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.
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.
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💛 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
⏲ 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.
👉 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
- Rice – Serve with jasmine rice or cauliflower rice.
- 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.
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Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake
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 chicken thighs, thin, boneless and skinless
- 2 Tablespoons (30 milliliters) avocado oil, divided
- 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake: Transfer pan to oven to bake until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 20-22 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove pan from oven, garnish with pepper and paprika, then serve.
Video
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 4servings, Calories: 472kcal (24%), Carbohydrates: 7g (2%), Protein: 33g (66%), Fat: 35g (54%), Saturated Fat: 16g (100%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 180mg (60%), Sodium: 756mg (33%), Potassium: 603mg (17%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 2g (2%), Vitamin A: 4492IU (90%), Vitamin C: 12mg (15%), Calcium: 256mg (26%), Iron: 2mg (11%)
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