Baked Chicken With Spinach

Written by
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Diana Rattray
Updated 09/21/20
Baked chicken with spinach

The Spruce
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
1226 Calories
70g Fat
6g Carbs
135g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 1226
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 70g 90%
Saturated Fat 20g 98%
Cholesterol 418mg 139%
Sodium 594mg 26%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Protein 135g
Calcium 197mg 15%
*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.)

In this easy chicken and spinach bake, the boneless chicken breasts are simply baked on a bed of spinach with a tomato and green onion topping. Feel free to use your own favorite seasoning salt blend instead of the Cajun or Creole seasonings, or use a salt-free herb blend to season the chicken.

The dish is also easy to adapt by using your family's favorite ingredients or the ingredients you have on hand. The tomatoes and onions are easily replaced with mild or medium salsa or picante sauce or use a 14.5-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 12 to 16 ounces fresh spinach (washed and chopped)
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 4 chicken breast halves (free-range and corn-fed, or whatever you prefer)
  • Creole seasoning (or Cajun seasoning, or another seasoning blend, to taste)
  • 1 large tomato (cored, seeded, and diced)
  • 4 sliced green onions (with green intact)
  • Optional: grated Parmesan or shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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

    Lightly grease pan
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  3. Put the fresh spinach in the baking dish and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

    Put spinach in pan
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  4. Add chicken broth.

    Add chicken broth
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  5. Place the chicken pieces between sheets of plastic wrap and pound lightly, until they are even in thickness.

    Place chicken between wrap
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  6. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning blend and pepper. If the seasoning blend is salt-free, sprinkle the chicken lightly with kosher salt.

    Sprinkle with seasoning
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  7. Arrange the chicken over the spinach and then sprinkle with the diced tomato and 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 at least 165 F.

    Uncover and bake
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  10. If desired, top the chicken and tomato mixture with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella about 5 minutes before the dish is ready.

    Scoop out baked chicken
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Tip

  • When selecting chicken breasts, there are a variety of options ranging from your typical store-bought variety to free-range, corn-fed. It all depends on what your personal preferences are. Just keep in mind that when selecting your chicken breasts, if you do decide to go with the free-range, corn-fed option, the meat may look a bit more on the yellow side, due to the corn that the animal was fed.

Variations

  • Replace the Creole or Cajun seasoning with spicy blackened seasoning.
  • Top with about 1/2 to 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 10 minutes before the dish is done.
  • Top chicken with more Parmesan cheese before serving.
  • 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 is browned. Turn and brown for 2 minutes longer. Arrange the chicken pieces on the spinach, skin-side up. Bake as directed, above, but bake for about 30 minutes after the foil is removed (or until the chicken reaches 165 F).

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