Everyone has their preference on their favorite type of chicken to cook. In this recipe I used chicken breasts, but my favorite is dark meat, chicken thighs. Why? Because they are so juicy, flavorful, and easy to make. However, chicken breasts is most people's favorite and I do enjoy chicken breasts, this is my favorite way to make it in the oven so it comes out moist, juicy, and tender. This is such an easy method and your chicken is going to come out perfectly. Smoothed in a tuscan cream cheese mixture and baked at the perfect temperature in the oven. This Creamy Marinara Chicken Bake is delicious enough for the weekend and easy enough for a weeknight. Let's Make it!
8ozwhipped or regular cream cheesesoftened (I used whipped)
1cupbaby spinachchopped
1tbspminced garlic
24ozmarinaradivided
2tspgarlic powderdivided
2tspitalian herb seasoningdivided
¼cup+ 1 tbsp grated pecorino romanodivided
5-6ozfreshly shredded mozzarella
Salt & cracked black pepperto taste
¼cup+ 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsleydivided
10leavesof basilripped up
Instructions
Butterfly your chicken breasts and place them in a greased 9x13 baking dish. (Make sure they have some space between them and aren't touching each other)
Pat the chicken breasts dry and season them with 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp italian herb seasoning, salt & pepper. Set aside.
In a bowl, add cream cheese, minced garlic, chopped baby spinach, ripped up basil, ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, salt & cracked black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp italian herb seasoning, ¼ cup grated pecorino romano, and 3 tbsp of marinara sauce (save the remaining marinara in the jar for later). Mix everything together until combined.
Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly over all the pieces of chicken and smooth it out to cover the entire piece. Then sprinkle over the freshly shredded mozzarella and about 1 tbsp grated pecorino romano. Also, sprinkle some cracked black pepper and about 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley over the top.
Place the baking dish in the oven at 400°F and bake for 30 minutes.
Bring a pot of water to boil, salt the water, and boil your pasta of choice until al dente. Heat up the remaining marinara sauce in a small pot and then stir in the al dente noodles.
Once the chicken is done, serve it over the marinara pasta. Enjoy!