Grated Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Breasts
These zucchini stuffed chicken breasts are juicy and a great way to not have dry chicken. Enjoy this easy skillet dinner anytime of the week. 
Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Breasts
It took us a while to really appreciate eating chicken breasts. They were never our go-to cut of chicken because they’re so much drier and less flavorful than chicken thighs or drumsticks. Unless the chicken breasts were battered, fried and dipped in some type of bbq sauce, we rarely ever cooked them. It wasn’t until we started developing more chicken recipes for other projects that our understanding grew for how to prepare them to maximize juiciness and flavor. There’s a way to make chicken breasts juicy and delicious. We just needed to figure it out.
Video: Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Breasts Recipe
Juicy Chicken Breasts are Totally Possible
When we were working on our slew of zucchini recipes for our magazine, we thought about creating a zucchini stuffed chicken breast. To get the most out of the zucchini, the thought of grating the zucchini would add extra moisture to the chicken breasts. The nutritional value of both the zucchini and chicken was what we were aiming for first. Then the pairing of the two in the oven created an absolutely perfect and juicy breast. That was the added surprise bonus!
The grated zucchini cooks perfectly when stuffed in the chicken breast and the moisture that the zucchini imparts, makes the breasts juicy and perfect. We had a taste test with some friends specifically avoided chicken breasts. When they tasted these stuffed beauties, they were blown away at how juicy and flavorful each bite was. They couldn’t believe that these were chicken breasts!
Always a favorite, these chicken breasts are a meal in themselves. Stuffed with tender, grated zucchini and finished in the oven, all you need is a small salad and call it a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner. Give them a try, share them with friends and you’ll have a wonderful conversation piece along with this healthy dinner.
Enjoy,
diane and todd
Enjoy More Easy Chicken Dinners Here:
Grated Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 breasts)
- 2 cups (250 g) coarsely grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil , divided
- ½ medium (0.5 medium) onion , minced
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic , minced or crushed
- ¼ cup (15 g) chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) paprika
- 1/3 cup (35 g) parmesan cheese
- kosher salt or sea salt, to taste
- fresh grated black pepper , to taste
- 8 ounces (227 g) cherry tomatoes (Optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Heat large oven proof skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, then add onions and garlic. Cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add zucchini, parsley, paprika and cook until zucchini is tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour zucchini mixture into a bowl, then add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Allow this mixture to cool.
- In the meantime, slice the center of each chicken breast lengthwise, creating a deep pocket to stuff all the zucchini. Careful not to slice the whole chicken breast completely in half.
- Divide the zucchini mixture between the chicken breasts and stuff each breast with zucchini. Generously season each side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Wipe the same skillet free of the zucchini juices. Heat the pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to coat the pan.
- Sear each side of the chicken breasts for about 2-3 minutes or until a brown crust forms. After each side is seared, add cherry tomatoes to the same skillet. and lightly drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Transfer the skillet to pre-heated oven.
- Bake chicken for about 12 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Thicker chicken breasts will take a little longer to cook.
- Serve warm with your favorite zucchini noodles, pasta, rice or on a salad.
Flavorful, tender and juicy! I used my frozen shredded garden zucchini- thawed and drained/ Swiss cheese instead of parmesan because that’s what I had. This will be a go to recipe. DELICIOUS and easy. Thanks for sharing!
I think the size of chicken breasts has changed dramatically since Julia Child’s day, which could account for some of her shorter cook time.
I made these for date night the other day and my husband loved it! It was filling but healthy at the same time. We both loved it!
This was such a great way to get my kids to eat zucchini. They practically inhaled everything! I’m already getting requests to make these again for them.
This is brilliant and will be making this again. My teenage kids LOVED it and devoured all the zucchini.
So happy your kids love it! It’s a great family dinner.
I tried this with chicken thighs and it was a hit. It wasn’t easy stuffing the thigh but I got enough of the zucchini in to make it full. The flavors are outstanding.
We love it with chicken things. So much flavor!
wow, beautiful combination. I loved the idea. Thanks for sharing, Cheers.
Thanks so much and it’s always a favorite at our dinner parties.