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This chorizo apple cornbread stuffed chicken is the perfect fall meal. It packs lots of flavor into a meaty, seasoned chicken breast.
When it comes to fall cooking, I’m down for anything as long as it’s cozy and warm. Looking to make Chili Cornbread Casserole? Yeah, I’ll take a big bowl topped with extra cheese and maybe some cilantro.
Want to go old school with a Classic Roast Chicken? Absolutely. I’ll bring the Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Honey Roasted Carrots. You get it – I love all things comfort!
That’s why this cornbread stuffed chicken is right up my alley! It combines the classic comforts of cornbread and simple roast chicken and adds big-time flavor with chorizo, sweet fall apples, and tangy goat cheese.
My Pro Tips
Cornbread Stuffed Chicken Recipe Tips
Use uniformly sized chicken breasts so they all cook equally simultaneously. This will ensure no over or undercooked chicken.
Dried cornbread stuffing is available near the stuffing and bread crumbs aisle. It’s most common around American Thanksgiving, but you can also use the bag from the Stovetop box.
Are you not a fan of chorizo? You can substitute spicy or sweet Italian sausage or sage roll sausage. Anything you use will add flavor and texture.
No fresh spices on hand? Dried thyme will work just as well. You’ll want to use about 1/2 teaspoon in place of 1 teaspoon fresh.
Ingredients needed
- Chicken breast, boneless and skinless
- Spices
- Olive oil
- Chorizo
- Apple
- Yellow onion
- Kale
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Dried cornbread stuffing
- Chicken stock
- Goat cheese
How to stuff chicken breasts
Stuffing chicken breasts doesn’t have to be complicated. If you have a favorite filling, it can very likely be stuffed into a large, boneless, skinless chicken breast.
I like to start by seasoning my chicken breast and giving it a nice sear on both sides in a skillet. This will help give the outside of the chicken some lovely color. You don’t need to cook the chicken thoroughly in this step, as we are doing this more for color, and the chicken will be thoroughly baked in the oven in the upcoming steps.
After you have browned your chicken, you can make your stuffing! I’m using chorizo, apple, onion, kale, and some other fall-flavored spices for this recipe. After your meat and vegetables are cooked, add your dried cornbread stuffing and chicken stock.
Cut a slit into your chicken breast so you create a pocket big enough to stuff in your stuffing!
Add in some goat cheese, stuffing, and a little more goat cheese to the top.
Bake in the oven until fully cooked and the chicken registers at 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
More chicken recipes
Cornbread Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces raw chorizo sausages, removed from casing
- 1 cup small diced apple
- 1/2 cup small diced yellow onion
- 1 cup minced fresh kale, packed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 cup dried cornbread stuffing
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Instructions
- Season each chicken breast with equal amounts of kosher salt and black pepper.
- In a large skillet set over medium high heat add olive oil. Add the chicken and lightly brown on each side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let cool.
- To the same skillet add chorizo and break it up so there are small pieces of sausage. Let brown for 10 minutes.
- Add in the diced apples and onions and continue cooking until the apples start to soften and the onions are translucent.
- Add in kale, garlic, and fresh thyme, and cook until it's wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Add in dried cornbread stuffing mix and chicken stock. Stir together and remove from the heat.
- Let the mixture sit as you prepare the chicken. This should give the mixture plenty of time to moisten. If you notice the stuffing mixture is still really dry simply add in a little more chicken stock.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut a slit into the chicken lengthwise making sure to not cut all the way through. You want the chicken to open like a slit as you're creating a little pocket for the stuffing to be stuffed into the chicken breast. Try to make the cut as even as possible so each side of the chicken is the same thickness.
- Stuff 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese into the chicken breast and fill each breast with equal amounts of stuffing. It's ok to really get the chicken stuffed full.
- You can use toothpicks to secure the top so the chicken stays tight and the stuffing doesn't fall out. Don't worry, it won't close completely. If you have leftover stuffing it's great as a leftover side dish!
- Add the chicken to a 9×13 casserole dish (stuffing side up) and roast for 25-35 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees F. The exact time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts.
- Once full cooked pull the chicken out of the oven and serve with 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve had this wine in my rack many times. Fun to see it in your recipe – looks delicious!
Haha! I had to laugh out loud at “wear your eating pants”. Hilarious!! A Halloween dinner party sounds fab, just like this chorizo apple cornbread stuffed chicken breast. I love the addition of crumbled goat cheese!!
This looks like the perfect fall dinner. Ha! I totally get you on Halloween. I’m just starting to pretend to like it because I have a toddler who wants to dress up as all the things.
Kale? Goat Cheese? Cornbread? A gorgeously warm cozy fall dish!