So full of flavour, you’ll wonder how you’ve never made these easy stuffed chicken thighs before.
I used to think that stuffed chicken was too difficult to make. Only special occasions called for such fancy meals. It turns out that I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
I am not sure what motivated this recipe or why I finally got the courage to attempt stuffed chicken thighs but I am so happy I did. We eat these chicken thighs fairly regularly. I have even managed to make them on a weeknight more than once. Who knew that was possible?
My favourite part about this recipe is obviously the stuffing. It’s inspired by my spinach and artichoke dip and works so beautifully with chicken. It includes cream cheese, feta cheese and spinach which make for a creamy and flavourful stuffing. The thighs are also baked in the oven which leave time to get the rest of your dinner in order.
Preparing Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs. They are perfect for this recipe because they are juicy and flavourful, and are easy to wrap around stuffing.
G&K All-Purpose Spice: This spice compliments the flavour of the stuffing and creates a cohesive flavour all around. You can prepare the spice in advance. Don’t forget to make extra so that you always have it handy for last-minute dishes.
Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is what gives the stuffing its creaminess.
Feta cheese: There are many different types of feta cheese but this recipe is flexible. Try your feta cheese first, if you think it’s saltier than most then you can skip the salt on the chicken just in case.
Old Bay Seasoning: A delicious blend of 18 spices traditionally used for seasoning seafood. This will easily become a staple in your pantry.
Spinach: It’s very important to use fresh spinach here. Frozen spinach is very wet and will secrete too much liquid as it bakes. Any kind of fresh spinach is fine since you will be chopping it into small pieces anyway.
How to Make Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Start by preheating the oven to 400°F.
Take 6 chicken thighs and pat them dry. Some people rinse the chicken under cold water first, but I never got into this habit. There are different schools of thought on the benefits of this practice so do what works for you. Sprinkle the outside of the thighs (where the skin would have been) with our all-purpose spice and salt.
To prepare the stuffing, chop the fresh spinach into small pieces. Mix together the spinach and all of the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl using a fork. The more you mix the easier the stuffing will be to handle when wrapping in the chicken thighs.
Put the chicken thighs seasoning side down on a cutting board, opening them up to be stuffed. Split the stuffing into six and put each part onto an open thigh. It may not seem like much
but trust me, the flavours are all there.
Fold each chicken thigh in half enclosing the stuffing inside as much as possible. This may get a little messy but it’s more than worth it. Using two toothpicks per thigh, pierce the edges of each closed thigh with a toothpick to keep it in place. The purpose isn’t to completely seal the stuffing inside so don’t worry if you can’t tuck it all in.
Spray an oven-safe dish with cooking spray or line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat. Place the thighs, toothpick side up, in the dish and bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven.
Substitutions
Chicken thighs: You can easily use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. I usually fill two large chicken breasts nicely or three smaller ones with this amount of filling. I actually find chicken breasts are easier to use in this recipe however they do dry out easily so you have to monitor their cooking time. To stuff, insert a knife into the thickest part of the breast and cut towards the thinnest part stopping just before you cut it open fully. The intent is to create a pocket in the thickest part of the chicken breast where you can put the stuffing.
Serving Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Serve with your favourite sides. This stuffed chicken pairs nicely with anything. My absolute favourite combo is with roasted mini potatoes and roasted asparagus. It makes for a really easy weeknight meal as you can cook everything in the oven at the same time. Who doesn’t like time to sit back or clean up before eating dinner?
Stuffed Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
- Medium bowl
- 9x13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 1 tsp G&K All-Purpose Spice
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- ¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- To prepare the stuffing, start by chopping the spinach.1 cup fresh spinach
- Next, in a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, feta cheese, old bay seasoning, salt and spinach. I like to use a fork to get everything well combined. The more you mix the easier the stuffing will be to handle when wrapping in the chicken thighs.¼ cup cream cheese, ¼ cup feta cheese, ¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning, 1 cup fresh spinach
- Take the chicken thighs and pat them dry. Sprinkle the outside of the thighs, the smooth side where the skin would have been, with G&K all-purpose seasoning and salt.6 chicken thighs, 1 tsp G&K All-Purpose Spice, ¼ tsp salt
- Put the chicken thighs seasoning down on a cutting board. Split the stuffing into six sections, one per thigh.
- Fold each chicken thigh in half enclosing the stuffing. Using two toothpicks per thigh, pierce the edges of each closed thigh with a toothpick to keep it in place.
- Place the thighs, toothpick side up, in the oven safe dish and bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove the toothpicks for serving if you are serving children. Serve with your favourite sides.
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