Deliciously decadent, this herb ricotta stuffed chicken breast recipe is equally perfect for a weeknight dinner as for entertaining! An easy low carb chicken dish, we mix creamy fresh cheese with fragrant fresh herbs to elevate your chicken breasts to something quite special.
Do check out my mascarpone pasta with chicken and cottage cheese stuffed chicken for more cheesy chicken dinner ideas!
If you're looking for a chicken dinner idea that feels a little fancy but doesn't require too much time or effort, I think these ricotta stuffed chicken breasts are just the thing! Tasty comfort food? Definitely. Flavorful herb filling? Oh yes! Only uses minimal ingredients? Check.
Much like my creamy paprika chicken, chicken with thyme and rosemary and turmeric chicken thighs, this ricotta stuffed chicken recipe works just as well for a weeknight meal as it does for entertaining guests. Pair with tasty sides for a dish the whole family will love!
Have a peek at my 15 delicious chicken recipes round-up for even more ideas for your weeknight meals, including my herb cream cheese stuffed chicken breast!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Gooey cheesy chicken deliciousness. We use a flavorful ricotta and fresh herb stuffing for the chicken that feels quite decadent, but is so easy to do.
Minimal ingredients but lots of flavor. No need to grab a ton of items at the store, we use just a few for this baked chicken recipe.
Pair with sides of your choice. Serve with hot vegetables, potatoes or couscous, or perhaps a light green salad in the summer months.
🐓 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Chicken breasts - you want to use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
- Ricotta cheese - you want to use the fairly firm ricotta that comes in a tub.
- Rosemary and sage - I do suggest using fresh herbs as they have a much more fresh flavor than dried herbs.
- Honey - you want to use runny honey rather than set honey - my mom always tells me that it helps bring out the flavor of the herbs!
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap the herbs for those you like best. I use rosemary and sage as they are quite pungent, so really flavor the cheese. But you can easily use those you like best!
Use dried herbs. I do suggest fresh herbs, but in a pinch use dried herbs. You will want to reduce the quantity to about a third of a tablespoon as they are much more pungent than fresh herbs.
Add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. If you like a hint of saltiness and a stronger cheesy taste, a little Parmesan can be added to the ricotta. This is likely not suitable for my low histamine readers who will want to stick to fresh cheese (see my guide on low histamine cheese for more info).
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making these baked ricotta stuffed chicken breasts is very simple, with just a few steps:
Step 1
Prepare the herbs and garlic. Finely dice or mince the garlic, and finely dice the sage and rosemary (image 1).
Heat a little oil in your skillet and gently fry the garlic for a few minutes to soften.
Step 2
Flavor the ricotta. Place the cheese in a bowl along with the herbs, honey, garlic, salt and black pepper. Stir to combine (image 2).
Step 3
Stuff the chicken breasts. Use a sharp knife to make a deep pocket in the chicken breasts. Be careful not to cut all the way through!
Spoon the herb ricotta cheese into the pockets (image 3). You may not need to use all the cheese if your chicken breasts are on the smaller side.
Step 4
Sear and bake the stuffed chicken breast with ricotta. Drizzle a little more oil in your skillet and cook the chicken breasts for 5 minutes each side on a medium heat to get a nice sear (image 4).
If you used an ovenproof skillet, transfer to the oven and bake the stuffed chicken breasts for 25-30 minutes or until you get an internal temperature of 165F. If you don't have a suitable skillet, simply transfer to a lined baking tray to bake the chicken.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Slice into the chicken breasts carefully, so as not to cut through to the other side when making the pocket for the cheese.
- Drain the ricotta cheese of any excess liquid that is in the tub as it will make the filling too wet.
- Try not to use too much ricotta cheese as it will spill out and make quite the mess - as it did the first time I tried it and got carried away with the cheese!
- I find using a spatula to flip rather tongs easier as it helps prevent the filling from spilling out.
- Always ensure the chicken breasts have reached an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point.
📋 Frequently asked questions
You can use chicken thighs. Spoon the cheese into the centre and then roll them up. The cook time will be longer for chicken thighs, so adjust accordingly.
Yes, this a fairly low carb chicken dish.
I don't suggest it. Baking the chicken will ensure it is cooked through to the centre, and that both the chicken and cheese are heated as they need to be. Always check for an internal temperature of 165F at the deepest part of the chicken using a meat thermometer.
Adding frozen spinach to the ricotta is quite a classic flavor combination, but isn't suitable for my low histamine readers.
To stop cheese from oozing out the chicken breast, try not to overstuff it. If needed, you can also use pre-soaked toothpicks to hold the chicken breast together.
🍽 What to serve with ricotta stuffed chicken
- Pair with a side of potatoes such as my roasted potatoes and zucchini or my creamy potato cauliflower mash.
- For a low carb side, my frozen cauliflower rice and my cheesy cauliflower mash are easy and so tasty!
- Pack in some healthy vitamins with a side of my roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts or my easy air fryer broccoli and cauliflower.
🥣 More tasty chicken recipes
Choose from so many tasty chicken recipes here, including my cozy chicken leek risotto and my baked chicken with apples. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
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 please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ or comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Herb Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breast
Equipment
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon sage leaves diced
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves diced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F / 200C and line a tray with parchment paper.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and gently fry the diced garlic cloves for 2 minutes. Remove the garlic from the skillet and place in a large bowl.
- Add the ricotta cheese, sage, rosemary and honey to the bowl with the garlic. Stir well to combine.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt and black pepper. Use a sharp knife to make a deep pocket in the chicken breasts, being careful not to cut through to the other side of the chicken.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture into the pockets of the chicken breasts. If the chicken breasts are smaller in size you may not need all of the ricotta cheese.
- If your skillet seems dry, add a touch more oil. Place the chicken breasts on the skillet and cook at a medium heat for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken breasts to the baking tray (or keep in the skillet if it is oven-safe) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165F at its deepest point.
Notes
- Slice into the chicken breasts carefully, so as not to cut through to the other side when making the pocket for the cheese.
- Drain the ricotta cheese of any excess liquid that is in the tub as it will make the filling too wet.
- Try not to use too much ricotta cheese as it will spill out and make quite the mess.
- I find using a spatula to flip rather tongs easier as it helps prevent the filling from spilling out.
- Always ensure the chicken breasts have reached an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Jenny says
This was so good, and easy to do. I left out the garlic and black pepper, and added extra sage and some paprika (simply because that’s what works for me). We added a side of roasted carrots and some tweaked risotto for a lovely meal. It feels wonderful to feel like you’re having a fancy meal when you’re making do with foods you can have, and this chicken definitely felt fancy with little work.
Claire says
Lovely to hear you enjoyed the stuffed chicken Jenny, and made it work for you with some tweaks too. Serving it with risotto sounds so good too! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Karel Smith says
I love herbs and cheeses with chicken
Claire says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sheryl says
Thanks for this recipe.... I am such a non-imaginative cook and usually just rub herbs on the chicken. This tasted soooo good when it's stuffed. Thank you!
Claire says
So glad you enjoyed it Sheryl! Hopefully it works well for you with your health needs too 🙂
Sarah says
Delicious and so, so simple! The honey is delightful. I don't think I've ever cooked a more tender breast (my preferred cut). Oven bake time is spot on for cooking beetroot risotto as a side (my obsession).
Claire says
So happy to hear that you like it Sarah! Love the idea of pairing with beetroot risotto as a side dish too. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a message 🙂