Boneless skinless chicken breasts are a staple of many family’s menu plans. Cheap and easy to cook with, these cuts of chicken are great to have on hand for busy nights. They bake up quickly and you can go in many different directions with them. If you like Mexican, Chinese, Italian, or pretty much any other kind of cuisine, boneless skinless chicken can adapt its mild flavor and texture to any kind of seasoning blend.
However, the neutral flavor and texture of boneless skinless chicken can sometimes cause many cooks to believe that they are boring. Of course, if you simply toss them on a baking sheet unseasoned, the boneless skinless chicken will definitely be boring.
Cream Cheese Chicken and Spinach Casserole Recipe
Equipment
- Gallon-Sized Zip-Top Plastic Bag
- Microwave Safe Bowl
- Saucer
- Deep Casserole Dish
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 8 pcs Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenders alternately, you can use 3 or 4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts; you may want to cut these into smaller pieces to reduce the cooking time
- 4 ounces Softened Cream Cheese
- 2 cups Frozen Spinach
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil divided
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese
- 1½ teaspoons Minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- First, you will create the marinade for the chicken. To a gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Close the bag and squish the marinade around in the bag to combine all of the ingredients.
- Then, add the chicken to the bag, press out all of the air, and rub the chicken breasts in the bag, rolling them around in the marinade so that they are completely coated in the oil and seasonings.
- Set the zip-top baggie aside for about ten to fifteen minutes to allow the chicken breasts to absorb the flavors of the herbs and spices. While you are waiting on the marinating chicken, you can move on to preparing the other parts of the recipe.
- Heat your oven to 400 degrees and place the frozen spinach in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and cover the bowl with a saucer.
- Microwave the spinach for about two minutes, stirring it halfway through the time. If the spinach is still not thawed, return the spinach to the microwave and heat it in 30-second bursts.
- When the spinach is thawed, use the saucer to hold the spinach in the bowl so you can drain the water off of the spinach. When you can no longer pour any water off of the spinach, use several paper towels folded together to press as much excess water as you can off of the spinach.
- When the spinach is thawed and drained, it should measure about one cup. Stir one tablespoon of the olive oil into the spinach.
- Spray a nine by thirteen baking pan or a deep casserole dish with cooking spray. Remove the chicken from the zip-top baggie and place it in the casserole dish in a single layer.
- Spread the softened cream cheese over top of the chicken tenders and spoon the spinach over the top of the cream cheese dividing the cream cheese and spinach evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over top of the spinach.
- Bake the Spinach Chicken Casserole in the preheated oven for about twenty or thirty minutes.
- When it is fully cooked, the chicken should be at an internal temperature of 165 and the cheese will be all melted, bubbly, and lightly browned.
Notes
April Freeman enjoys creating all kinds of recipes for her friends and family from her country kitchen in Middle Tennessee. She and her family raise beef cattle, chickens, and all sorts of fruits and veggies on their farm, and she specializes in featuring farm-fresh foods in the recipes that she creates and serves. April says that her slogan is “Are you hungry?” and she feels that one way of showing love and connecting with others is to serve delicious favorite foods to others. Her favorite thing to cook is pies of all kinds.
