Oh please. Please.
Please, for all that is good and right in this world. Please, make these.
When I asked for spinach recipes last week, I had this one in the back of my mind to try as I asked. Last summer when on vacation with my family, I made for them a similar recipe that used sun dried tomatoes, spinach pesto, mozzarella, stuffed/rolled in the same way.Very similar to this one from Kristia!
As I was writing up the “calling all spinach recipes” last week, I remembered the meal that I made for them and wondered if I could pull it off for $5. I went digging…found a tomato in the fridge (that Steve must have bought last week when I was out of town…as I don’t recall buying one!) (I’ll have to ask him about that one…as he rarely goes to the grocery store!)
$5 DINNERS TV
I came close!
The How-To
Cook and drain the spinach. Drain well. Press out the liquid. Squeeze out the liquid.
Or else you’ll be having Runny Spinach and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts.
Saute. And cook off the liquid that the tomatoes release.
Meanwhile, pound out the chicken breasts.
And lay into a baking dish that is small enough that the stuffed chicken breasts fit snugly.
Spoon in the spinach tomato mixture. Use a slotted spoon.
Again, you don’t want to have Runny Spinach and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts.
Add some shredded mozzarella cheese.
(I used dairy and soy free mozzarella slices. So the boys could enjoy this!)
(At the moment, Ryan, Charlie, Tyler and I are dairy free. And Tyler is soy free.)
Roll up the chicken, spoon any extra spinach tomato mixture around the stuffed chicken.
Bake.
Make tomato sauce for topping while baking. Spoon the tomato sauce over top.
Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy!
Spinach and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1 box frozen spinach ($.25)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($.10)
- 1 tomato, diced (or 1 15 oz can drained diced tomatoes) ($.25-$.75)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed ($.20)
- Sprinkles of dried basil, salt and pepper
- 3-4 chicken breasts, depending on size…about 1.3 lb. ($2.44)
- About 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ($.75) I used slices
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste ($.49)
- About 1 tsp Italian seasonings ($.05)
- Bread or dinner rolls with jam and butter ($.75)
Directions
- Cook the spinach as directed on the package and drain well. And by well, I mean well.
- In a large skillet, add the olive oil, well drained spinach, diced tomato and crushed garlic. Add a few sprinkles of basil and salt and pepper. Saute for 5-7 minutes, or until fairly dry and liquid has steamed off.
- Pound out the chicken breasts and place into a slightly greased baking dish. Spoon the spinach and tomato mixture into the chicken breasts. Top with some shredded mozzarella cheese and roll up. Repeat for all the chicken breasts. Spoon any remaining spinach around the chicken in the baking dish. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes, or until cooked through.
- While the chicken is baking, make some red sauce with the tomato paste. Spoon the tomato paste into a small saucepan and add 2.5 cans worth of water. Whisk and add some Italian seasonings and let simmer over low heat until the chicken is finished baking. Spoon the sauce over the chicken pieves (You could also use tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes or spaghetti sauce!)
- Warm some dinner rolls or toast some bread. Serve warm with jam and butter.
- Serve Spinach and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts with bread, jam and butter.
Cost $5.28
Thanks for the shout-out. I just made my version Monday night. Your recipe looks very good and we always have mozz. and canned tomatoes on hand.
YUM! I have some spinach and small fresh tomatoes to use up, I will boot whatever is planned for tomorrow night to next week and try this before they go bad.
This looks absolutely delicious! I will most definitley be trying this.
Sherry
Oh My! This looks so good!
This looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks for the dinner idea for tonight…I too have tons of spinach to use and need some ideas…BTW, my hubby bought a tomato for sandwiches last week and it was $1.80 for 1! I’ll be using canned tonight 🙂
Canned, for sure!!!
Erin
This is exactly the recipe i was looking for. I had a container of Buffalo mozzarella that I wanted to use in something and a jar of delicious garden grown canned tomatoes that my mother-in-law gave me. I happened to have some chicken cutlets in the freezer too so this was pretty much perfect! Hope the rest of the family loves it as much as i know that I am.
Perfect! I hope you enjoy it!!
Erin, thanks for posting this recipe. 1) We are going to try this tonight but 2) my son was MSPI (milk & soy protein intollerant) for the first year of his life (he’s still SPI) and I didn’t know dairy and soy free cheese existed. I am pregnant with #2, and I’m preparing myself that this baby will also be MSPI.
It’s rice based…doesn’t have diary or soy. I believe it’s “Rice Dream” cheese?! I understand the frustration entirely! Hope that helps!
Hi Erin, I am very curious about the cheese you use, can you tell me about it? I have dairy allergy too and I am trying soy cheese, but so far the taste is very so-so. What is the cheese called, how is the taste and where do you find it? I know the texture seems to be diff with the soy cheese I am using, how is it with yours? I appreciate your help, as I am on a quest to find a yummy alternative to reg cheese. Thanks! =)
I have to many members of my family that don’t like tomatos sauce or spaghetti sauce, but really like this recipe….trying to think of another sauce I could use. Any Ideas???
I didn’t use any sauce over the top when I made it because 1) we just had speghetti last night and 2) one of my kids won’t eat red sauce. It was delicious without sauce! I made it super healthy by serving brown rice with it instead of bread.
This looks so yummy! Too bad my hubby doesn’t like spinach, boy oh boy is he missing out on this one!
This looks delicious and I’m really looking forward to trying it! I also wanted to pass along some information for those who are trying to find dairy and soy free cheese. My four year old is allergic to milk, soy and rice, so I had a bit of a hunt to find cheese that he could eat. There is a brand called “Daiya” that is milk, soy and rice free. It comes in cheddar and mozzarella and is sold as shredded cheese in bags. You can find at Whole Foods and a variety of other stores. I know here in Denver, you can buy it at Sprouts and Vitamin Cottage. The best part is that it actually tastes good and is very handy for things like pizza and quesadillas. Hope this is helpful!:-)
Wow this looks great! I just made chili, so I have canned tomatoes and paste left over…and I have a box of spinach and lots of chicken breasts in the freezer begging to be used! I’m a college student (cooking for one, usually) so I’m glad to find economical, yet delicious meals here! Thanks! Can’t wait to try this one.
How are you still preparing meals for $5? In my area, (Orlando, FL) I cannot get a cut of meat for less than $1.99 lb. This week Perdue Chicken breasts are on sale for $2.99/lb and I have a $1 off coupon, but that’s it. Where do you find chicken breasts for $2.44 and 16 oz box of spinac for $.25? On sale here I get it for $1. Help please, because I certainly want to master this skill!!!!
Thank you
Leaving aside the fact that this recipe is very cheap, it is also very tasty and healthy. Thank you for another great recipe.
I made this dish a few nights ago for my family and they LOVED it!! Tasted and looked like something you would order at a fancy restaraunt. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
I am so glad I went to your awesome website! I was in a pinch to get dinner planned (moved recently and don’t have my kitchen nor pantry, nor a menu organized yet)and just had to have a quick idea for the chicken breast I had . I’ve got to tell you that this recipes is so forgiving. I didn’t have a tomato, nor tomato paste (just hunt’s spaghetti sauce in the pantry that I wasn’t sure how it’d go with it). So, all I did was saute the onions with garlic in coco oil, added the spinach. Mixed those with some feta, stuffed the breasts, which I rubbed with a bit of EVOO on the top and seasoned, stuck in the oven, put the timer to cook and had to run out. I was worried so much about how they’d turn out cuz my teenager looked at them disgustingly when he saw the spinach. I had to ask him to actually take them out of the oven (after cooking time the oven shuts off but it is still hot and I was afraid to overdry the chicken) as soon as he heard the beep (about that too). But when I got the txt from hubs that the recipe is a keeps I breathed easily. Even, our teenager, who hates feta too liked it. But, now I want to use all the ingredients and make the recipe all over again!!! Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Tried this out tonite. So easy a cave woman can do it! Loved it.
It was a tad bland. Next time I will season the meat and double the spinach/tomato filling.
I learned one thing: Beating the chicken breast does make it more tender. I will do that from now on.
Thank you! I had some frozen spinach and was looking for a good dinner idea. I’ve not been into cooking lately. I just might be back into cooking again. This is nice and easy and delicious. I didn’t have any mozerella, but substituted some really nice feta like white cheese.
I think this is a keeper!!
I really thank you for the inspiration. I want to see what else you have on your site!
Maria in Turkey
GREAT STUFF! THANKS!
I’m curious as to why you recommend a side of bread & jam with this? I will for sure be making this, as my younger daughter loves any meal that includes spinach, but bread & jam just doesn’t seem to go. Am I missing something? (OF course I realize I can not serve it w/bread & jam… just curious to your reasoning!).