Cajun-spiced chicken breasts stuffed with bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and melted zesty pepper-jack cheese.
This recipe has all the goodness of cajun chicken pasta, without the pasta. Of course, you can serve it with buttered pasta, or you can skip the carb loading and serve it up with veggies or a salad as shown. Either way no one is going to complain about that gooey cheese oozing out of the middle with mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion all stuffed inside a deliciously seasoned chicken breast.
MAKE YOUR OWN CAJUN SEASONING:
Cajun seasoning can be bought in the seasoning section of the grocery store. Each brand will be slightly different in their ingredients and proportions. We like to save the money and make it ourselves. Bonus, you also get to control the flavor and spice level. Mix it up in a ziploc bag or small jar, and if you want to make a big batch to store, just change all the measurements to tablespoons.
- 4 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
If you don’t have white pepper, you can replace the white pepper with black pepper for a total of 2 teaspoons black pepper.
Cheese Options:
Don’t love the zing of pepper-jack cheese? You can use shredded cheddar cheese instead, or any other good melting cheese like mozzarella or monterey jack.
How should I cut my chicken so I can stuff it?
There are a few different ways to stuff your chicken. You can butterfly it (slice lengthwise and fold it out into butterfly wings). You can pound it out thin, using a meat mallet, or even a rolling pin. You can also slice a little pocket into it.
How can I keep the stuffing from falling out while the chicken bakes?
Use toothpicks to secure the chicken and help keep all that delicious stuffing on the inside. Slide the toothpicks right through the chicken vertically to pinch the chicken together. Just be sure to remove the toothpicks before serving.
Spice Level:
By making your own cajun seasoning you can control the amount of spice. Simply reduce or omit the cayenne pepper in the cajun seasoning to make this recipe more mild.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other amazing recipes using cajun seasoning:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Cajun Stuffed Chicken Breast
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 large white or cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 1/4 white onion diced
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 4 teaspoons cajun seasoning*
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions for 5 minutes, until par-cooked.
- Use a meat tenderizer to pound out the chicken breasts until about 1/4-inch thick, or if you are using thicker cut chicken breasts, butterfly them open.
- Place a large spoonful of mushroom and bell pepper mixture on your chicken. Finish off with a large pinch of cheese.
- Carefully fold the chicken so stuffing is completely inside. Secure the chicken with toothpicks. Place in a lightly greased baking dish. Season generously with cajun seasoning. Place a tablespoon of butter on top of each chicken breast.
- Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is cooked through, to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Remove toothpicks before serving. You can serve the chicken whole, or slice in half, or in 1-inch slices.