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Real Balanced

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Home Recipes Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake

Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake

Net Carbs:5.3g
Published:07/27/23Updated:07/27/23
19 Comments This post contains affiliate links.
Jump to Recipe·★★★★★5 from 10 reviews
Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake WordPress Pin
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This Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake can be made in only 30 minutes and is perfect for weeknight family dinners. This casserole recipe features chicken thighs, spinach, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese.

You will love this recipe if you like other 30-minute chicken dinners like this Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and this Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken.

Creamy spinach chicken bake on a glass baking dish with a portion scooped up by a spoon.

This chicken bake yields tender and juicy chicken thighs topped with cream cheese and spinach.

This is a recipe that’s perfect for weeknights for busy families.

It’s an especially great option for beginner cooks who are newer to making family dinners.

Creamy spinach chicken bake on a glass baking dish.

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Jump To... hide
💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make this creamy spinach chicken bake
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
✨ Variations
〰️ How to serve
💬 FAQs
📚 More 30-minute chicken recipes
🍽 Recipe

💛 Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Straightforward ingredients.
  • Can be made in 30 minutes.
  • High in protein, low-carb, keto-friendly, and gluten-free.

➡️ Ingredients

Labeled ingredients for the creamy spinach chicken bake recipe.

⏲ How to make this creamy spinach chicken bake

This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Marinate Chicken: To a freezer bag, add chicken, 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Seal the bag and, using your hands, shake and massage the mixture into the chicken until the marinade ingredients are well-combined. Transfer the bag to the refrigerator to marinate.
  • Preheat Oven: Place oven rack in the middle of the oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Wilt Spinach: While oven preheats, in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon of avocado oil. Add spinach and allow it to wilt and for the excess liquid to cook off, then remove the pan from the heat and set the pan aside.
  • Prepare Chicken Bake: Unseal the bag of marinated chicken and, using tongs, transfer the chicken to the prepared baking pan. Using a knife, spread softened cream cheese atop chicken pieces and then, using tongs, lay spinach atop cream cheese. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top.
  • Bake: Transfer the pan to the oven to bake until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (check with an instant-read thermometer), which should take about 20-22 minutes.

Cooking Tip: If you want the cheese to brown a little more, move the casserole dish to the top oven rack, turn on the oven broiler, and broil for 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully to ensure the cheese doesn’t burn.

  • Garnish and Serve: Remove pan from oven, garnish with pepper and paprika, then serve.
The step-by-step process of how to make creamy spinach chicken bake.
The final steps for how to make creamy spinach chicken bake.

👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions

  • Chicken Thighs: Replace with boneless skinless chicken breasts.
  • Avocado Oil: Use olive oil or melted butter instead.
  • Minced Garlic: Garlic powder can be used in place of minced garlic. I would suggest using 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to substitute for the 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic that the original recipe calls for.
  • Cream Cheese: Sour cream can be subbed in at a 1:1 ratio.
  • Fresh Spinach: Frozen spinach can be used. Thaw the frozen spinach on the stovetop or in warm water, then drain before using. Gently squeeze out any excess water before adding it on top of the chicken.
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: Provolone slices, cheddar cheese slices, or shredded cheddar cheese can be used.

✨ Variations

  • Mix up the chicken marinade by adding other herbs and spices, like oregano, cumin, ground thyme, rosemary, or chili powder.
  • Add some Mediterranean flavors to the dish by incorporating ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Sprinkle these ingredients over the spinach and mozzarella layer before baking.
  • Replace the cream cheese with basil pesto. Spread a layer of pesto on the chicken thighs before adding the spinach and mozzarella.
  • Cook some bacon and crumble it over the cream cheese layer. Drizzle ranch dressing on top for a tangy kick.
  • Boost the vegetable content by adding other veggies like chopped mushrooms and bell peppers on top of the spinach layer.

〰️ How to serve

  • Veggies – Serve with roasted radishes, roasted cauliflower, or cauliflower risotto.
  • Rice – Serve with jasmine rice or cauliflower rice.
  • Potatoes – Serve with roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, or scalloped potatoes.
  • Pasta – Serve alongside or over the top of egg noodles, penne pasta, or farfalle (bowtie) pasta.
  • Salad – Serve alongside cucumber onion salad or a basic side salad.

💬 FAQs

How should the creamy spinach chicken bake be stored?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.

How should the stored chicken casserole recipe be reheated?

If frozen, allow the chicken bake to thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, to reheat, bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or in the microwave until heated throughout, about 1-2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.

📚 More 30-minute chicken recipes

  • Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
  • Cheesy Chicken Fajita Bake
  • Creamy Garlic Chicken
  • Creamy Dijon Chicken
  • Green Chile Chicken with Leftover Shredded Chicken Thighs

🍽 Recipe

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Creamy spinach chicken bake on a glass baking dish with a portion scooped up by a spoon.

Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake


★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews

  • Author: Sara Nelson
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe
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Description

This Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake can be made in only 30 minutes and is perfect for weeknight family dinners. This casserole recipe features chicken thighs, spinach, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese.


Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless thin chicken thighs
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 milliliters) avocado oil, divided
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 7 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 5 cups (~140 grams) fresh spinach
  • 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Optional Garnishes:

  • Freshly-cracked black pepper
  • Pinch of paprika


Instructions

  1. Marinate Chicken: To a freezer bag, add chicken, 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Seal bag and, using hands, shake and massage mixture into chicken until marinade ingredients are well-combined. Transfer bag to refrigerator to marinate.
  2. Preheat Oven: Place oven rack in middle of oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and coat 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Wilt Spinach: While oven preheats, in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat, heat remaining 1 Tablespoon avocado oil. Add spinach and allow to wilt and for excess liquid to cook off, then remove pan from the heat and set pan aside.
  4. Prepare Chicken Bake: Unseal bag of marinated chicken and, using tongs, transfer chicken to prepared baking pan. Using a knife, spread softened cream cheese atop chicken pieces and then, using tongs, lay spinach atop cream cheese. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top.
  5. Bake: Transfer pan to oven to bake until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 20-22 minutes.
  6. Garnish and Serve: Remove pan from oven, garnish with pepper and paprika, then serve.

Recipe Notes:

Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Reheating Instructions: If frozen, allow the chicken bake to thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, to reheat, bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15-25 minutes or in the microwave until heated throughout, about 1-2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.

Keywords: chicken bake, chicken thigh casserole, spinach chicken casserole

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19 Comments

  1. Valerie says

    September 23, 2023 at 6:23 am

    What can you substitute for avocado oil? The recipe sounds delicious.

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      September 25, 2023 at 2:54 pm

      Any neutral cooking oil will work!

      Reply
  2. Dorene says

    September 18, 2023 at 4:03 pm

    I have tried several of your recipes lately and they have ALL been keepers- this one being the easiest for a weeknight dinner after a long day meal!
    PS..Your Pollo Asada was a definite surprise! Keep these great recipes coming!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Carol says

    September 13, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    I’ve made this twice, following your instructions, and my family raves about it. To go with it, I made a white sauce with parmesan cheese to go on top of egg noodles. Yum!

    Reply
  4. Christine Campbell says

    August 22, 2023 at 6:49 pm

    This was a great recipe! I added 2C sliced mushrooms, sauteed before the spinach, and reduced the cream cheese to 4 ounces. The garlic and spices were perfect. Yum

    Reply
  5. john says

    August 8, 2023 at 7:19 pm

    Yummmm

    Reply
  6. Kim says

    June 27, 2023 at 8:47 pm

    This was delicious. I added a little lemon zest and lemon juice to the marinade, and added some sun-dried tomatoes in with the spinach, and served it with bowtie pasta. The flavors were great!

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      June 27, 2023 at 8:56 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed, Kim!

      Reply
  7. Stacy says

    June 5, 2023 at 4:12 pm

    Fantastic! I had chive & onion cream cheese so I used that and it turned out so delicious! Next time I will also add the mushrooms to the spinach, also use less of the cream cheese. I served with some mushroom & herb couscous. It’s a keeper! Thank you.

    Reply
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My name is Sara Nelson, and I am the face behind Real Balanced. I am a Mom to two and a proud Wisconsinite. Here, you will find easy and delicious tried-and-true recipes that can often be made in minimal time. Read More
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