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Did you catch the crock pot rotisserie-style chicken I posted about Monday? It was truly a game-changer. I’ll be using that method over and over. With the leftovers, I decided to try something new. I had some puff pastry in the freezer and decided to cobble together a recipe for a chicken and spinach puff. Oh, dolly, did I hit the big time.
I loved all the flavors going on here–the basil, spinach, roasted pepper, gruyere. Sigh. So tasty. We ate them fresh out of the oven, reheated from the microwave, and baked in the oven after having frozen them. They were delicious every time, though the texture was predictably much better when re-heated in the oven. It’s a great meal to make ahead of time, or to eat half and freeze half for later.
I also think they’d make a great appetizer. These were made dinner-sized, but you could certainly make them half this size for appetizers. You’d just need to decrease the baking time a little.
A few notes: You can use 1/3 less fat/Neufchatel cream cheese for this recipe, but you do NOT want to use fat-free cream cheese. Also, you can use either a jarred or freshly roasted red pepper. To make a freshly roasted one, place a red pepper on a baking sheet and place under the broiler until blackened on all sides, rotating every couple of minutes. When blackened, place pepper in a paper or plastic bag to steam about 5 minutes. Peel off charred skin, discard seeds and stem, and slice or dice as desired.
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and rolled out
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1 (10oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
- 1 roasted red pepper, diced
- 4oz cream cheese, softened
- 1c gruyere, grated
- 2-3 Tbsp fresh basil (or 2 tsp dried)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- parmesan cheese (optional, for garnish)
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, red pepepr, cream cheese, gruyere, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss until well combined and cream cheese is completely mixed in.
- Make an egg wash by beating egg with water.
- Roll out puff pastry. Slice each sheet into 4 pieces (for 8 squares total). Divide filling among the 8 squares. For each puff, place filling in the center. Brush the edge of one half with egg wash and fold in half diagonally to form a triangle. Press down the edges with a fork to seal. Brush the top of the puff with egg wash and sprinkle with a bit of fresh parmesan, if using. Make 2-3 small slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking.
- Place puffs on two baking sheets lined with parchment or sprayed with nonstick spray (I recommend using parchment).
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until golden.
- and place in the center. Brush the edge of one half with egg wash. Fold each square in half diagonally to form a triangle. Press down edges with a fork to seal.
Adapted from Shugary Sweets
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
My mouth is watering…
Oh my gosh, I’m so excited to eat these. They look delicious!
Ok Emily, you have such AMAZING recipes, beautiful too. Pretty please with cherries on top, will you come see me for Foodie Friday sometime!?!?! (It’s a blog hop I am co hosting with 3 other bloggers each and every Friday.) Bonus, each recipe gets linked to all 4 sites. I would LOVE it if you could come by and share! Double bonus, your amazing blog gets extra traffic.
No pressure! I still love ya no matter what….HUGS~ T
I am planning on making these for a baby shower. They sound amazing! I’m wondering if you have a cheese suggestion to sub the gruyere? It’s just so expensive and I’m planning on tripling the recipe. Thank you in advance!
Jessica – no worries! You can use 1/3 the amount listed and use fresh parmesan, or you can use the full amount of Swiss or mozzarella.
Emily! I usually don’t leave “after I’ve made this recipe” comments, but these were a HUGE hit! Everyone loved them at the shower and my toddler and husband have been devouring the leftovers cold, right out of the fridge. This is a new staple in our house. Thank you!
I’m making these tomorrow for dinner! How much should I roll out the puff pastry?
Rachael- You can roll it as thin as you like. I just roll it out enough to smooth out the creases, so not much. Just enough to smooth it out. Hope that helps! Best of luck!
I have these in the oven right now. But I’m thinking the temperature in your recipie is wrong – 300 degrees? My puffs have been in the oven for 30 minutes and are still raw looking.
I’ve cranked up the heat to 400 degrees to try to brown them.
Your PDF has the wrong oven temp. It says 300 degrees and the blog says 400 degrees.
Janet – thanks! I’ll fix it
Hi Emily, thank you so much for this great recipe. Making these tomorrow for a date
What do you recommend as a side dish?
Brandon – we serve ours with salad and fruit. Simple, maybe boring, but it has been just about perfect. If you want, you could try some roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash instead of fruit. Good luck on your date!
Can I prep these ahead of time & freeze them? How long do I thaw them out and/or should I bake them longer? Thank you
Sharon – you sure can! I’d bake them first, then freeze them. To re-heat frozen puffs, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 400 degrees 15-18 minutes or till heated through.
Where do you find puff pastry?
Meredith- I’ve always found it in the freezer section.