Simple, delicious and a fun twist on plain old chicken breasts. Stuffing chicken doesn’t have to be reserved for fancy dinners. This recipe is more than suitable for any weeknight.
Asparagus stuffed chicken breasts are yet another way for me to make chicken more delicious. I feel like this is by far one of the easiest and the best ways to stuff chicken.
We eat a lot of chicken in our house. And I mean A LOT! It’s our favourite protein. On its own, it’s not all that exciting so it’s my mission to find new ways to make it interesting.
Stuffing chicken used to feel daunting, but I have grown up a little and realized it’s really not that hard.
In this instance, the stuffing ingredients are super simple and the process is relatively mess-free making this recipe another weeknight winner.
You can prep everything at lunchtime, if you work from home, or even in the morning if you don’t. Then, when its dinner time, stuff and put it into a warm oven and you have a delicious, and dare I say fancy, meal on a Tuesday.
Preparing Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
Chicken breasts: Chicken breasts are considered the white meat of a chicken. They are thick and tender when cooked just right. When overcooked, however, they become dry and tough to eat.
Asparagus: Garden asparagus is a perennial flowering plant whose young shoots are used as a vegetable. It has a very distinct and delicious flavour and is full of folic acid, potassium and fiber, among other nutrients.
Fun tidbit: asparagus will make your pee smell funky! Why? Because when it’s digested the acid gets broken down into sulphur byproducts which evaporate almost immediately when you pee forcing you to smell it!
Mozzarella cheese: Mozzarella is a stretched curd cheese. Though there are many varieties, for this recipe I use pizza mozzarella. It has a mild flavour and melts into a beautiful stringy texture.
G&K All-purpose spice: Our all-purpose spice is made for meals like this. Make a batch in advance and always have it handy to add to your protein.
How to Make Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast
Start by preheating the oven to 400°F.
Then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
Next, you want to prep the asparagus. This is the only prep other than stuffing the breasts.
I like to cut the asparagus to make sure that the stalks are all the same size. I actually cut them to the size of my chicken breast.
Once you’re done trimming the asparagus, set it aside.
Now, place the chicken breasts on a cutting board. You can pat them dry if they’re overly wet. If you’re someone that washes the chicken go ahead and do that now.
I personally never understood the need to wash the chicken first. Plus I’m very paranoid about chicken juices splattering everywhere so it’s not for me for many reasons. But to each their own!
Once the chicken is on the cutting board, take your paring knife
and begin to cut a pocket into the thickest part of the breast, without cutting through.
What is a paring knife?
A paring knife is a small knife with a short blade that is used for peeling and intricate cutting. The short blade and small size make this knife easy to hold and control. I like to use the paring knife to create the pocket in the chicken breast because it reduces the risk of cutting right through the chicken breast.
Place the asparagus inside the pocket and top with cheese. You can sprinkle some salt and pepper onto the asparagus.
Close the pocket and secure it with a toothpick. Pinch the outside end of the pocket and put a toothpick through it.
Now you need to season the chicken. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast with salt, pepper and G&K All-purpose spice.
First, I like to season the bottom and then place it, seasoned side down, onto the lined cookie sheet. Then season the top of the breast. Repeat for the other breast.
Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until it is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Remove from the oven and serve.
Substitutions
Mozzarella cheese: You can use any kind of cheese that you like. Havarti or provolone would make great substitutions.
Serving Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Because the veggies are right inside the chicken you can make this a one-pot meal so to speak. The asparagus stuffed chicken breast makes a great lunch all on its own.
If you are serving it for dinner and want to make it even heartier, try it with our couscous with butternut squash or cheesy potatoes.
Check out some other mains:
Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
Equipment
- Paring knife
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast
- 10-12 asparagus shoots
- 50 g mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp G&K All-purpose spice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash and trim the asparagus. For this recipe, I trimmed all the asparagus shoots to the size of the chicken breast.10-12 asparagus shoots
- Next, stuff the chicken breasts. Place the breasts on a cutting board. Using the paring knife, create a pocket in the breast by cutting into the thicker part. Cut lengthwise just through the thickest part of the breast. See our video below.2 chicken breast
- Open up the pocket you’ve just created and insert half the asparagus into the pocket. The quantity will depend on the thickness of your asparagus and the size of the pocket in the chicken breast.10-12 asparagus shoots
- Top the asparagus with a slice of cheese and fold the pocket back over to enclose the asparagus and cheese inside. Secure the stuffing by pinching the outside edge of the pocket with a toothpick.50 g mozzarella cheese
- Season the chicken breast on both sides with salt, pepper and G&K All-Purpose spice.1 tsp G&K All-purpose spice, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper
- Place the stuffed chicken on the lined cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Serve with your favourite sides.
Video
Nutrition
Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, if you love this recipe leave us a five-star review above.
