Traeger Smoked Stuffed Chicken Breast
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Smoked Stuffed Chicken Breast on the Traeger is heavenly – oozing cheese, garlic and mushrooms! I also tested wrapping in bacon and will give you the details on which was tastier!
Why You’ll Love This
A pellet smoker is a great way to cook chicken breast – but folks often worry about it drying out – I’ve got you covered. Between the stuffing and a bacon-wrap – you will NOT have to worry about any dry chicken. Plus – you can change up the stuffing based on what you like!
Stuffed Chicken Breast Ingredients
The fun of this Stuffed Chicken recipe is that you can put your own twist on dinner based on what you have in the fridge and what you like. But here’s what I used:
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts – most of the chicken breasts these days are ginormous! So if you have large ones, each chicken breast can serve two people. If you have smaller, you’ll need four. (sounds dirty right? didn’t mean for it to! haha)
- sliced mushrooms – this is where you can mix it up – spinach would have been great inside too! I have other ideas below in the “Variations” section.
- olive oil – this is to saute your veggies
- softened butter – rubbing the butter and seasonings inside the chicken will keep it moist!
- crushed rosemary – I love rosemary with chicken but you can change it up based on what you like
- minced garlic – always a necessity!
- shredded cojack cheese – again – use what you have – I ALWAYS have cojack in the drawer!
- OPTIONAL: bacon – I mean – bacon always makes things better!
Should I wrap my stuffed chicken in bacon?
I decided to test out this recipe by making one chicken breast wrapped in bacon and the other without the bacon. How did they turn out? Well – both were juicy and the stuffing stayed inside. I will say the bacon-wrapped chicken kept in the moisture a bit more and was my preference. BUT – if you’re not a fan of bacon – it’s definitely not necessary.
How to Make Stuffed Chicken Breast on the Traeger
There are a couple of ways to stuff your chicken breast – because I knew it was going to be on the Traeger for a couple of hours – I wanted to minimize the loss of fillings. So – instead of butterflying the chicken – I decided to slice into the thick end and create a filling pocket!
Here’s the whole process:
- Prepare Traeger and set temperature to 225ºF
- In a skillet, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Once oil is hot, add mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes until caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Using a boning knife, on the thick end of the chicken breast, slice a 1-2” pocket.
- Do not slice open the chicken breast. Using boning knife, create a pocket about 2/3 of the way into the chicken breast. Carefully slice the opening back and forth to make room for fillings.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together softened butter, rosemary, garlic and cheese.
- You can add kosher salt and black pepper if you like but I think it was fine without it.
- Using fingers, spoon butter mixture into chicken pocket and rub around pocket. Then stuff 1/2 mushrooms inside each chicken breast pocket.
- If you hold the chicken breast up and push on the pocket, the filling will go down further into the pocket.
- OPTIONAL: Tightly wrap the outside of the chicken breast in bacon slices. Each chicken breast needs two slices of bacon.
- Place stuffed breasts on grill grates and close lid.
- You can also sprinkle BBQ seasoning on top of the breast if you’d like.
- Smoke at 225ºF for 120 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken is 150-155ºF. Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes and it will come up to 160º internal temperature.
- If you’re looking for a thermometer, the Thermapen is great – but I also have a cheap instant read that works great as well!
Variations
This recipe is really simple to customize to what you prefer and/or what your FAMILY prefers! Who hasn’t had a dinner where everybody wants something different?!
- Jalapeño Popper – fill with a mixture of cream cheese and diced jalapenos
- Boursin & Asparagus – boursin is a delicious soft herby cheese and pairs great with asparagus. Spoon the boursin into the pocket and then slip 2-3 spears in each chicken breast.
- BBQ – Stuff with a mixture of butter, BBQ seasoning, cheddar cheese and diced onions and then baste with barbecue sauce.
- Gouda & Red Pepper – Stuff the chicken with diced gouda cheese and red bell pepper and you’ve got melty with a little crunch!
- Italian – Fill the pocket with shredded mozzarella, basil leaves and diced cherry tomatoes.
Tips, Tricks & FAQs
You can but it’s not necessary. I brined my smoked chicken wings if you need a simple recipe.
Chicken breast will be done in about 2 hours when smoking at 225ºF.
Smoking cooks the meat at a low temperature – so you don’t have to worry much about it drying out – but wrapping in bacon definitely helped.
If you like the smoky flavor – I would NOT wrap in foil. It doesn’t need it.
Remove the chicken from the grill and place on a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes or so.
There are many flavors of pellets that work in your Traeger pellet grill. I keep it simple and always use the Traeger Signature Blend which is a blend of Maple and Cherry. That said if you’re looking for something specific for chicken – the best are Apple, Pecan and Cherry.
What to serve with Stuffed Chicken Breast?
- Smoked Baked Potatoes (they take the same time!!)
- Air Fryer Carrot Fries
- Grilled Herb Roasted Potatoes
- Smoked Baked Beans
More Traeger Chicken Recipes
20 Must-Have Traeger Accessories
I absolutely love my Traeger Pellet Grill and you can pretty much use it right out of the box! But over the years I’ve definitely found that there are some Traeger smoker accessories that make everything a lot easier!
Traeger Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
OPTIONAL:
- 4 slices bacon
Instructions
- Prepare Traeger and set temperature to 225ºF
- In a skillet, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Once oil is hot, add mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes until caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside.4 oz mushrooms, 1 tbsp olive oil
- Using a boning knife, on the thick end of the chicken breast, slice a 1-2” pocket.2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Do not slice open the chicken breast. Using boning knife, create a pocket about 2/3 of the way into the chicken breast. Carefully slice the opening back and forth to make room for fillings.
- In a bowl, mix together softened butter, rosemary, garlic and cheese.2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp rosemary, 2 tsp garlic, 2 oz colby jack cheese
- Using fingers, spoon butter mixture into chicken pocket and rub around pocket. Then stuff 1/2 mushrooms inside each chicken breast pocket.If you hold the chicken breast up and push on the pocket, the filling will go down further into the pocket.
- OPTIONAL: Tightly wrap chicken breast in bacon slices. Each chicken breast needs two slices of bacon.4 slices bacon
- Place chicken breast on grill grates and close lid.
- Smoke at 225ºF for 120 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken is 150-155ºF. Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes and it will come up to 160º internal temperature.
