Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Stuffing
Chicken breasts stuffed with stuffing is easy to make and comes out so flavorful, with a crunchy, golden topping. It's a great way to use leftovers at the holidays or get your stuffing fix anytime.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the stuffing:
- 1 (12 oz.) bag herb seasoned classic stuffing (such as Pepperidge Farm) or leftover stuffing (see notes below)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ cup sweetened dried cranberries (optional)
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
For the chicken:
- 4 (6-7 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ⅓ cup reserved (raw) stuffing mixture (see notes)
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.
- Reserve ⅓ cup of the raw, crunchy stuffing breadcrumb mixture for later.
- Prepare the stuffing according to package directions. I recommend using the stovetop saucepan method to initially make the stuffing. You can then stuff the chicken and bake the remaining stuffing mix in the oven along with the chicken.
- 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.)
- Brush the insides of the chicken breasts with 1 teaspoon each Dijon mustard and season lightly with salt and black pepper.
- Add ¼ cup of the prepared stuffing to the inside of each chicken breast then fold over to close it up.
- Place the stuffed chicken breasts in the prepared pan. Drizzle each one evenly with the olive oil and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Add about 1 ½ tablespoons of the reserved raw and crunchy stuffing mixture to the top of each chicken breast, pressing down to help it adhere. (Or if you don’t have any, you can use buttery breadcrumbs here; see notes below.)
- Bake the stuffed chicken at 375 for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top and chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165.
- You can also bake any remaining stuffing mixture according to the package directions. (My package says to bake in a 2-quart casserole dish for 30 minutes and I do it at 375 at the same time as the chicken.)
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Stuffing: You can make this recipe as written with store-bought stuffing from a bag from the store. Or you can use pre-made stuffing, including leftovers from Thanksgiving or a holiday dinner. You'll need 1 cup, or about ¼ cup per chicken breast. Use that to stuff each chicken breast and then use the breadcrumbs (see below) in place of raw stuffing as the crunchy topping.
Breadcrumbs: If you are using leftover stuffing or don't have any reserved raw/crunchy stuffing to use as the topping for the chicken breasts, here's the alternative. Mix together ½ cup of plain breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons of melted butter until well combined. Spread evenly on top of the chicken breasts before baking.
Make-ahead: See the notes in the post above for how to make this ahead and bake it off.
Leftovers: Leftover stuffed 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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 398mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g
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