Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Cream Cheese

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Find out why chicken thighs are so easy to stuff, and get the recipe for this amazing cream cheese and spinach stuffing. Winning Recipe!

Everyone stuffs chicken breasts, but did you know you can stuff boneless skinless chicken thighs too? Itโ€™s super simple because the best part is you donโ€™t have to cut the thighs for stuffing. You just unroll them, add the delicious cream cheese spinach mixture, and then roll them back up. That makes them quick enough to be a weeknight meal, for sure!

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

6 chicken thighs stuffed with cream cheese and spinach lightly browned with black pepper on top; on gray'ish colored plate with brown striped rim; on white cloth; spinach leaves in background and salt and pepper in background

Video: Making Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Why Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs are Great to Stuff

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are much easier to stuff because they come already cut thin. Theyโ€™ve essentially been pre-butterflied for you. The reason theyโ€™re cut and sold this way is because that cut is needed to remove the bone. The butcher cuts out the bone leaving a flat piece of chicken. They then often roll the cut thigh into a bundle so they look nice in the package.

So then all you need to do is unroll each thigh, add the filling, and then roll it back up. If you find a chicken thigh that isnโ€™t as flat or doesnโ€™t roll as easily, you can use a meat tenderizer to make the chicken thigh more pliable (or pound it with a rolling pin if you donโ€™t have a mallet). Pounding them a little bit definitely helps because it gives you more surface area, which is especially good if youโ€™re putting a bit extra filling in each one.

The other reason that chicken thighs are a great choice is that they are juicier and more flavorful. Chicken breasts can get a bit dry when cooking, especially when stuffed. Why? If the chicken breast is whole and unstuffed, itโ€™s pretty easy to cook it to the right temperature and make sure itโ€™s not overcooked in the middle. But if thereโ€™s a stuffing inside, you need the temperature of the stuffing to get to a safe point (165ยฐF) as well. For that stuffing to get hot, the outside chicken ends up in the heat for a long time, which can really dry it out.

Since chicken thighs are juicier, they donโ€™t dry out as easily. You can get that internal stuffing temperature where you need it, and still have chicken meat that is not dry at all. It really is so delicious.

But if you do want to stuff breasts, try our Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breasts or Oven-Baked Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe. Theyโ€™re both such delicious recipes (just not as good as the thighs, in my opinion).

How Do You Stuff Chicken Thighs?

First, prepare your stuffing by mixing together softened cream cheese, chopped up fresh spinach, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix all ingredients together very well. Unroll each chicken thigh, add some of the filling to each thigh, then it roll back up, and secure it with a toothpick. 

The toothpick is there to help keep the chicken thigh closed and the stuffing inside. Itโ€™s totally normal for some stuffing to melt out during baking though. So donโ€™t worry about it too much. If youโ€™re like me, the temptation is there to add extra toothpicks to make sure itโ€™s sealed. But Iโ€™ve learned from experience that the toothpicks are hard to take out after cooking. Save yourself the future trouble and just use one toothpick.

Other Filling Options

While I love the cream cheese and spinach filling for these stuffed chicken thighs, it may not be perfect for your taste. I do really like using at least some cream cheese because it helps hold the stuffing together. But you can reduce it and add some mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. 

You can use chopped sun-dried tomatoes or sautรฉed mushrooms in your filling. You could add jalapeรฑo and chopped cooked bacon to the cream cheese for a jalapeรฑo popper flavor. Get creative!

A Crunchy Coating

A lot of stuffed chicken recipes have you bread them before cooking. I have to say that I skipped that whole procedure with this recipe because I wanted a quicker recipe. However, something that I often do while the stuffed chicken thighs are cooking is to toast up some panko breadcrumbs on the stove like this.

Then after the chicken has finished cooking, I sprinkled the tasty, crunchy breadcrumbs on top.

How Do You Cook Chicken Thighs In The Oven?

Preheat the oven and line a pan with foil or parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. You can instead brush cooking oil all over the parchment paper instead. Place chicken thighs on the prepared baking pan then bake until cooked through to 165ยฐF as read on an instant read thermometer. This will take 30-35 minutes for stuffed chicken thighs, if youโ€™re not stuffing them get timing with my Baked Chicken Thighs recipe. 

Alternatively, you can cook the stuffed chicken thighs in the air fryer for 20 minutes at 350ยฐF. Check the internal temperature with a thermometer to be sure and then cook for a few minutes longer if needed.

How Can You Tell Chicken Is Done Without A Thermometer?

If you donโ€™t have an instant-read thermometer, you can always cut into a piece of chicken to check. I typically choose a bigger piece for checking. I assume that if the bigger one is done, then all of them are definitely done. So, get out a paring knife and cut a slit right into the middle. If lots of pink juices are coming out and/or if the chicken flesh looks pink, you have to cook it longer. 

Note that when thighs are stuffed, you should put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes even if you think theyโ€™re done. This is to make sure that the stuffing in the middle is also safe since it was initially touching raw chicken. Before consuming make sure the juices are clear as you donโ€™t want to eat under-cooked chicken. We highly recommend you buy a meat thermometer though so you donโ€™t have to guess. Theyโ€™re super reasonably priced.

More Great Chicken Recipes

I seriously love chicken thighs. If you do too, make sure to check our our full collection of over 30 delicious chicken thigh recipes here. And here are some of my favorites to get you started:

Podcast Episode About Making Stuffed Chicken Thighs

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.

Print
6 chicken thighs stuffed with cream cheese and spinach lightly browned with black pepper on top, 2 cut in half; on gray'ish colored plate with brown striped rim; on white cloth; spinach leaves in background

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Cream Cheese

  • Author: Ilona Orzechowska
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Entrรฉe
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

DESCRIPTION

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Cream Cheese looks gourmet but you can actually make this dish quickly enough for a weeknight meal. So good!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • Cooking oil spray
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup softened cream cheese
  • 3 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs (optional)*
  • 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
  • 6 toothpicks

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400ยฐF.
  2. Line pan with foil or parchment paper sprayed with oil to keep pan from getting sticky and for easier clean-up.ย 
  3. In a medium bowl mix spinach, cream cheese, panko, ยผ teaspoon of the salt, the garlic powder, and black pepper. Then set aside.
  4. Unroll chicken thighs, season both sides with remaining salt.
  5. Divide cream cheese mixture between chicken thighs, putting it into the middle of each one.
  6. Roll the chicken thigh back up around the stuffing and secure with a toothpick.
  7. Place chicken thighs on pan, toothpick-side-up. Bake for 30-35 minutes until temperature of the chicken reaches 165ยฐF on an instant read thermometer.

Love this recipe? Iโ€™d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know theyโ€™ll love it as well!

Notes

*You can leave out the breadcrumbs if youโ€™d like. I find that it gives the filling a slightly firmer texture that I like. But itโ€™s good without them too!

This post originally appeared in August 2020 and was revised and republished in August 2025.

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Cream Cheese

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About Christine

Christine is the founder of TheCookful and also of her blog COOKtheSTORY. Her passion is explaining the WHY behind cooking โ€“ Why should you cook things a certain way; Will they turn out if you do it differently; What are the pros and cons of the method? Learn more about Christine, her cookbooks, and her podcast.

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24 Comments

  1. I made your recipe from start to finish in about 40 minutes. Family loved it I did add artichoke hearts to the cream cheese mixture (and the filling that fell out I used sour dough bread to scoop it up for a snack) really delicious. Thanks for sharing

    1. You’re welcome, Sherry! That sounds fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know.

  2. Delicious! I seasoned my chicken with some salt and pepper before the roll. Loved the tip on adding sautรฉed mushrooms. Paired it with a side salad. So good!

    1. Alice, I’m so happy you liked it! Glad you tried the mushrooms in there too, yum! Thanks for coming back to let me know how it went ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Isn’t it delicious? I’m so glad you re loving it, Cheryl! If you have a moment, I’d really appreciate you adding a 5 star rating which helps others find this recipe too. Thanks!

  3. This sounds really good, I think I am going to wrap bacon around the thighs to add another layer of flavor. Thank you!

  4. I’ve made this 6 times although I don’t follow the filling ingredients the same each time the temp and cooking time are the most important, experiment you will be amazed at the results,it’s just you cooking

    1. So fun to play around with what goes in the filling. Thanks, Mark!
      If you have a moment, I’d really appreciate you adding a 5 star rating which helps others find this recipe too.

  5. Absolutely delicious! A huge it with the family!We will be adding this to our dinner rotation. What a great recipe that is easy for anyone to follow and have a wonderful meal. If your readers are adventurous, I added the following to the filling… a 6 oz jar of artichokes packed in water (discard the liquid), 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar. Next time I’m going to dice 4 oz of white mushrooms into the filling. Sooo good!!!!

  6. Great recipe! I used ricotta in place of the cream cheese and then topped the dish with a little roasted garlic tomato sauce. Thanks for the easy weekday meal inspiration.

  7. I can’t believe how easy this is to make. I had some feta & Parm cheese that needed to be used up so I tossed that in with the cream cheese with a dash of tobacco. It was so delicious!

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