Cheesy Topped Chicken

Name: Cheesy Topped Chicken | Slimming & Weight Watchers Friendly
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 medium chicken breasts (approx 160g per breast); 75 g low fat spreadable cheese; 30 g parmesan cheese (finely grated); 30 g wholemeal breadcrumbs; 2 tsp chopped chives

10MINS
20MINS
324KCAL

Tender chicken and creamy cheese topped with crispy breadcrumbs create a slimming friendly crowd-pleaser that everyone will love!

Also in these categories:

Easy Peasy

Gluten Free Use GF breadcrumbs

NutritionPer Serving

Calories324
Carbs7.1g
Protein49g
Fat11g
Sugars1.8g
Saturates6.2g

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!

Can a super simple tender chicken breast topped with crispy breadcrumbs get much better? Well, yes, if you stuff it with a tangy and creamy cheese sauce of course!

From fridge to table in only 30 minutes, this dish is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

Being able to butterfly a chicken breast is such a handy skill to have, and with practice you’ll be able to experiment with so many ‘stuffings’ to really elevate a standard chicken dish to a whole new level.

Creamy cheese and breadcrumbs remind us of comforting childhood dinners, and we’re certain this recipe will become a family favourite in no time!

What diets is this Cheesy Topped Chicken suitable for?

This Cheesy Topped Chicken recipe can be made gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions;

Breadcrumbs

Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

How Weight Watchers friendly is this Cheesy Topped Chicken recipe?

You need to count 7 Points per portion of this Cheesy Topped Chicken recipe if you’re on WW Green.
You need to count 5 Points per portion of this Cheesy Topped Chicken recipe if you’re on WW Blue.
You need to count 5 Points per portion of this Cheesy Topped Chicken recipe if you’re on WW Purple.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Cheesy Topped Chicken?

Nope! Parmesan is found with the other cheeses and has quite a strong flavour, so you don’t need much! We use as fine grater as it makes the cheese go SO much further. You can use the grater for fruit peel, cheese and even chocolate, so it’s a worthwhile investment!

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A sharp knife, like this one from Amazon, makes light work of slicing the chicken.

A fine grater like this is so handy for cheese, chocolate, fruit zest and so much more!

How many calories are in this Cheesy Topped Chicken?

There are 326 calories per portion in this Cheesy Topped Chicken which means it falls into our Everyday Light category.

This Cheesy Topped Chicken is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and spray a baking sheet with low calorie cooking spray.

Step 2

In a small bowl mix together the soft cheese and parmesan. Add the chives, reserving a few for sprinkling later.

Step 3

Using a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breast. To do this, lay the chicken breast flat on a chopping board. Place your hand on top and carefully slice horizontally through the chicken, from the thickest side. Stop cutting about 1.5cm from the edge and unfold.

Step 4

Place the chicken cut side up, on the prepared baking sheet and spread the cheese mix over.

Step 5

Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and press lightly down onto the chicken.

Step 6

Spray each chicken breast with low calorie cooking spray and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. The chicken is cooked when there is no pink remaining.

Step 7

Serve, sprinkled with the remaining chives and with your choice of accompaniment.

What could I serve with this Cheesy Topped Chicken?

You could serve with homemade chips, or even alongside a big fresh salad to keep the calories even lower:

Easy Peasy

35MINS
96KCal

Homemade Oven Chips

Easy Peasy

10MINS
94KCal

Greek Salad

Easy Peasy

50MINS
294KCal

Loaded Potato Skins

Easy Peasy

50MINS
215KCal

Sweet Potato Fries

How do you know when Cheesy Topped Chicken is cooked?

You should cook this Cheesy Topped Chicken until the chicken is cooked all the way through with no pink bits remaining, and thee breadcrumbs are golden brown. This will take around 20 minutes.

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.

How long can you keep Cheesy Topped Chicken in the fridge?

This dish is best served fresh, to keep the breadcrumb topping crispy!

Can I freeze Cheesy Topped Chicken?

To avoid soggy breadcrumbs and split cheese, we don’t recommend freezing this recipe. You could make up the filling in advance to cut down the prep time if you’d like!

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