Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken recipe - the chicken breasts are seasoned with dry Italian salad dressing mix, smothered with the creamed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and bacon, and baked to perfection! The best baked chicken ever!
If you want to know how to cook the best chicken breasts, this is the recipe for you! No more boring, dry chicken. A lot of people prefer to bake their chicken vs. frying it on the stove top, and in this recipe the chicken breasts are baked in the oven and are very juicy and moist and flavorful thanks to all the stuff on top!
This Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Smothered Chicken is one of the best chicken breast recipes I ever made! It's just like stuffed chicken, instead you put everything on top and bake!
How to make Sun-Dried Tomato Spinach Bacon Chicken:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Use 4 small chicken breasts or 2 large chicken breast, sliced horizontally in half.
Butter the bottom of the baking dish. Season chicken breasts from both sides with the Italian salad dressing mix. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.
In the mean time, make the creamed spinach. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes until it is heated through and starts to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt - about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach - about 30 seconds or 1 more minutes. The creamed spinach should be pretty thick in texture, not watery. If watery, bring to boil again and cook off extra liquid, constantly stirring. Season with salt. Remove from heat.
Remove the baking pan with chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes):
Top each chicken breast with creamed spinach:
Then, top with sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and chopped into smaller bites):
Next, top with chopped cooked bacon:
Next, top with the broken slices of pepper jack cheese.
Bake in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until the smothered chicken is completely cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear:
These are really some of the best baked chicken breasts I ever made!
Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken
Ingredients
Baked Chicken Breasts:
Creamed spinach:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 oz baby spinach fresh
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ⅔ cup half and half
- ⅔ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Other ingredients:
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil, chopped into smaller bites
- 4 slices bacon cooked
- 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey cheese with jalapenos
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Butter the bottom of the baking dish. Season chicken breasts from both sides with the Italian salad dressing mix. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.
How to make creamed spinach:
- In the mean time, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes until it is heated through and starts to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt - about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach - about 30 seconds or 1 more minutes. The creamed spinach should be pretty thick in texture, not watery. If watery, bring to boil again and cook off extra liquid, constantly stirring. Season with salt. Remove from heat.
Smothered Chicken Breasts:
- Remove the baking pan with chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes). Top each chicken breast with creamed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and chopped into smaller bites), chopped cooked bacon, and broken slices of pepper jack cheese. Bake in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This recipe is really, REALLY good. I've made it twice and everyone who tasted it wanted the recipe.
I am so happy to hear that, Gretchen! Thank you so much for your review! 🙂
I have yet to make this recipe but have loved the recipes of yours I have tried. As an Aussie, can you please enlighten me as to what 'half and half' is?
Apparently fresh mozzarella doesn’t work in this recipe? It just globbed up and would not incorporate into the half and half.
This was delicious. Question re the creamed spinach = mine was very watery and I cooked it longer than the instructions. Eventually I just had to drain it. Wonder if there are any tips re the spinach?
Will definitely be making this again as the presentation and flavours were excellent. My husband loved it too.
Also love your easy chicken mozzarella with marinara. Great recipes - thanks.
Regards,
Wendy, Winnipeg
This is the most recipe when I made my creamy spinach, I made it a little bit soupier, and then I scooped out the spinach and then when I made my pasta, I mixed it into that which was left of the creamy spinach and man was it killer good
So cool that you were able to turn this into 2 meals!! Thank you for your review, Doris!
I added this recipe to my Favorites. It was delicious. I served this poultry dish with Parmesan carrots, linguine Alfredo, and fresh bread. It took longer to make everything than I planned, but when finished eating we were all patting our tummy.
I love your choices of sides - so delicious!
Does this reheat well in the microwave?
Hi Lynn, yes, you could reheat it in a microwave but gradually otherwise the cheese and the sauce will separate into grease.
Can I freeze this dish. Was excellent
Thank you, Kathy! Even though I prefer not to freeze anything that's cheese-based, I think you can get away with it in this recipe. When reheating, however, do it slowly and at lower heat so that the cheese does not separate into grease.
Really excellent. Saw no need for more cheese on top. did slice a fresh jalapeno over the tomatoes and spinach
Barb, thank you for your review. So glad you enjoyed it!
It was easy to make and was delicious my husband enjoyed it.
Adriene, I am glad this recipe was a success! 🙂
Do you really need all that cheese? It sounds like it would be great even if it were a touch lighter...?
You can definitely reduce the amount of cheese considerably without losing much flavor!