Description
Juicy chicken breasts stuffed with roasted red peppers, spinach, and melted mozzarella, then seared and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, sliced (jarred or freshly roasted)
- 1½ cups fresh spinach (or baby spinach)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella (or ~1 cup shredded mozzarella)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter (optional, for searing)
- Toothpicks or kitchen twine, for securing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Grease a baking dish or oven‑safe skillet lightly with olive oil.
- Pat chicken breasts dry. With a sharp knife, cut a horizontal slit into the side of each breast to form a pocket, being careful not to cut all the way through.
- Season both inside and outside of each chicken breast with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil (and butter, if using). Add garlic and sauté briefly until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add the roasted red pepper strips and spinach to the skillet. Sauté until the spinach is just wilted (about 2–3 minutes). Remove from heat and let the filling cool slightly.
- Stuff each chicken breast pocket with a portion of the pepper‑spinach mixture and a slice (or portion) of mozzarella. Use toothpicks or kitchen twine to secure the openings.
- In the same skillet (or another oven-safe skillet), add remaining olive oil and sear each stuffed breast for about 2–3 minutes per side, until golden brown (but not fully cooked through).
- Transfer the skillet (or transfer chicken) into the preheated oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 °F (74 °C).
- Remove from oven, discard toothpicks/twine, let rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
- You can roast your own red peppers by charring bell peppers, steaming them, peeling off skins and slicing.
- If your chicken breasts are very thick, you may want to pound them slightly for more even cooking.
- Don’t overstuff the pockets—too much filling can cause leakage.
- You may prep and stuff ahead of time, keeping the stuffed (uncooked) breasts refrigerated up to 1 day before searing/baking.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure safe doneness (165 °F / 74 °C).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken breast
- Calories: ≈ 380 kcal
- Sugar: ≈ 2 g
- Sodium: ≈ 360 mg
- Fat: ≈ 22 g
- Saturated Fat: ≈ 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: ≈ 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: ≈ 5 g
- Fiber: ≈ 1 g
- Protein: ≈ 43 g
- Cholesterol: ≈ 135 mg
