Cheesy Mexican stuffed chicken breasts are filled with black beans, tomatoes and cheese and topped with taco seasoning and more cheese for an easy, fun and delicious family dinner!
I love making stuffed chicken breasts. It's such a simple way to do chicken breasts for dinner and the options are endless!
I've previously shared my chicken breasts stuffed with prosciutto, spinach and mozzarella and pizza-stuffed chicken, a kid favorite! We loved stuffed chicken in our house, so I'm always changing it up!
Today it's my cheesy Mexican stuffed chicken breasts, which my family devours!
The chicken breasts are stuffed with black beans, tomatoes and spinach then sprinkled with taco seasoning and some extra cheese.
And bonus, they are only 6 ingredients!
Bake them in the oven, add some extra toppings and you are in for some warm, cheesy, dinnertime deliciousness! These are sure to be a hit with the whole family.
First up, if you are new to stuffed chicken, go check out my post on how to butterfly chicken breasts. It's got some step-by-step photos that are really helpful with how to cut the chicken open.
Recipe Notes:
Tomatoes: I prefer these with fresh tomatoes on the inside because it holds up better while baking. However, I've also used salsa instead of the tomato in the stuffed chicken before and that worked too. Just make sure it's not too watery/runny.
Cheese: I use shredded white cheddar cheese but Monterey Jack or pepper Jack would be great here too.
Extra: You could also add a sprinkling of corn to the inside of these stuffed chicken breasts if you'd like.
Spinach: I add the spinach mainly for color here. You can skip it if you'd rather.
Oh, and I should mention that 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. Also, I'm lazy like that.
If yours look like they might want to fall apart, feel free to add a few toothpicks.
I hope you give these stuffed chicken breasts a try! And if you do, please tag me on Instagram - I love seeing what you make!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Cheesy Mexican Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup black beans
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh tomato (such as Roma), seeds removed
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh spinach
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
Optional toppings:
- Salsa, sliced avocado or guacamole, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, sour cream or Greek yogurt, pickled jalapeños or hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Butterfly each chicken breasts and lay open like a book. (See how to butterfly chicken breasts for more details and step-by-step photos.)
- Sprinkle the inside of each chicken breasts with the salt and pepper.
- Add to each chicken breast 2 tablespoons of black beans, 1 ½ tablespoons of chopped tomato, 1 ½ tablespoons of chopped spinach and ¼ cup of shredded cheese.
- Fold chicken breasts to close them up and lay on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle each of the tops of the chicken breasts with ½ teaspoon of the taco seasoning. Top each breast with an extra ¼ cup of shredded cheese.
- Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, until chicken breasts are cooked through. Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!
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Notes
Video
Nutrition
Need to round out the meal? Let's do it.
Serving ideas:
This chicken goes great with confetti rice or just steamed brown or white rice. Quinoa would pair well too, as would some creamy polenta.
You could also serve this chicken with some cornbread or dinner rolls. (Easy cheesy cornbread muffins would work great.)
A big green salad is a great veggie pairing for this dinner. Coleslaw is yummy too, including my super flavorful, colorful and amazing Mexican coleslaw that I shared last week.
Susan says
These were delicious! So moist and very filling.
I used kale instead of spinach and a spice mix of cumin, chili powder, and oregano instead of the taco seasoning. Served them with mashed potato puffs from the cooking jar.com.
A yummy meal.
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy you enjoyed these Susan! (They're on my menu again for next week. 😊) Love those substitutions too - could be helpful for switching things out in a pinch - thanks so much for sharing!