This Cheesy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast is a meal the whole family will love!
Tender and juicy Chicken Breast is butterflied, tenderized and then stuffed with an ooey gooey Cheddar Cheese & Broccoli mixture.
An Easy Thirty Minute Meal that the whole family will love!
When you need a quick and easy meal that the whole family will love look no further than this Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe!
The best part about this meal is you can have it on the dinner table in under 30 minutes! Perfect for busy week nights when you’re running here, there….and everywhere!
Why I like to Butterfly Chicken Breast
There are a few ways that you can make Stuffed Chicken Breast.
- You can cut a small pocket or pouch in the side of the chicken breast.
- Or you can cut almost all the way through the breast and then spread it open….like a butterfly spreading it’s wings.
I’ve used both methods for this recipe but I actually prefer butterflying the breast then using a meat tenderizer on it for the following reasons.
- It allows me to get more of that delicious cheesy broccoli filling inside the chicken.
- It holds the filling inside a bit better without too much of it escaping onto the pan.
- Finally, it’s a great way to stretch the amount of servings of this dish. By butterflying and tenderizing the chicken it can almost double the size of the meat allowing me to feed more people.
How do you Butterfly Chicken Breast
Having the proper tools is always important to be successful in the kitchen. In this case a small sharp knife is going to make this job a lot easier.
Carefully slice into the side of your chicken breast and slice almost all the way through.
As you cut through the breast begin to spread it open.
Once it has been butterflied place another piece of plastic wrap over the chicken. Next gently pound the breast all over with a meat tenderizer. Make sure you don’t pound it so hard that the meat begins to fall apart. You just want to make the chicken breast relatively the same thickness all over.
Click here for more on how to butterfly a chicken breast!
How to make the Cheesy Broccoli Filling
The key to making the best broccoli filling is to cut your broccoli up nice and small. This will ensure that the broccoli will cook perfectly. It also means that the broccoli gets nicely coated with all that delicious cheese.
Once your broccoli is nicely chopped add it to a mixing bowl along with the cheese and mayo…and any other veggies you want to add in. I also added some chopped spinach to mine. Broccoli Stuffed Chicken is the perfect dish to sneak in some healthy veggies that your kids say they don’t like! They’ll never even know they’re there.
How to add filling to your Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast
At this point you want to season both sides of your prepared chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Then spoon a generous spoonful of your broccoli cheese filling into the middle of the chicken breast.
Next , starting at one end fold the breast over the filling and roll it up so that the breast covers all of the filling. You may need to stuff any filling that tries to escape back inside the chicken breast.
Carefully secure the breast closed by inserting a toothpick.
How to cook Cheesy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast
You want to preheat your oven to 425 Degrees Farenheit at this point. Then add about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and get it nice and hot over medium hight heat.
MAKE SURE YOU PREHEAT YOUR SKILLET!
This is very important! You just want to give your stuffed chicken a quick sear in your skillet then finish cooking it in the oven.
Giving it a quick sear is going to help seal in all of the juices so you don’t end up with dry chicken.
If you used an oven safe skillet then just transfer your Stuffed Chicken Breasts to the oven at this point to finish cooking. You can also transfer them to a baking dish if your skillet can not go into the oven.
Bonus Tip for Stretching this meal!
We already talked about how butterflying and tenderizing your chicken breast can stretch the servings in the meal now here’s another tip….
Cut your cooked Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breasts into slices and then serve the slices on a serving dish. This usually allows each chicken breast to be shared between more than one person.
Try more of our favorite Stuffed Meat Recipes Below!
- Rolled Chicken Washington
- Cranberry & Fig Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Pear & Cranberry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Cheesy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Boneless skinless chicken breast ,about 4 breasts total
- 1 Cup Chopped Broccoli ,finely chopped
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Spinach ,optional
- 1 Cup Shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaisse ,Cream Cheese can also be substituted for this
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Broccoli Cheese Filling
- Finely chop about 4-5 broccoli florets to equal roughly 1 cup.
- Finely Chop 1/2 cup of baby spinach.
- Place broccoli, spinach, cheddar cheese and mayo into a mixing bowl and toss well to coat. Then set aside.
Butterfly your chicken breasts
- On a cutting board covered with plastic wrap carefully cut through the breast leaving a bit still attached on the other side.
- Then fold the breast open so you have one large thinner breast.
- Cover your butterflied chicken breast with plastic wrap and lightly pound with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin.
- Add salt and pepper to both sides of your breast and then place a large spoonful of the broccoli cheese filling in the center of the breast.
- Fold one end of the chicken breast of the filling and continue to roll so all of the filling is covered.
- Secure the end of the chicken breast with a toothpick.
- Repeat with all of your chicken breasts.
Cooking your Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Preheat oven to 425 Degrees Farenheit. Preheat an oven safe skillet on your stove top over medium high- high heat until it gets nice and hot. Place about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into your pan and add your chicken. Sear all of the sides of your chicken for a few seconds until it forms a nice browned coating.
- Place seared chicken in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Chicken should be cooked when it's internal temperature reaches 165 Degrees F.
- Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes then cut and serve.
Notes
- Butterfly and tenderize the chicken
- Cut Stuffed Chicken Breasts into slices and place on a serving dish.
- Chop broccoli up nice and small so it cooks perfectly
- Adding other veggies that you like is fine as long as you don’t add so many that your cheese/mayo/veggie ratio gets thrown off.
- Some other good veggies to add would be red pepper, spinach, garlic, onion. What ever your favorites are.
- Preheating your skillet is vital to searing in the juices in the chicken breast.
- Remove the toothpick before serving so no one gets any surprise ingredients!!!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know how it came out and what alterations you made in the comments below!
If you take a photo of your perfectly cooked Cheesy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast….share it on instagram and tag me @familytabletreasures
This was an awesome recipe, can’t wait to have it again!
This recipe is quick to put together and is very good as is. I am now making it for the second time adding a Louisiana creole spice to the veggie mix and spreading the inside of the turkey with some leftover pesto. I used butchers string to tie the roll and put it in the freezer to firm up for a few minutes before I started cooking it. I think it will be really good.
Thank you for you tips on ways to alter the recipe. I love seeing people getting creative with ways to use things in their pantry and to substitute for their taste preferences! I just returned from a trip to Louisiana and love that creole spice!
Could the recipe be made ahead and froze? All the steps except the baking step, freeze, thaw and bake?
Hi Marilynn, I’ve never tried it but don’t see why not. I think that’s a great idea. It would make the perfect prep ahead dish.
Used cream cheese instead of mayo. Added a mini red pepper, fresh spinach, red onion, a little garlic powder to the chopped broccoli and shredded (sharp) cheddar. Moist, tender, delicious! And so quick and easy to make!
Next time, I will make a little Mornay sauce to add extra cheesiness, table side….
Many thanks! 🙂
Sounds delicious!
So tasty! I used both cream cheese and mayo and…YUM! I ended up with too many veggies, so I piled them on top of the chicken when I put it in the oven. I will definitely be making this dish again!
So glad you loved it Katie! This is one of my go to dinners. So easy and delicious! Love the idea of adding the cream cheese…I bet that made it even more creamy and delicious!