Grilled Chicken Pita Sandwiches with Cheese, Spinach, and Artichoke
These Spinach Artichoke Grilled Chicken Stuffed Pitas are an ooey-gooey-delicious family dinner! If you love spinach artichoke dip, this stuffed pita will blow your mind. Onions and garlic, chopped artichoke hearts, and baby spinach cooked down with broth. Then shredded cheddar cheese is melted in and chicken mixed in for the perfect pita filling. Then the pitas are seared in a pan with butter for a crispy, crunchy, and buttery outside. As you bite through the crunchy outside, the creamy and cheesy insides ooze out for messy YUM!
Servings 4 servings
Calories 602kcal
Ingredients
Chicken
- 12 ounces Chicken Breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Filling
- ½ cup Onion, diced (yellow or white onion)
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 14 ounces Artichoke Hearts packed in water
- 5 ounces Baby Spinach Leaves
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- ½ cup Milk (I used 1%)
- 8 ounces Shredded White Sharp Cheddar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Other
- 4 Pitas, 6-inch round
- 2 Tablespoons Butter (I used salted)
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- ROAST CHICKEN. Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. Put the chicken breast on a baking sheet and rub with a drizzle of Olive Oil and dash of salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers.
- MAKE SLURRY. Mix the cornstarch into cold milk until completely dissolved. Set aside.
- PREP VEGGIES. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Chop the artichoke hearts.
Cooking and Assembly Steps
- MAKE THE FILLING. To a preheated large skillet on Medium-Low, add the olive oil and then the onions. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring so they don't burn. Add the garlic, artichoke hearts, and baby spinach. Cook while stirring gently for 3-4 minutes to wilt the spinach leaves. Stir in the broth, milk & cornstarch slurry, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer stirring until it gets thick. Remove from the heat.
- ADD CHEESE AND CHICKEN. While off the heat, stir in the shredded cheese until fully combined. Then mix in the shredded chicken. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
- FILL PITAS. Using scissors or a knife, cut off or slice through one side of the pita to create a hole large enough to fill the entire pita. Gently divide the filling in the pan into 4 sections to ensure each pita is filled evenly. Then using a spoon, fill the 4 pitas with the filling. Butter the outside of both sides of each pita.
- SEAR OR GRILL PITAS. Preheat a clean frying pan or grill on medium-high heat. Add the buttered pita to the pan and let sear. Cover if needed to melt the filling inside. Gently flip the pita to grill the other side. Do this for all filled pitas. Cut in half and serve!
Video
Notes
- To save time on the chicken, you can of course use leftovers. You can also usually find already grilled chicken at the deli counter. Or you can buy a rotisserie chicken!
- For the artichoke hearts, I used canned hearts in water. You can also use frozen, but thaw them out in the fridge the night before you use them.
- For the milk, I used 1%, but you can use any milk that you prefer.
- You can replace the cheddar cheese with manchego, jack, gruyere, gouda, or mozzarella. All will work well.
