Baked Chicken With Spinach

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 03/30/22
Baked chicken with spinach

The Spruce

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 4 chicken breasts

Easy chicken dinners are everyone's dream. There's nothing like putting everything in a pan, placing it in the oven, and coming back to a wonderful and juicy piece of chicken. This recipe requires just 20 minutes of preparation, but the ingredients are easy to find and perhaps you already have them in your fridge. Easy to make, the boneless chicken breasts are baked in a bed of spinach and are generously seasoned with Creole seasoning to add some powerful flavor and spice. Serve with roasted vegetables and potatoes for a complete and wholesome meal, or slice and use the chicken and spinach to fill a sandwich or wrap.

These breasts will keep well for three days in the fridge and can be repurposed in salads or served on top of pasta or rice. As a simple recipe, it can be adapted to your needs and likes. Bake the chicken with other seasonings or vegetables if you'd prefer. Thawed corn, peas, carrots, green beans, and cubed zucchinis are great additions to the dish.

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Ingredients

  • Cooking spray

  • 2 chicken breasts, each cut in half

  • Creole seasoning, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • 12 to 16 ounces fresh spinach, chopped

  • 1/4 cup chicken broth

  • 1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and diced

  • 4 green onions, sliced with the green intact

  • Grated Parmesan cheese, or shredded mozzarella cheese, optional, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for baked chicken with spinach
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  2. Heat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

    Lightly greased pan
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  3. Place the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap and pound lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet until all halves are even in thickness.

    Place chicken between wrap
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  4. Sprinkle chicken with Creole seasoning and pepper. If the seasoning blend is salt free, sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt. Set aside.

    Sprinkle with seasoning
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  5. Put the fresh spinach in the prepared baking dish and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

    Put spinach in baking dish
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  6. Add the chicken broth.

    Add chicken broth
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  7. Arrange the chicken over the spinach and then sprinkle with the diced tomato and sliced green onions.

    Arrange vegetables over chicken
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  8. Cover the baking dish with foil, and bake the chicken and spinach for 20 minutes.

    Cover with foil
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  9. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 F when checked with an instant-read thermometer.

    Uncover and bake
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  10. If using, top the chicken and tomato mixture with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella about 5 minutes before the cooking time is done. Serve hot with your favorite sides.

    Scoop out baked chicken
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  11. Enjoy.

Bone-In Chicken Bake

Make the dish with bone-in chicken pieces with skin:

  • Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Place the chicken pieces in the hot oil, skin-side down. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin has browned.
  • Turn and fry for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Arrange the chicken pieces on the spinach bed, skin-side up.
  • Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes, covered, and then for 30 minutes after the foil is removed or until the chicken reaches 165 F inside.

Which chicken breasts should I buy?

When selecting chicken breasts, there are various options depending on the feed the animals ate, the environment they were raised in, whether they were enclosed or free range, and the number of additives and antibiotics the meat might have. As a general rule, free range and without added hormones and antibiotics is the best and safest choice, but it all comes down to what's available at your store and your budget. Whichever chicken you decide to buy, look for pieces that look pink, plump, and with the furthest out sell-by date. When selecting your chicken breasts, be mindful that corn-fed animals will yield meat that may look a bit more yellow due to the feed.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
142 Calories
3g Fat
8g Carbs
23g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 142
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 51mg 17%
Sodium 1092mg 47%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 23g
Vitamin C 41mg 206%
Calcium 140mg 11%
Iron 4mg 23%
Potassium 951mg 20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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