Pesto, tomatoes, and melty mozzarella, this mozzarella stuffed chicken oozes Italian flavors in every bite! The chicken is moist, the technique is easy; here’s how to get dinner on the table quickly and make stuffed chicken breast that everyone will love.
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What I Love About This Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Recipe
Mozzarella stuffed chicken is crazy good and fast to prepare! It’ll quickly become one of your go to recipes in no time because it:
- Requires easy-to-find ingredients only
- Takes just 20 minutes to prep
- Has lots of protein and veggies (and can be customized to include more!)
- Makes an incredible meal prep!
Recipe Notes
The steps for making mozzarella stuffed pesto chicken are really easy to get a hang of. So after you make it once, you’ll already be a pro!
Ingredient Notes
For the filling, I use pesto, tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella.
Pesto – Grab a jar at the store, or make your own pesto! If you’re sticking to a low carb eating plan, know that pesto should have very few carbs in it, so purchase accordingly.
Mozzarella – Grab sliced keto cheese instead of shredded to save yourself from making a mess!
Tools To Make
To make mozzarella stuffed chicken, you’ll need:
- Large bowl to marinate the chicken
- Sharp knife to form the pocket
- A few toothpicks to keep the filling inside the chicken
- Pan to sear the breasts.
Cooking Notes
Cutting the pocket – To stuff the chicken breast, you’ll have to first cut a pocket. Use a sharp knife, place one hand over the chicken, and slice at the center (from the thicker to the thinner side). Be careful to not cut all the way through! You don’t want to end up with a messy sandwich situation.
If slicing a pocket seems too difficult, an easier method of cutting is butterflying the chicken breast. Plus, butterflying will create more room for you to stuff with filling!
Keeping it all together – Once the chicken is stuffed, grab a toothpick to keep the ingredients together while baking.
Storing Tips
For any leftovers, place the food in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat leftovers in the oven for warm, savory chicken!
Can You Freeze This?
Yes this is one of the best dinners to freeze! Just allow the baked stuffed chicken to cool first, then place each chicken breast into its own resealable bag. Label the baggies with the recipe name and date before freezing!
Recipe Variations
It’s amazing how many variations there are to mozzarella stuffed chicken:
- Wrap this in Bacon! Enjoy mozzarella stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon by slightly pre-cooking a few slices of bacon (this will get them crispy once you wrap them). Then wrap them around the chicken (post-sear and pre-bake). Be careful not to cook the bacon too long since it will continue cooking in the oven.
- Add More Vegetables. Add finely chopped broccoli florets for delightful broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken, or blanched asparagus for asparagus stuffed chicken.
- Use Different Types Of Cheese. if you have a different cheese you love (or if you want to use up something you have on hand) switch it up. For example, stuffed chicken parmesan or cream cheese stuffed chicken.
More Keto Chicken Recipes
Chicken breast can be pretty bland on its own, but it makes an awesome foundation for exciting and healthy chicken recipes! Here are some more recipes you may love:
- Keto Chicken Parmesan
- Salsa Verde Stuffed Peppers without Rice
- Chicken Crust Pizza
- Keto Chicken Casserole
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- Tuscan Chicken
Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 3 Tablespoons Mild Tasting Oil (see notes below)
- 2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 8 Tablespoons Pesto
- 8 Slices Tomatoes
- 1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese sliced
- 1/2 Cup Spinach fresh
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- Salt + Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Combine chicken breasts (4), Italian seasoning (2 teaspoons), salt (1 teaspoon), pepper (1/2 teaspoon), and lemon juice (3 tablespoons) in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Slice chicken breast in half to form a “pocket”, or butterfly your breast (if you butterfly the chicken, you will need to use toothpicks to hold the ingredients together).
- Add a scoop of pesto inside each chicken breast.
- Layer a few slices of tomatoes, spinach then cheese into each breast.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Place chicken breast in the pan and sear each side for 5 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
- Place pan in the oven and continue to cook until chicken has reached an internal temp of 165 F, about 20 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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Lindsey's Tips
- Mild Tasting Oil. You want an oil with a high smoke point and mild flavor -- think avocado, vegetable, safflower, sunflower, peanut. Skip EVOO, coconut, or sesame oil.
- Nutritional information is for 1 breast:
This looks so easy and delicious! I can’t wait to make this <3
Thanks for another great recipe!!
Hi there,
I just want to make sure I understand. In the tips you state that you’ll want to use slices of mozzarella and not shredded but in the the ingredients you have grated mozzarella. I would assume that the slices of mozzarella would be a better choice…thoughts?
Sliced is best! Hope you enjoy ?