Broccoli cheese stuffed chicken is just 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to prep then bakes until golden, crunchy and delicious for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love!
We love some stuffed chicken recipes in my house.
There are just endless possibilities and it’s a really easy way to change up the flavor of your same old chicken dinner.
My kiddos love pizza stuffed chicken and cheesy Mexican stuffed chicken breasts.
I make these chicken breasts stuffed with prosciutto, spinach and mozzarella for company and in the fall, I adore this apple and brie stuffed chicken.
And while not stuffed, we all devour this bacon wrapped chicken.
Like I said, so many ways you can change things up.
Also to note, I keep mine really easy by just butterflying the chicken breasts, adding the stuffings and either baking them or cooking them in the skillet.
No pounding them out or rolling them up and securing with toothpicks and making a fuss. Just easy weeknight dinners that don’t stress me out.
And today, we’re making one of my favorite flavor combinations, broccoli cheese stuffed chicken.
Cheesy broccoli was one of my favorite veggie sides as a kid, and I have fond memories of getting broccoli cheese stuffed baked potatoes at Wendy’s baked potato bar back in the day after I had swim practices at night.
(I’ve even made a version, with some protein added, in these fast cheesy chicken and broccoli twice baked potatoes.)
And tonight, this favorite combo is getting center stage treatment as our main meal.
These chicken breasts are seasoned then filled with steamed, chopped broccoli and shredded cheese.
We’re topping them with some buttery breadcrumbs and then baking them for a hands-off dinner that gets a gorgeous browned, crunchy crust and has a cheesy, melty filling.
Bonus, they are just 6 ingredients and only take about 10 minutes to prep.
That’s my kind of easy family dinner - and with few ingredients!
So let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up on how to make broccoli cheese stuffed chicken breasts. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making broccoli cheese stuffed chicken:
- Chicken breasts: You need to butterfly the chicken to get it ready for stuffing. Check out that post for step-by-step photos and a tutorial if it’s your first time. Also, it helps to have decent sized chicken breasts, not the super thin ones or perfectly portioned ones, since you’ll have to slice them across in half to stuff them.
- Broccoli: The broccoli needs to be steamed and finely chopped for this recipe. Please plan accordingly.
- Cheese: Cheddar is my go to, and I prefer a sharp cheddar for the best flavor. Regular cheddar or a white cheddar is great. You could even switch it up and try this with mozzarella or pepper Jack for a twist.
- Breadcrumbs: The buttery breadcrumb mixture on top of this chicken gives it a great crunchy crust, and looks delicious, too. However, you can skip it if you want to keep this gluten-free or low-carb or keto-friendly. (I’d recommend sprinkling the top with a little paprika or some extra cheese to give it a finishing look.)
Also, as mentioned, I don’t secure my chicken breasts with toothpicks or string before baking. I find that butterflying them and just folding them back over is sufficient.
And I’m kinda lazy like that. ♀️
If the stuffing in your chicken breasts looks like it might want to fall apart, feel free to add a few toothpicks.
Oh, and I use and recommend using a digital thermometer to ensure your chicken is properly cooked through. It should get to 165 before you remove it from the oven.
Want to make this ahead? Totally do-able.
Make ahead notes:
- You can prep this recipe ahead of time through step 4 in the instructions below (getting the chicken prepped and stuffed). Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Remove from the refrigerator when preheating the oven and add the breadcrumb mixture to the top of the chicken breasts. Bake as directed, adding an additional 5 minutes if needed to ensure everything is cooked through and hot.
OK, let’s get ready to eat.
Serving ideas for broccoli cheese chicken:
– Pair these chicken breasts with some roasted potatoes - or oven fries or tater tots to round out the meal. They’ll cook in the oven at the same time as the chicken.
– An orzo salad or pasta salad would also be great with this.
– You can even do some mashed potatoes or polenta and your favorite steamed or roasted veggie.
– Cauliflower rice and roasted vegetables would also be good here for a low-carb option.
Lots of options, since this is a pretty versatile dish.
Last thing, if you have leftovers…
Leftover broccoli cheese chicken will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I recommend slicing it before you reheat it — which you can do either in the microwave or stovetop — so it warms through more evenly and more quickly without drying out the chicken.
I hope you enjoy this new way to stuff your chicken for an easy dinner the whole family will enjoy.
Happy cooking!
XO,
Kathryn
Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 (6-7 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 small head of broccoli, steamed and finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8x12 or 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray then set aside. (You can also use a glass casserole dish and just spray it with cooking spray.
- Butterfly chicken breasts by cutting through them, not all the way, horizontally and opening like a book. (See this how-to post for details if needed.) Season the insides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Add a sprinkle of cheese to one side of each opened chicken breast, top with chopped broccoli and then add another hearty sprinkle of cheese. (This seals in the broccoli.)
- Fold the chicken breast over to close it up then carefully place in the baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and breadcrumbs. Spread the mixture on top of the chicken breasts.
- Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top and chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Kari Dobak
Please darken the color of the recipe titles! Hi Kathryn, I love your recipes and use them several times a week. I know this is picky of me, but when I print them out, the title of the recipe is very faint, so it's difficult to read. Online it looks like a nice green color, but printed - even on a color printer - it is very faint. All of the other text that is black prints perfectly fine and dark. I'm very certain it's not my printer because I have tried it on several different ones, and also with brand new toner. Maybe you could change the color of the recipe title to a darker shade of green that would print out better? Not trying to be a pain, it's just difficult to look through my recipe stack quickly when the titles are barely visible. Maybe I'm the only one who has this problem! Thank you so much for considering. And thank you for all your help in the kitchen 🙂
Kathryn Doherty
You are not a pain at all! Thank you for pointing that out. I haven't had that issue when I print - yes, I also print my own recipes, haha - but I can totally understand how that would happen. I am actually in the process of converting all of my recipe cards to a different back-end system that has a lot more capabilities to make things look better and be more useful to all of you. The titles there will be black, precisely for this accessibility reason. (Though, I have more than 1,000 recipes to manually move, so it may take me a bit of time...) Regardless, you make a valid point and I am on it! (I will also see if I can switch the current ones somehow in the meantime.) Thanks for sharing and thanks for being a loyal reader!!