First published July 10, 2022. Last updated July 10, 2023 for editorial improvements.
Table of Contents
You've gotta love easy chicken recipes like this one! Just 30 minutes and it's ready to eat! Love this? Try my favorite spin-off, ricotta chicken pasta casserole!
🎥 Video
❤️ Why you'll love it
This ricotta-stuffed chicken is my go-to when I want something that looks fancy but takes zero brainpower—seriously, it’s done in 30 minutes or less. It's loaded with melty mozzarella, creamy ricotta, and a hit of parmesan because I don’t do bland, and neither should you. I even sneak in some spinach so I can pretend I’m being healthy (wink). The way all that cheesy goodness melts into the pasta sauce? Honey, it’s straight-up edible therapy. And the best part? It’s ridiculously easy to throw together—no fuss, no drama, just a whole lotta delicious.
🧾 Ingredients
🔪 How to make ricotta chicken
- In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, spinach, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
- Top the boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the spinach mixture.
- Spoon tomato sauce over top of the chicken. Bake.
- Sprinkle chicken with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Place bake in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
📖 Recipe
Baked Ricotta Chicken Recipe
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- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese, (15-16 ounces whole milk ricotta- about 2 cups)
- 1 cup spinach, chopped
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided use)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated (divided use)
- 2 cups marinara sauce, I used spicy Arrabiata sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (divided use)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Mix Mozzarella and Parmesan together in a medium bowl.
- In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, half the cheese mixture, spinach, half the garlic, and Italian seasoning until combined.
- Oil a 13x9-inch baking dish with olive oil or spray with no stick cooking spray.
- Add the chicken breasts in a single layer to the pan.
- Season with salt, pepper, and remaining garlic.
- Spread the spinach and ricotta mixture over the top of the chicken breasts in an even layer.
- Cover completely with the marinara.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the thickest section of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Remove from oven, add the remaining cheese mixture and place back in the oven until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and allow chicken to rest about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Test chicken dishes like this one for doneness with a meat thermometer—it's cooked when the breast meat reaches 160°F. Then, let it properly rest (5-10 minutes).
- For best results, pat chicken dry with paper towels to help the cheese mixture stick better.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
📖 Variations
- Swap boneless chicken thighs for the skinless boneless chicken breasts if you prefer dark meat. Cooking time may vary, so temp-test it carefully!
- If you have time in advance, you can marinate your chicken with your favorite marinade or an Italian dressing. The acidity helps to tenderize the chicken breasts.
- I prefer the texture of whole milk ricotta, but if you're looking for a (slightly more) healthy option, you could use part-skim.
- If you run out of ricotta cheese, you can add some cream cheese into the blend to make up the missing measurement (but I wouldn't substitute it entirely!)
- Fresh spinach is delicious, but you can use frozen spinach and no one will be able to tell the difference!
- Use your favorite marinara sauce, including spicy or flavored versions.
- Supplement your parmesan with some romano or pecorino cheeses, if you have them.
- Add some red pepper flakes if you prefer your meal with a bit of heat.
- Add extra garlic and Italian seasoning.
- Garnish baked ricotta chicken with fresh basil or parsley.
🥫 Storage
Baked ricotta chicken is SO good, you'll definitely want leftovers for lunch tomorrow. There's just something about cheesy meals that taste so great the next day.
Store your leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It'll last for three to four days.
Then, just warm it in the microwave until it's steaming hot. (Don't forget to cover it with a paper towel to avoid sauce splatter!)
Freezing and reheating cooked chicken tends to change the texture and dry it out, so I don't recommend freezing your leftovers. However, you can freeze this dish before baking (see FAQs below for those instructions!)
👩🍳 FAQs
Absolutely! Prepare the recipe as directed, but, before baking, cover it with foil. You can then refrigerate the dish for a few days (depending on the "use by" date of your chicken.) Uncover the dish and bake when you're ready to eat! It's my favorite way to make meal planning on busy days even easier!
Sure thing! Carefully wrap the uncooked dish in a double layer of plastic or foil and freeze for up to three months. Be sure to let the ricotta chicken thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before putting it in your preheated oven. (You should never put cold glass into a hot oven, so it's best to use foil roasting dishes instead of a ceramic or glass baking dish.)
To save time in a pinch, you can. However, just be aware that pre-minced garlic and garlic powder usually aren't quite as flavorful as fresh garlic cloves. I find that they lack the authentic, classic taste for which Italian cuisine is known!
📚 Related recipes
- This Baked Eggplant Parmesan tastes just like the classic recipe, but with an easier, healthier twist!
- Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is a cheesy, beefy, crowd-pleaser—plus, it actually does feed a crowd!
- Keto or not, when craving a creamy, decadent chicken dish, Keto Tuscan Chicken is a must-try (just add noodles if you're pro-carb!)
- Try this green chile chicken casserole for a delicious (and easy!) Tex-mex meal.
🍽️ Serve with...
- Italian Green Bean Salad with Potatoes
- Super Soft Homemade Rolls
- Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (Mayo is the key ingredient—don't knock it 'til you try it!!)
This easy dinner recipe is perfect year 'round! You can assemble it ahead of time and just toss it in the oven when you're ready to eat.
If you're looking for the perfect side dish to finish off the meal check out these easy side dishes for eggplant parmesan - they all work beautifully with this chicken recipe!
Next time be sure to give this angel chicken recipe a try!
Rose says
I didn't really like this recipe I think it could have been better if you had sliced the chicken breast in half pounded them and fried them just for a few minutes then put them in the baking dish, used half the regatta and marinara over the top and then baked it for 20 minutes at 400 it was too much sauce and the chicken was chewy.
Marye says
It sounds like you had a completely different recipe in mind—and I respect the creativity! This version leans heavy on the saucy, cozy vibes (because around here, we don’t skimp on marinara or comfort) - and I wanted it to be simple to toss together. But hey, I always say: if pounding and pan-frying brings you joy, then by all means, grab a mallet and live your truth. 😉
Martha says
I sautédthe chicken thighs first so I wouldn’t have the problem of undercooking the chicken.
Tom says
Love the recipe! As we're all about using what we have, I made some mods, as follows:
Rotisserie chicken from Costco - I had one in my fridge, just pulled it apart and tossed it into the 9x13 (bypasses that how-to-cook the-chicken thing)
Veg - subbed a defrosted bag of broccoli/cauliflower/carrots. Put it in the food processor for a few seconds as well.
Used cheddar instead of mozzarella as that's what we had
Cooked it for 45 minutes at 325. I found this helps everything settle in, especially the garlic. Comes out as warm, bubbly, baked goodness.
Cathy Kruysse says
I agree with Joni. The timing is way off even after letting it sit. My oven is less the a year old and I’ve had no issues with other recipes.
Marye says
So, I'd like to point out that the size and thickness of the chicken will also make a difference. The instructions say, "Bake for about 20 minutes or until the thickest section of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°F." If you are following the instruction to check with an instant read thermometer then you'll know when it's done. I get local, organic, and pasture raised chicken so they are a little smaller than what I've seen at Costco and regular grocery stores. Perhaps that's it. Chicken should ALWAYS be checked with an instant read thermometer because bake times can vary from recipe to recipe, brand to brand, and day to day.
Heather says
The cooking time was also too short for me by about 7 minutes And I was using halved chicken breasts (so theoretically, it should have not taken as long). Of course it could be my oven but I haven’t had problems cooking other things in the allotted amount of time. Overall, it was good. My husband really liked it. I cook some spaghetti and served it over that. It seems like it’s going to be as good as the marinara that you use.
Marye says
Cooking times can vary a lot for many reasons. That's why it's important to cook to an interior temperature of 160 and then let it set for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Petra says
Made the baked ricotta chicken, very good.
Joni says
Unfortunately timing is way off. Unless you want to serve raw chicken.
Marye says
Boneless chicken breast takes less than 25 minutes to be cooked to 160F at 400F. Then you let it stand for 5 - 10 minutes where it continues to cook. You have to actually put the chicken in the oven for it to work. Hope this helps.
Carol Germano says
Super easy and so delicious. My Italian husband gave it a two thumbs up.
Karen says
Hi,
The recipe for baked ricotta chicken sounds wonderful and I’m going to try it. I’m confused about the note about the divided use of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Do you add some of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese mix to the Ricota spinach mix? The directions were not clear to me. I understand tabout the divided use of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Do you add some of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese mix to the Ricota spinach mix? The directions were not clear to me. I understand that you top the chicken with some of the mozzarella and Parmesan mix for the last few minutes of baking.
Marye says
Half the cheese mixture goes into the ricotta mixture. Sorry about that - I've fixed the recipe to clarify.
Kathy says
Also the video cuts out before you put the second cheese mixture and put back in the oven that alone is confusing to people.
Marye says
Actually the video shows me putting on the second cheese mixture and putting it back in the oven so I'm not sure what you are talking about.
Karin Walker says
Definitely a keeper recipe and the arrabbitaia sauce. The only thing I wished I had done was add a handful of basil. Would have made it perfect!
Debra Alexander says
Enjoyed the recipe. Very delicious. I made mine in a pinch and with the ingredients I had on hand. Took the one fat chicken breast I had in my fridge and sliced it thinly to three make pieces. Modified my measurements of the remaining ingredients to account for the necessary downsizing and used diced tomatoes w/o the liquid instead of marinara and viola Baked Ricotta Chicken by way of Marye by way of Debby!
Marilyn Eldridge says
Love your recipes. Can’t wait to check out your soup recipes! Blessings, marilyn