Creamy Spinach Chicken Bake

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.

💛 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

• 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

📚 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