Cook up this flavorful air fryer mozzarella stuffed chicken as a fun quick dinner tonight! With melty gooey cheese, herby pesto and a little spice, it feels quite indulgent as a weeknight dinner but comes together so easily in less than 30 minutes.
Love an air fryer meal? Do check out my air fryer chicken and potatoes for next time!
There's something fun about stuffed chicken recipes don't you think? This air fryer mozzarella stuffed chicken breast joins my ricotta stuffed chicken and cream cheese stuffed chicken for an indulgent dinner idea, and they all make the most of deliciously gooey melty cheese!
To make this low carb cheese stuffed chicken extra tasty we add a good spoonful of fragrant pesto. The herbs and garlic give so much flavor, and it's so easy to do!
Looking for more air fryer chicken recipes? I think you'll love my easy air fryer boneless chicken thighs recipe, air fryer chicken bites and air fryer pesto chicken for another quick dinner!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Full of flavor with a special ingredient. While making an all-cheese stuffing is delicious, I do suggest to make the most of herby pesto for so much flavor. So simple, but so tasty!
Quick weeknight dinner. No need to turn the oven on, we air fry this cheesy chicken in less than 30 minutes.
Minimal basic ingredients. We use all easy to find, affordable ingredients you can grab at the store.
🧀 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Chicken - we use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Choose chicken breasts of a roughly equal size for an even cook time.
- Mozzarella - I suggest to use slices of fresh mozzarella (from a mozzarella ball) as it goes lovely and melty.
- Pesto - you can use homemade pesto or a store-bought pesto. If you're looking for low histamine recipes I suggest to use my pumpkin seed pesto or my macadamia pesto, or your own recipe.
- Paprika - my low histamine readers will likely wish to use sweet paprika rather than regular, hot or smoked paprika.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap mozzarella slices for shredded mozzarella. If shredded works for you, then this is an easy swap.
Add cream cheese. I've made this recipe with and without cream cheese on recipe tests and they both got votes of approval from my family! But if you like extra cheesiness, add a good tablespoon of cream cheese along with the mozzarella and pesto.
Add minced garlic. If you're a garlic lover, add ½ teaspoon of minced garlic to the pocket of the chicken with the other stuffing ingredients.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this air fryer mozzarella stuffed chicken is very easy, uses minimal ingredients and comes together fast!
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step-by-step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Combine ingredients
Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towel. Add the chicken breasts, olive oil, herbs, paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper to a large bowl (image 1).
Step 2: Coat the chicken
Use your hands to evenly coat the chicken breasts in the oil and seasonings (image 2).
Step 3: Slice a pocket into the chicken
Use a sharp knife to slice a pocket into the side of the chicken breast, horizontally (image 3). Make sure not to slice all the way through the chicken breast so the stuffing doesn't come out!
Step 4: Stuff the chicken
Add a slice of mozzarella to the pocket in the chicken breast, and spoon in some pesto and cream cheese, if using (image 4). Optionally, you can use (previously soaked) wooden toothpicks to hold the chicken together. Air fry the mozzarella stuffed chicken at 360F / 180C for 18-20 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Add more pesto. Love a herby chicken? Add extra pesto, or perhaps some minced garlic to the stuffed chicken.
- Cut carefully! I suggest to use a small knife and to work slowly so you don't slice all the way through your chicken when making the pocket for the stuffing.
- Give your chicken some space! Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket, and make sure there is a little space between the stuffed chicken breasts.
- Check the temperature. The air frying time will vary slightly depending upon the size of the chicken breasts, so always check for an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point using a meat thermometer.
- Soak toothpicks before use. It's best to soak wooden toothpicks in cold water for at least 15 minutes before use.
📋 Frequently asked questions
You can easily use shredded mozzarella, but I would suggest my low histamine readers use fresh mozzarella (scores 0 on SIGHI).
If you want your chicken to remain quite 'sealed' then toothpicks are a great option. Personally I don't mind a bit of mozzarella melting out, so don't tend to use them.
It takes roughly 18-20 minutes to cook stuffed chicken in air fryer, but the cook time will vary slightly depending upon the size of the chicken breasts. Check for an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point to ensure safe cooking of your chicken.
It's best to let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes after cooking.
🍽 How to serve
Choose from so many options to serve with your air fryer cheese stuffed chicken, with hot and cold dishes:
- Hot vegetable sides: make some easy air fryer vegetable sides such as my air fryer baby corn, air fryer roasted root vegetables, air fryer leeks or my air fryer celery.
- Hot sides: pair with rice, quinoa, my roasted potatoes and zucchini, or perhaps my frozen cauliflower rice recipe for a lower carb side dish.
- Pasta: stuffed chicken always pairs well with pasta, don't you think?!
- Salads: serve with a fresh salad for a summer dinner, such as my cucumber pomegranate salad, cucumber fennel salad or my apple and cucumber salad.
🥣 More chicken recipes
Find so many tasty chicken recipes here including my sheet pan chicken and squash and my blueberry chicken recipe, as well as these recent ideas:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika* or paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 2 slices mozzarella fresh mozzarella ball
- 2 tablespoon pesto
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes at 360F / 180C.
- Add the chicken breasts to a large bowl. Drizzle on the olive oil, and sprinkle in the sweet paprika, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Rub the oil and spices all over the chicken breasts.
- Use a sharp knife to slice into the chicken breast horizontally, so you have a pocket. Be careful not to slice all the way through!
- Place a slice of mozzarella into the pocket, and spoon a tablespoon of pesto over the cheese. If using, add the cream cheese also. It's down to preference, but you can use toothpicks to hold the chicken breast together to help prevent the cheese from oozing out.
- Place the chicken breasts in the air fryer so they have space between them to allow the air to circulate. Air fry at 360F / 180C for 18-20 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 165F at the deepest part of the chicken and air fry for longer if required.
Notes
- Timings may need to be amended due to the size of your chicken breasts. If they are larger in size, you may need to add a few more minutes of cook time.
- Add more pesto for even more flavor if you like!
- Make sure to place the chicken breasts in a single layer with space between them to allow for air circulation.
- Wooden toothpicks should be soaked in cold water for at least 15 minutes before use.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- garlic powder, which scores 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- cream cheese scores 0, but has notes on additives you may wish to check.
- use a suitable low histamine histamine pesto, such as my pumpkin seed pesto or your own recipe.
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