Description
What is it about broccoli and cheese that we love so much? It’s a killer combo and stuffing it inside chicken is pure culinary bliss. This one's a keeper!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli (optional garnish)
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional garnish)
The Broccoli & Cheese Filling
- 1 1/2 cups cooked, chopped broccoli
- 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
- 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon of red pepper, finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded orange cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
NOTE: It’s best to use an OVEN SAFE pan for this recipe – less dishes!
Instructions
- Don’t forget to watch my video which shows all the step-by-step instructions.
- You should let the cream cheese sit out in a bowl for 20 minute before starting. It needs to be softened.
- Cut broccoli into small pieces. Put in a bowl with 3 tablespoons of water and cover with plastic wrap. I microwaved for three minutes and it came out just right. Once it finished cooking, I ran cold water in the bowl to cool down. Drain the water and wrap cooked and cooled broccoli in paper towel to absorb the moisture.
- Shred the orange cheddar and set aside. You can use a block of cheese and shred yourself or buy already shredded.
- Finely dice the garlic.
- Finely dice the red pepper.
- Add softened cream cheese to a large bowl. Add the shredded cheddar, red pepper, garlic, salt and the cooled broccoli. I found mixing this with hands works best. Make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
- If you are using the optional parsley garnish, now is the time to chop that.
- Trim any fat from boneless chicken breasts.
- Make a cut on the top of the chicken breast (lengthwise), but be careful not to cut all the way through the chicken. Then cut into each side - within the cut you made - to create a full pocket for the broccoli and cheese filling. Gently work your knife within the pocket to expand it enough for the filling. My video shows this well. Repeat the process for all the chicken breasts.
- Rip a small piece of foil, crumple it and stuff into each pocket of the chicken breast.
- Season the top of the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. I just eyeball it with seasoning both sides. Just shake enough on to lightly coat.
- Heat olive oil in a pan for a couple of minutes and add the chicken breasts to the pan seasoned-side down. Season the bottom side now with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Cook for about three minutes on medium-to-high heat until a nice crust/sear has formed.
- Turn the chicken and cook for one minute. Then place the pan on a heat-safe hot plate and remove the foil from the pockets. Do this gently and carefully with tongs and a fork – the chicken is HOT.
- Once the foil is removed, spoon the broccoli and cheese filling into the pockets – as much as you can fit.
- Any extra filling can go in a baking dish and cook with the chicken.
- Oven should be pre-heated to 375 degrees. Make sure you are using an oven-safe pan for this. Cook chicken and extra filling for 15-20 minutes until internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees.
- If you want a little crust/char on the cheese you can turn the broiler on high and let it cook there for a few minutes at the end but keep your eye on it!
- Cut chicken in half and serve on a platter garnished with additional broccoli florets (same cooking method as before only do this right when chicken is coming out of the oven) and fresh parsley.
- Lots of sides go well with this. I made a very simple salad and it was delish!