Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

Okay real talk as a Kansas City mom: dinner needs to be delicious and actually doable on a weeknight. This Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken has become a total staple in our house. Juicy chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and ricotta, baked until golden. And honestly it is so much better than anything I could order out.

Why You’ll Love This

• Ready in 40 min with mostly pantry staples
• The whole family devours it every single time
• Great for meal prep and leftovers taste amazing the next day
• Simple enough for a Tuesday but special enough for company

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts
• Ricotta
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Parmesan
• Lemon zest
• Breadcrumbs

How to Make It

Gather all your ingredients and prep your workspace. I always do a quick mise en place because it makes everything smoother. Follow the recipe card below for the full step-by-step instructions with exact measurements and timing.

What You’ll Need

A few tools make this so much easier: instant-read thermometer. These are my actual go-tos in my KC kitchen.

This is one of those recipes I come back to again and again. If you make it let me know in the comments how it turned out!

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Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

Chicken breasts pocketed and filled with lemony ricotta and spinach, breaded on top and baked until golden. It slices open beautifully.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts thick cut
• 10 oz frozen spinach thawed and squeezed very dry
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Method

 

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment.
2. Stir the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and half the salt and pepper together.
3. Cut a deep horizontal pocket into the side of each chicken breast, being careful not to slice all the way through.
4. Spoon the filling into each pocket and secure the opening with toothpicks. Season the outside with the remaining salt and pepper.
5. Toss the panko with the olive oil and press it over the top of each breast.
6. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the crumbs are golden and the chicken reads 165 degrees at the thickest part.
7. Rest 5 minutes, pull the toothpicks, and slice on a slight angle to show the filling.

Notes

Squeeze every drop of water out of the cooked spinach or the filling will run out during baking. Toothpicks along the opening help too.