffed chicken is simply thin cut of chicken breast, rolled around the cheese mixture. This recipe is not at all complicated and you will need only a handful of ingredients.
Why you will love this stuffed chicken recipe
Easy — This recipe requires minimal amount of effort and time on your part. That’s my favorite part! Cook the bacon. Chop the bacon. Prepare the cheese. Stuff the chicken. Secure with toothpicks. Cook in the skillet. Done!
One skillet — I love to use my large skillets to make delicious chicken! Cooking the bacon, then chicken comes together in just one skillet with a bit of cleaning.
Budget friendly — Sometimes splurging on a dinner is a great way to treat ourselves. Other times, all I want is affordable chicken that can easily feed my family. This dinner represents low cost as well as low effort.
Here’s what you need to make it
Large Skillet – Use either stainless steel skillet that is large enough to fit all this chicken. 12 inch skillet is my favorite!
Sharp Knife – Cutting the chicken can be tedious. Dull knife – let’s not screw this up!
Bamboo Wooden Toothpicks – To hold folded chicken together.
Ingredients and substitutions
Chicken — Most of the time I use air chilled chicken to avoid additional liquids that will come out with regular chicken breasts
Cheese — I used cream cheese combined with Feta. Other delicious cheese alternatives include goat cheese, Parmesan cheese and Ricotta.
Bacon — we cook bacon first, crumble it and add it to the bowl of cheese.
Spinach — we chop our baby spinach and add it raw to the bowl of cheese.
Olive oil — you can also use butter, avocado oil
Garlic Powder — I love to use organic garlic powder. You can also use freshly chopped garlic.
Recommended internal temperature for chicken
Wondering what temperature to cook your chicken for it to be safe? I highly recommend a meat thermometer. I use it to check everything I cook to ensure accurate and safe temperature.
The US Government Food Safety website recommends cooking chicken to an internal temperature of at least 165 F. for safe consumption.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating Stuffed Chicken
In the event that you have leftovers, Bacon Stuffed Chicken is easy to store!
Refrigerate — Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
Freeze — You can easily freeze bacon stuffed chicken! In a freezer safe zip-lock bag. Make several batches ahead, divide into portions and freeze up to 2 months.
How to defrost — Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Reheat — Stuffed chicken is best reheated in a skillet. Add butter or olive oil to the skillet and add the chicken. Cover and cook on low until the chicken is fully warmed through. You can use a splash of chicken broth to add more moisture, but it’s not necessary due to the cheese.
What to serve with Bacon Stuffed Chicken
If you are preparing for a nice dinner to enjoy, I recommend the following dishes to serve with Bacon Stuffed Chicken.
Avocado Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers — I love starting dinner with a healthy salad. This particular salad is a great preamble to the cheesy chicken recipe. You are going to love it!
Mashed Potatoes — It’s a classic accompaniment to any protein dinner. I highly recommend that you try Buttery Mashed Potato Pie or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
Garlic Butter Spaghetti — Who doesn’t love chicken and pasta? If you want to try an addicting spaghetti recipe, this one is a good candidate!
More delicious “stuffed” recipes to try
Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheese and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken
Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon
- 1.5 lb. chicken breasts, thin
- ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper, each
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 oz cream cheese
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
How to Cook Bacon
- Begin by cooking bacon in a large skillet. Cook for about 6-7 minutes until crispy. Remove onto a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Set aside
- Drain fat from the skillet and wipe it to prepare it for the next step of cooking chicken.
How to Prepare Chicken Filling
- In a medium bow, mix together cream cheese,, feta cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder chopped spinach and crumbled bacon. Set aside.
How to Cook Chicken
- Prepare thin chicken breasts (if yours are thick – butterfly thick ones). Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Don't add too much salt – feta cheese and bacon will add to the saltiness.
- Stuff seasoned chicken breasts with the filling. To do so, add filling onto a chicken filet, then roll the chicken around the stuffing. Secure the edges with the toothpicks.
- Add olive oil to the skillet. Once hot, add chicken breasts and brown on one side for 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn and brown on the other side. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 F by browning on all sides.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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