Stuffed Chicken Breast is made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge. It’s quick and easy to make in the air fryer.
Imagine coming home and making the most delicious stuffed chicken in 35 minutes. Yes, it’s possible, and you don’t have to settle for one of those frozen dinner options either. Get my tips for keeping all the cheesy ham stuffing inside the chicken breasts and how to make it work in the air fryer.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: Keep The Stuffing In The Chicken
How To Make Stuffed Chicken Breast
Homemade Stuffed Chicken Breast is easy to assemble, and making it in your air fryer cuts down on time. There’s no marinating time or no standing by the frying pan. Just put your chicken in the air fryer and walk away. In fact, we have a whole series of air fryer chicken recipes where your air fryer gets dinner on the table a little faster. You should check them all out.
First, you’re going to butterfly your chicken breast to make a pocket for Cheddar cheese, tomato slices, and ham. The cheese, tomato, and ham add flavor and moisture. Note that you can use a strip or two of cooked bacon instead of the ham, if you’d like. I opted for ham here because you don’t have to pre-cook it before putting it into the chicken.
Next, you’ll close up the chicken over the filling. Then, place your stuffed chicken breast in the air fryer over the crisper and cook for 20 minutes at 350°F. Leave it to the air fryer to do the rest of cooking.
Tips To Make Perfect Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken
- Use a good sharp knife to butterfly the chicken breast (this is where you cut the chicken breast in half horizontally but don’t quite slice through to the other side, keeping in one piece. You’re creating a pocket to stuff with cheese, tomato slices, and ham).
- You can spray the chicken with olive oil. You can skip this if you want to, but the top will be crispier if you lightly coat it with a cooking oil.
- To make sure the chicken is cooked through, check the thickest part of the chicken with an instant read thermometer. The temperature should be 165°F. Be careful to make sure your thermometer isn’t reading the temperature of the stuffing. You want an accurate read on the center of the meat itself. If it’s not at 165°F, put it in for another 3-5 minutes and then test the temperature again.
- You can cook two stuffed chicken breasts side-by-side in the air fryer using the method in the recipe below. If you have more than two, you will have to increase the cooking time to 25-30 minutes, simply because the extra chicken pieces cool the air fryer down quite a bit.
- If cooking more than one stuffed chicken breast in your air fryer, make sure that they are in the air fryer in a single non-overlapping layer, and that they are not touching each other.
Can’t get enough stuffed chicken? Try these Stuffed Chicken Thighs! The thighs are stuffed with a spinach and cream cheese mixture that tastes amazing.
More Chicken Breast Recipes
If you love these stuffed chicken breasts, try some of these other great ways to cook chicken.
Podcast Episode: Making Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
Stuffed Chicken Breast is made with simple ingredients you already have in your fridge and can be made quicker than ever in the air fryer.
If you’re cooking 2 chicken breasts, increase cook time from 20 minutes to 25-30 minutes and make sure they aren’t overlapping.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 boneless chicken breast
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese
- 1 slice ham
- 2 slices tomato
- 2 toothpicks or metal skewer
- Cooking spray (or use an oil sprayer like this)
Instructions
- Cut chicken breast horizontally with a sharp knife to make a pocket, making sure not to cut through the whole way.
- In a small bowl combine salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Season chicken all over, inside and out, evenly.
- Stuff the chicken breast with Cheddar cheese, ham, and tomato slices.
- Use toothpicks or skewer to close the pocket.
- Spray the chicken breast on both sides with cooking spray.
- Place the chicken breast in the air fryer basket (on top of the crisper plate if your air fryer has one).
- Set air fryer temperature for 350°F and timer for 20 minutes.
- When finished, check if the meat is cooked thoroughly with an instant read thermometer. It should read 165°F . Cook for another 3 – 5 minutes more if necessary.
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This post originally appeared in September 2019 and was revised and republished in March 2024.