My Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Stuffing are delicious bundles of tender chicken filled with my easy homemade stove top stuffing. These are equally perfect for a weeknight meal or a smaller scale Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.
I use the air fryer to cook these stuffed chicken breasts quickly, and you can also bake them in the oven. This post has instructions for both.
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Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are ideal for stuffing, like these amazing Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breasts. So my thinking is why not stuff them with actual stuffing?
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Why we love this recipe
- Quick and easy. Even with my homemade stuffing, this recipe takes just 30 minutes to make. You can use a box of stuffing from the store and it’s even quicker. Because we use the air fryer, The chicken cooks in twenty minutes to a beautiful golden brown without the need to brown it separately.
- Delicious. This stuffing stuffed chicken is a flavorful comfort food meal that satisfies all those holiday cravings, without having to roast a whole turkey. It’s a perfect recipe for smaller gatherings where the whole bird is too much.
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Dried bread cubes. I make my own using seasoned gluten-free bread, and I will include instructions in the recipe notes. But if gluten isn’t a concern, you can easily find these at any grocery store. If you prefer, you can use a box of store-bought stuffing mix.
- Butter. We’ll cook the vegetables in butter to make the stuffing. It adds rich flavor and moisture.
- Celery and Onion. You can use a white onion or a yellow onion, either will work. Both vegetables need to be finely diced.
- Chicken Broth. Use homemade or store-bought from a carton, can, or bullion.
- Oil and Seasonings. To season the chicken breasts, I’m using a mixture of Italian seasoning,(I make my own Italian seasoning, it’s easy) paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best. Bone-in chicken breasts won’t work for this recipe.
How to make stuffing stuffed chicken breasts
- Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan.
- Add the onion and celery, and cook until they’re softened.
- Add the breadcrumbs and stir until combined.
- Stir in the chicken broth, remove from heat, and set aside.
- Cut the chicken breasts to make a pocket for the stuffing. To do this, place the chicken breast on a cutting board, place your hand on top of the chicken breast to keep it still, and using a sharp knife, make a horizontal slice through the thickest part, about three quarters of the way through. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Open the slice to “butterfly” the chicken breast.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts.
- Divide the stuffing mixture evenly between the chicken pieces.
- Carefully fold the chicken back up, rolling it over the filling, and secure each stuffed breast with two toothpicks.
Bake the stuffed chicken
You can bake the chicken in the air fryer, like I do, or in the oven. The air fryer method is great if you have a large enough air fryer. (The one I use for this recipe is a Ninja Foodie 8 Quart, 2 basket). The oven is a better choice if your air fryer is smaller, or if you want to make a larger amount.
Using the air fryer
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- Place the stuffing stuffed chicken breasts in the air fryer basket, leaving space around them.
- Cook at 400 degrees F for twenty minutes, or until they come to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Transfer to a platter and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Using the oven
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the stuffing filled chicken breasts on the baking sheet, leaving space around each one.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- If your chicken hasn’t browned to your liking, turn off the oven and turn on the broiler for 5 minutes. (Watch carefully).
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a platter and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Helpful Tips and Variations
- Bread cubes. It’s easy to make your own seasoned bread cubes. Here’s how I do it: use a serrated knife to cut a stack of bread slices horizontally and then vertically into one-inch cubes. You’ll need 6-10 slices to get 4 cups of cubes. Toss the cubes with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of poultry seasoning (or use your favorite spices) until coated. Spread the cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Stuffing. If you prefer you can use store-bought stove top stuffing mix. Just follow the package directions. You can also use leftover stuffing from another meal.
- Gluten-free. I used gluten-free bread to make the stuffing, and you can also buy gluten-free stovetop stuffing mix.
- Additions. You can get creative with this classic stuffing recipe, and add parmesan cheese, dried cranberries, diced apples, dried apricots, chopped walnuts, cooked sausage, or chopped cooked bacon to the stuffing. Or, try my cornbread sausage stuffing or blueberry sourdough stuffing recipes.
- Other meat. Instead of chicken, feel free to use boneless, skinless turkey breast fillets for this recipe. I also use this stuffing for boneless pork chops, too. Or use it to stuff a whole chicken.
- Double the recipe. You can double or even triple this recipe if you’re feeding lots of people. Just adjust the “servings” button on the recipe card below for quantities.
- Internal temperature. The safest way to ensure that the chicken is perfectly cooked is to use an instant read thermometer. It should be inserted in the thickest part of the chicken breast. Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
- Make ahead. Stuffed chicken breasts with stuffing can be prepped ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day until you’re ready to cook them.
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- Reheat. Reheat leftover chicken in the microwave on high for thirty second intervals. Or place them in a baking dish, cover with foil and reheat in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.
- Freeze. After baking and completely cooling, you can freeze the stuffed chicken breasts, packaged in freezer safe container or re-sealable bag for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Serving suggestions
Serve these stuffing stuffed chicken whole, or halved or sliced. These are great with chicken gravy or cranberry sauce, too.
Serve with your favorite side dishes. I suggest these miso sweet potatoes, roasted rutabaga, or honey roasted carrots and parsnips. But you might also love brown sugar brussels sprouts, air fryer butternut squash, or brown sugar carrots. If you want to try something different, go for my roasted radishes, they’re amazing! And I can’t forget my family’s favorite; sweet potato crunch.
If you’re looking for something lighter to pair with this chicken dish, a salad might be perfect. Try my kale and beet salad, or sweet potato quinoa salad.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Stuffing
Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Stuffing are delicious bundles of tender chicken filled with my easy homemade stove-top stuffing. These are equally perfect for a weeknight meal or a smaller scale Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.
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Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 375kcal
Instructions
Stuffing
-
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
-
Add the onions and celery. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
-
Stir in the seasoned bread cubes.
-
Remove from heat and stir in the chicken broth. Set aside.
Chicken
-
Cut the chicken breasts to make a pocket for the stuffing. To do this, place the chicken breast on a cutting board, and place your hand on top of the chicken breast to keep it still. Using a sharp knife, make a horizontal slice through the thickest part of the chicken breast, about three quarters of the way through. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Open the slice to “butterfly” the chicken breast.
-
Rub the chicken on both sides with olive oil. In a small bowl, stir together the Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper. Season the chicken breasts on both sides.
-
Divide the stuffing mixture evenly between the chicken pieces.
-
Carefully fold the chicken back up, rolling it over the filling, and secure each stuffed breast with two toothpicks.
Air Fry
-
Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
-
Place chicken pieces in the air fryer, leaving space around each one.
-
Cook at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
-
Transfer to a platter and allow chicken to rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Oven
-
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
Place the stuffed chicken breasts on the baking sheet, leaving space around them.
-
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
-
Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Bread cubes. It’s easy to make your own seasoned bread cubes. Here’s how I do it: use a serrated knife to cut a stack of bread slices horizontally and then vertically into one-inch cubes. You’ll need 6-10 slices to get 4 cups of cubes. Toss the cubes with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of poultry seasoning until coated. Spread the cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Stuffing. If you prefer you can use store-bought stovetop stuffing mix. Just follow the package directions. You can also use leftover stuffing from another meal.
- Gluten-Free. This recipe is gluten-free because I used gluten-free bread to make the stuffing. Wheat bread works too, if gluten isn’t a concern.
- Additions. You can get creative and add dried cranberries, diced apples, dried apricots, chopped walnuts, cooked sausage, or chopped cooked bacon to the stuffing. Or, try my cornbread sausage stuffing or blueberry sourdough stuffing recipes.
- Other meat. Instead of chicken, feel free to use boneless, skinless turkey breast fillets for this recipe. I also use this stuffing for boneless pork chops, too.
- Double the recipe. You can double or even triple this recipe if you’re feeding lots of people. Just adjust the “servings” button on the recipe card below for quantities.
- Internal temperature. The safest way to ensure that the chicken is perfectly cooked is to use an instant read thermometer. It should be inserted in the thickest part of each chicken piece. Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
- Make ahead. Stuffed chicken breasts with stuffing can be prepped ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day until you’re ready to cook them.
- Storage. Store completely cooled leftover stuffed chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- Reheat. Reheat leftover chicken in the microwave on high for thirty second intervals. Or place them in a pan, cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.
- Freeze. After baking and completely cooling, you can freeze the stuffed chicken breasts, packaged in freezer safe container or re-sealable bag for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 725mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 656IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg