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    Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken

    Published: Mar 07, 2016 / 253 Comments

    870.4K shares
    • Facebook6.9K
    Recipe Video Print

    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!

    Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken Bake in a casserole dish

    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!

    close-up of Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken Bake

    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!

    close-up of Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken 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.

    raw chicken breasts in a casserole dish

    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.

    creamed spinach in a stainless steel pan

    Remove the baking pan with chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes):

    cooked chicken breasts in a casserole dish

    Top each chicken breast with creamed spinach:

    chicken breasts topped with creamed spinach in a casserole dish

    Then, top with sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and chopped into smaller bites):

    chicken breasts topped with creamed spinach and sun-dried tomatoes in a casserole dish

    Next, top with chopped cooked bacon:

    chicken breasts topped with creamed spinach, bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes in a casserole dish

    Next, top with the broken slices of pepper jack cheese.

    chicken breasts topped with creamed spinach, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheese in a casserole dish

    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:

    chicken bake with sun-dried tomatoes, creamed spinach, and bacon in a casserole dish

    These are really some of the best baked chicken breasts I ever made!

    close-up of chicken bake with sun-dried tomatoes, creamed spinach, and bacon

    4.83 from 278 votes

    Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken

    One of the best baked chicken breast recipes ever!  Chicken breasts are smothered with creamed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and bacon, and then baked in the oven.  Tender, moist, flavorful chicken.  No more boring chicken breasts! 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Mediterranean
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories per serving 766 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    Baked Chicken Breasts:

    • 1.5 lb chicken (4 small chicken breasts or 2 large chicken breasts sliced horizontally in half)
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 0.5 oz Italian Dressing mix packet (half the packet)

    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 Information
    Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, and Bacon Chicken
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    766
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    58
    g
    89
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    25
    g
    156
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    204
    mg
    68
    %
    Sodium
     
    1068
    mg
    46
    %
    Potassium
     
    939
    mg
    27
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    10
    g
    3
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    3
    g
    3
    %
    Protein
     
    49
    g
    98
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    4860
    IU
    97
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    18.6
    mg
    23
    %
    Calcium
     
    419
    mg
    42
    %
    Iron
     
    3.7
    mg
    21
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    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.

    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
    « Creamy Mushroom Sauce with Bacon and Thyme
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    • Facebook6.9K

    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

    I appreciate your feedback!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ruth

      February 28, 2023 at 6:24 pm

      Just made this recipe for my husband and I for dinner and it was wonderful. Nice change up to grilled chicken. Looking forward to trying some other recipes.

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 18, 2023 at 8:10 pm

        Ruth, I am so glad this recipe turned out well! 🙂 I hope you explore and try some of my other recipes!

        Reply
    2. Tina McCaleb

      February 06, 2023 at 8:06 pm

      I jist noticed I for lots to cut chicken breast in half. What do I do? They been in there 20 minutes so far???

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 13, 2023 at 7:02 pm

        Tina, if your chicken breasts are on the thicker side, just bake them longer, until they are cooked through. Thicker chicken breasts might take 10 or 20 minutes more.

        Reply
      • Quincella

        March 01, 2023 at 5:02 pm

        Today was the second time I made this entree. It's so so good!!! I made a few changes this time. I increased the creamed spinach (we love spinach and this recipe is perfect) and increased the toppings. My husband loves bacon. All of the ingredients come together to perfectly. This recipe is a keeper.
        Thanks Julia

        Reply
        • Julia

          March 18, 2023 at 7:06 pm

          Quincella, your comment literally made my day! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment. ❤️

          Reply
    3. Gigi

      January 31, 2023 at 6:28 pm

      WOW!! This chicken recipe is tremendous!! I did add a little extra mozzarella to thicken up the spinach as I used 2% carnation milk in place of heavy cream!! This is a keeper! Thanks so much for sharing!!

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 13, 2023 at 7:40 pm

        Gigi, thank you for your raving review! 🙂 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this recipe!

        Reply
    4. Carol m

      January 25, 2023 at 10:24 am

      Do you think this could be adapted to a crock pot?
      Thanks. It looks delicious

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 30, 2023 at 3:44 pm

        Carol, I haven't tried it in a slow cooker, but the recipe can probably be adjusted for the crock pot.

        Reply
      • Katie

        February 16, 2023 at 2:09 pm

        Can this be used with chicken thighs?

        Reply
        • Julia

          March 18, 2023 at 9:47 pm

          Katie, you can use this recipe without any changes with skinless boneless chicken thighs.

          Reply
    5. Linda

      January 14, 2023 at 11:51 pm

      Whats half and half. Half and half of what ?

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 4:09 pm

        Linda, half-and-half is half milk, half cream. So 1 cup of half-and-half = 1/2 cup regular milk + 1/2 cup heavy cream (about 36 % fat content).

        Reply
    6. Diane

      January 12, 2023 at 1:21 pm

      I just made this amazing recipe! Never in my life did I ever dream I could make something so wonderful. Thank u very much for them and also being so detailed in the recipe it makes it easy for even the most amateur person to follow. (That would be me- haha)

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 4:31 pm

        Diane, your comment really made my day! Thank you for this super positive and thoughtful comment - I really appreciate it! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Nicole

      January 08, 2023 at 10:35 pm

      I have chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, would this substitute work okay?

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 5:04 pm

        Nicole, if you use skinless, boneless chicken thighs the cooking times would be very similar to cooking skinless boneless chicken breasts. I would not use bone-in chicken in this recipe.

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

    I make and test all of the recipes presented on this site.

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