Rice Stuffed Chicken
Rice Stuffed Chicken Breast with mushrooms, cheese, and spinach may seem like a fancy dinner for two, but it’s an easy technique sure to impress! Serve it for Valentine’s Day, date night, or a home-cooked Sunday dinner.

With Valentine’s Day in a few days, I thought I’d squeeze in one more dinner for two to add to my romantic dinner recipes.
Romantic is so subjective, but in my mind if you have to take an extra step or two to finish it, it’s usually elevated enough to qualify as a special meal.
Take this Rice Stuffed Chicken recipe for example. Sure, you can simply brown the chicken breast on the stove then finish baking in the oven, but that’s boring.
And you can make a whole stuffed Cornish hen, but that may be too much meat.
But once you take that extra step to make mushroom rice and stuff it into chicken breast, suddenly there’s a little wow factor going on with your dinner for two.
All because you took a few extra steps with some knife work.
Making stuffed chicken breast with rice and cheese isn’t as difficult as it looks. All you need is a (sharp) knife, a spoon, and the ability to not freak out when touching raw meat (you laugh, but I had this issue when I first started cooking. Needless to say I got over that super quickly).

Ingredients For Rice Stuffed Chicken
Here’s what you need to make your mushroom stuffed chicken breast:
- Oil: Use vegetable or olive oil to make the rice stuffing for chicken
- Onion and garlic: Flavors the rice
- Mushrooms: Bulks up the rice stuffing (plus I love eating mushrooms)
- Spinach: I like to incorporate veggies into my meals. I used fresh spinach, but you can also use frozen. You can also use peas.
- Instant rice: No need to cook the rice ahead of time when you use instant! It’ll cook right in the skillet. If you don’t have instant, you’ll have to use precooked rice.
- Broth: Used to cook the rice
- Thyme: Adds freshness to balance the richness. You can also use rosemary or sage.
- Salt and pepper: Seasons your meal
- Chicken breast: The key to stuffing chicken is making sure it’s thick enough to stuff. More on that below. You can also use turkey tenderloin or breast.
- Cheese: Adds some gooey cheesiness to your stuffed chicken

How To Cook Rice Stuffed Chicken
Ready to make your rice stuffing for chicken?
- Cook onion and mushrooms until softened then add spinach, garlic, and instant rice to finish making the rice stuffing.
- Cut a pocket into each chicken breast.
- Stuff each chicken with cheese and rice filling.
- Brown chicken in the skillet then transfer to the oven.
- Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

How To Stuff Chicken Breast
To stuff a chicken breast, first you need to start with a thick piece. Cut a long slit into the thickest part of the chicken. Make the pocket as deep as possible without tearing through the chicken.
If your chicken is too thin to cut, you can opt to spread the stuffing on top then roll it up like a roulade. Or you can simply fold over one half of the chicken and secure with toothpicks as it cooks.
If you enjoy tasty and flavorful food (and I know you do), don’t skip browning on the stove first. Yes, I know it’s a bit tricky with the stuffing, but I PROMISE it’s worth it.
The first time I made stuffed chicken breast, I was lazy and skipped the browning; they went straight into the oven. The problem is they will never brown enough in the oven without overcooking and drying out. They came out looking pale and anemic.
If you think the stuffing will spill out, you can use a few toothpicks to seal the pocket. Use them horizontally so they don’t stick out and interfere with the browning.

Side Dishes To Pair With Stuffed Chicken
Although rice stuffed chicken has both the main and side as one recipe, you can also serve it one of these easy side dishes:
- Really Good Freekeh Salad
- Green Onion Salad
- Pan Fried Potato Wedges
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Au Gratin Potatoes For Two
- Vegan Mushroom Gravy
More Chicken For Two Recipes
If you enjoyed this mushroom stuffed chicken, here are more chicken dinner ideas for two you can make including:

Rice Stuffed Chicken
Rice Stuffed Chicken Breast with mushrooms, cheese, and spinach may seem like a fancy dinner for two, but it’s an easy technique sure to impress! Serve it for Valentine’s Day, date night, or a home-cooked Sunday dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons diced white or yellow onion
- 2 large white button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves (or 1/2 cup frozen spinach)
- 1/2 cup instant white long-grain rice*
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
- 2 thick boneless skinless chicken breasts** (can also use turkey tenderloin or breasts)
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 slices mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add the onion, mushrooms, and pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and spinach. Cook until the spinach starts to wilt, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rice and toast 1 minute. Stir in the broth, salt, and thyme. Cover with a lid then cook until the rice has softened and broth has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Cut an opening into the thick part of each breast, cutting as deep as you can go without tearing through the chicken.
- Fold the mozzarella slice in half and add to each pocket. Add the filling without overstuffing. Transfer any leftover rice to a bowl and keep warm.
- Press the opening together to seal. If it won't stay shut, insert a few toothpicks horizontally so they don't stick out.
- Return the empty skillet to the heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, carefully add the chicken top side down. Cook 5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook until golden brown, another 5 minutes.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F degrees. Serve with extra rice on the side.
Notes
- *Don't have instant rice? Use 1/2 cup precooked rice.
- **If your chicken is too thin to cut, you can opt to spread the stuffing on top then roll it up like a roulade. Or you can simply fold over one half of the chicken and secure with toothpicks as it cooks.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my other chicken recipes for two.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchase.
In the mushroom rice stuffed chicken breast recipe for two it calls for VeeTee rice. I have worked in SE Kansas grocery stores and have never seen or heard of this brand. Can I use Minute Rice instead? My wife and I are both 67 years old and don’t eat NEAR as much as we used to and have both been diagnosed as having diabetes. We love your recipes for two and appreciate your effort with them immensely. Thank you ahead of time for answering my question. Mike
Funny you ask because it’s on my list soon to retest using instant rice! Instant rice will work as a great substitute, I know that much. I’d say about 1 cup (which is the part I need to test).