Garlic-marinated chicken is wrapped in flaky puff pastry together with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, spinach, and feta cheese. Delicious! I chose to make my own straightforward meal because I cook a lot and frequently look for various ideas. It was a success!
| Prep Time: | 4 hrs 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 50 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons crushed garlic
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- ⅓ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ¼ cup crumbled herbed feta cheese
- 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed, cut in half
Instructions
- In a small bowl, use a fork to combine crushed garlic and egg yolk. Place chicken breasts in a shallow glass dish and spread both sides with egg mixture. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (recommended).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
- Place one half of the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured board. Place 1/2 cup spinach in the center of the pastry sheet. Remove one chicken breast from marinade, shaking off any excess, and place on top of spinach. Spread 1 tablespoon pesto over chicken, layer with half the sun-dried tomatoes, sprinkle with half the feta cheese, and top with 1/2 cup spinach. Fold pastry sheet around chicken, using fingers or fork to seal pastry seam. Place chicken seam side down on baking sheet. Repeat steps with the second half of the puff pastry sheet and remaining chicken breast.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by cutting through center of chicken breast; if juices run clear, chicken is cooked.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 515 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 101 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 524 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 33 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have made this many times over the years. This recipe was on the site way before 2019. So not sure why it shows that date. It is one of my husband’s favorite meals. I use thin sliced chicken breasts. One of these days, I’ll have to actually marinate them but I usually never have time. I don’t know how people could consider this bland. Maybe it’s because they use the thicker chicken breast? The thin ones are just the right ratio of meat to filling and very flavorful!
Very good. Will definitely make again. I used 2 chicky breasts. I think I should have pounded flat & cut to size 4 pc, Just to help decrease handling with eggy fingers at assembly time. I used fresh basil. Got by with one pc of puff pastry for 4 servings. Rolled it out & made 4 squares. I sealed these up triangle tip to tip like a pot sticker. Had a couple gaps where seal popped open, but no disasters. The hardest part is trying to get everything tucked & sealed. I made the mistake of overcooking because I couldn’t see the chicken. One other thing was Greek seasoning added to chicky before assembly.
Dish is Yummo but Directions not too clear. The directions stated to cut the pastry sheet in half-then later says to fold it over the chicken. Which you can’t fold if cut the sheet in half. It should say use one sheet of pastry. Used ricotta instead of feta, just like ricotta better.
Takes a bit of time but is actually very straight forward. Only changes I made were to use my own puff pastry (Gordon Ramsay’s recipe) and to fold the pastry differently with seam well-crimped on the top and ends. Don’t forget an egg wash to get that nice golden colour. Also used half-breasts to make a smaller portion. Served it with a greek salad. Makes an impressive looking dish and tastes great!
Made precisely as the recipe suggested.
I’ve made this several times .It is easy and very good
Made this for Valentines Day dinner. I was supposed to be something special because we usually don’t eat anything with puff pastry. However, after following the recipe to the letter, it was very bland to my taste. I noted that the recipe doesn’t call for any herbs or spices as is so common in Mediterranean dishes. I believe that it needed more. I probably won’t make this again.
Very good but next time I will cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise. The whole breast was a bit too large.
EXCELLENT!!! We absolutely love this recipe !!! I pounded out the chicken a bit but PERFECT!!!!!
This recipe just didn’t do it for me. I followed directions exactly. End product was oily, and didn’t puff as I expected. I did use “puff pastry ” sheets. I have frozen uncooked bundles in the freezer. Will let you know if these happen to turn out better.
This is a keeper, and on my rotation. Love it exactly as written.
I really liked this recipe. I will make it again no arguments. The chicken was juicy and done. Now, I think it is a bit too big in terms of portions. One breast per person is a little too much in my opinion if the breasts “halves” are big. I cut each crosswise in half so I ended with 4 pieces. I added salt and pepper to the egg yolk marinade too. In my opinion it needs it. Also, I tried several ways of folding/shaping the puff pastry: square, pyramidal, rectangular, semi-circular. My recommendation would be to dab the edges with a bit of water to seal them however shape you decide to make. Also, add 1 Tbsp of water to the egg white to make a wash and brush it on top of the pockets to get a nice golden crust. Sprinkle poppy seeds or sesame seeds (white or black) and you will have a nice meal that is guaranteed to impress. Tasty!
I LOVED this, and more importantly my family loved it. I used a recipe for cilantro pesto that included pistachios off the bonappetit website, if anyone is interested in trying that, I highly recommend. The earthy taste of the pistachios just matched so well with this dish. So… the chicken breasts that I purchased were way too big for just 1 sheet of puff pastry, that’s my own fault. I ended up using the puff pastry as a blanket instead of a pocket but the chicken was still moist and the cook time of the recipe still worked as well. I would encourage an egg wash on the puff pastry. 5 star recipe, will be using again!
My family LOVES this recipe! I sous vide the chicken breasts ahead of time then wrap them with all the goodies in it and bake it until the pastry is brown. I use one breast per half a sheet of puff pastry. You don’t even have to seal it. Brush the pastry with olive oil to make it nice a brown.
I have made this recipe several times now and my favorite way to make it for 4 people is: cut both the puff pastry sheets into 4 pieces, and roll out into approx. 8×8 squares. (I separate them with wax paper and put in the fridge in a plastic ziplock.) Then I cube three or four large chicken breasts, marinate for about an hour in garlic and olive oil, then I saute the chicken in a skillet with some balsamic vinegar until mostly cooked, turn down the heat, add tomato basil pesto and the fresh spinach and let the spinach wilt. Once the spinach is wilted, I bring out the pastry squares and fill each one with the chicken mixture and then sprinkle with feta cheese and fold over and seal (like an apple turnover), and bake until the pastry is golden brown. I find the smaller portions much easier to eat and uneaten ones can be easily reheated for lunch. Also, I know the chicken will be fully cooked.
My family loved this dish. So easy and so impressive
This was an awesome quick and easy recipe. I rolled out the puff pastry so it was pretty thin and that way only had to use one sheet to cover both of the chicken breasts. I used 2 very thin chicken breasts that I marinated in a plastic bag overnight instead of a glass dish. Served this to a friend and lunch and it was a huge hit.
Great dinner! Followed to the letter and enjoyed it a lot! It seems this would lend itself to a number of different options as well.
My husband loved it but I found it surprisingly bland as I enjoy more savory foods. Next time I will probably use a different type of cheese and add salt & pepper to the marinade.
So amazing! The taste is just perfect, and although the puff pastry can sometimes be a little difficult to work with, it was an easy meal to make that turned out delicious. The whole family finished it quickly and would have happily had more. I forgot to buy the sun-dried tomatoes, so I just chopped up a tomato into it, that worked quite well for us too.
I made this last night for dinner, and it was awesome! One of the best dishes I’ve ever made. The chicken was extremely moist and tender, and the flavor was magnificent. This makes enough for four easily. Serve with mixed vegetable, AWSOME!