Description
New level Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Oven Roasted Tomatoes. Tender chicken breasts are stuffed with goat cheese, baby spinach (or basil) and baked to perfection. It’s an easy meal with just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3–4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs), split and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
- 1 4 oz. log goat cheese, crumbled (Humble Goat Honey Chevre is wonderful, use any flavor you like, but maybe not chocolate :))
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach*
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1–pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (affiliate link)*
- Fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Place oven rack in upper-middle of the oven.
- Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. Split the breasts horizontally and using a meat mallet, pound to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle a good pinch of salt and pepper (about 10 turns of the mill) over each breast.
- Schmear about 1/4 of the goat cheese over each chicken breast. Lay 1/4 of the baby spinach over each breast.
- Carefully roll the breast, pressing stuffing ingredients inward as you roll. End the roll with the seam-side down. Cut two strands of kitchen twine for each roll of chicken. Tie the breasts with the strands of twine. Use a butcher’s knot, see the video. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken and drizzle with olive oil.
- In a 12″ oven-proof skillet, add olive oil and place the chicken seam side up and brown for about 3 minutes. Turn so the seam side is now on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the tomatoes and garlic around the chicken. Place the skillet in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160°*.
- Let the chicken breasts rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- To serve, remove the string, slice the rested chicken breasts into rounds, and serve with roasted tomatoes.
Optional sides:
- Orzo pasta sprinkled with lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Potatoes roasted in duck fat (my latest game-changer of an ingredient!)
TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm the chicken in a covered baking dish in the oven at 350° for about 10 minutes.
MAKE AHEAD: Assemble and roll the chicken up to a day ahead of time. Store in the fridge on the bottom shelf
Notes
*fresh basil would be nice too
*I highly recommend investing in an instant digital thermometer to temp the chicken. Then you won’t have to cut into the chicken with a knife and lose all those yummy juices.
*leftovers are so tasty on a green salad. No boring lunches here!
*add the salt and pepper to a small bowl, so you can use your fingers to grab, and not contaminate your main supply with raw chicken
*when working with raw chicken, I always keep a bowl of soapy water in the sink to clean off my hands.