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These Cheesy Pesto Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts are simple to make, healthy, low carb and delicious!
Guess what?
It’s my birthday weekend! Yup, Yesterday was birthday…
I typically do not like my birthday usually and celebrate it mainly because of my kids, but this year after all of this Covid craziness, I feel so much gratitude this year.
It was a great day with friends and family, nothing fancy which is just my speed.
After all of the stress and doom and gloom going on these past few months I want to focus on positivity and being thankful for all that I have. It’s not easy considering I feel like I am always waiting something else to happen, like my kids going completely virtual for school and going on lockdown again.
But today I am very thankful for my friends, family and all of our good health.
I digress…back to positivity, gratitude and this chicken…
I know these chicken breasts may look fancy, but I promise they are super easy to make. You know I don’t make or even create any recipes that are time consuming and difficult to prepare.
Nobody has time for that.
We make so many chicken recipes. If you’re like me and frequently make chicken for dinner, I bet you are also looking for new recipes. Most of the time I get into ruts and make the same recipes over and over.
My kids love to remind me of that.
Especially during these weird Covid times…In the beginning of the pandemic I was cooking and baking all the time.
It was fun, we were all home together and it felt cozy. Well that novelty wore off really fast.
I was scared to order takeout at first. With that being said, I usually don’t order takeout that much before this whole thing started.
But then after months of being in lockdown I was totally burnt out of cooking and more importantly, I wanted to support our local restaurants that were suffering tremendously.
So we started ordering takeout from local establishments and life felt a little more normal, even just a little bit. But I will never stop cooking all the time for my family.
And now 8 months later, I am trying to get out of my boring routine and spice up my recipes a bit. It’s always good to they new recipes and this will not disappoint. I promise.
I make my own pesto but you can easily buy it at the store for convenience. You know I am all about simplifying things, but if you have a few extra minutes I urge you to make your own.
Homemade pesto is INCREDIBLE. Fresh basil is EVERYTHING.
There are just a few simple ingredients in these…check it out…
That’s it! And if you do make your own homemade pesto, even that only has a few simple ingredients as well. But no judgement if you go to the store and buy it, do whatever is best for you.
By the way, this chicken recipe uses my Simple Pesto Recipe using basil. But you can mix it up using many different nuts, seeds or greens.
Like my Kale Arugula Pesto, Walnut Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto just to name a few examples. All are super delicious and simple to make.
The possibilities are endless and it’s so easy to swap out ingredients when there is a food allergy. Go ahead, have some fun and experiment!
It really doesn’t get easier than this. And bonus points that it has a pretty presentation that you can make it for guests.
Better yet, if you don’t love turkey (I get it) go ahead and make this for Thanksgiving.
This is such a weird year, go ahead and make it. I’d like to think there should be no more rules for 2020.
By the way, this also has festive holiday colors for Christmas…just saying…
Am I right?
As many of you know I follow a low carb, sugar free, grain free, gluten free diet. This is an absolutely perfect example of how delicious this way of eating can be.
I promise even people that don’t follow this lifestyle will love this recipe.
Pesto, cheese, spinach, chicken…what’s not to love about this?
Cheesy Pesto Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 1 tablespoon pesto, homemade or store bought
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup spinach, chopped
- 4-5 wooden skewers or toothpicks
- butter, garlic butter or herb butter for topping, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Using a sharp knife, start to cut the chicken breast from the thicker side to almost the end of the other side, to make a pocket.
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Rub oil, salt and pepper to the outside of the chicken breasts.
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Place half tablespoon of pesto in each chicken pocket and spread it evenly.
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Slice the mozzarella into thick slices and fold them into the pockets.
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Add the tomatoes and spinach to the chicken pockets as well.
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Secure the pockets with some wooden skewers to avoid the filling from oozing out.
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Grease a baking dish and place the chicken in it.
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Bake it in a preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes.
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Cover the chicken and let it rest for 5 mins.
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Top the chicken with garlic butter or herb butter (optional) and enjoy!
By the way, if you have any new chicken recipes that you love, please pass them my way. Like I said, it’s always good to mix it up!
Here are some other delicious chicken dishes I thought you might like:
Balsamic Chicken Breasts from Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Fifteen Minutes Healthy Roasted Chicken and Veggies from Gimme Delicious
One Dish Salsa Chicken Bake from Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Easy Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken from Creme de la Crumb
Southwestern Chicken Skillet from Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Please come back and let me know if you made these stuffed chicken breasts or any of the other recipes I’ve shared with you! I always love to hear from you.
Thanks for stopping by!
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