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I really love the ease of cooking a whole chicken. Sometimes I cook it in the slow-cooker, and other times I make a rotisserie-style chicken. And I always use the bones to make really good broth for soups. But on days when I have a little more time, I like to use chicken breasts to make something different.
I had some odds and ends in my fridge recently and thought of chicken cordon bleu. I didn’t want to bother with breading, though, and I did want to use up some asparagus, so this was the result. We all really liked it, and I hope you do too!
Contents
Different Ways to Stuff a Chicken Breast
There are two main ways to stuff a chicken breast—the pocket method or the roll-up method:
Pocket Method
For this method, you cut a pocket into the side of a chicken breast with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut through to the other side. Then you stuff the pocket with whatever ingredients you’d like to use. This method is faster to make than the roll-up method but cooks longer. The chicken is thicker, so it takes longer to cook through, and there seems to be a lower stuffing-to-chicken ratio in each bite.
Roll-Up Method
For this method, you slice each chicken breast in half horizontally and then pound each piece with a meat mallet until it’s ¼ inch thick. Then you spread your stuffing over each piece and roll it up. This method is a little more labor-intensive but cooks faster and is really tasty and juicy. My kids love to help with the pounding part of this, which lets me focus on other parts of the meal.
My Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
I use the roll-up method for this recipe, but if you’d rather opt for the pocket method, make sure you adjust your cooking time accordingly. Lower the oven temp to 350°F, and cook it for about 40 minutes. If you have a cooking thermometer, it’s a really useful tool for gauging meat doneness. Cook chicken to 165°F.
I chose the stuffing ingredients for this recipe based on what I had in my fridge. I had some sliced ham and cheese and a bunch of asparagus that needed to be used. For the cheese, I used a mixture of Swiss and fontina.
You can really stuff the roll-ups with whatever combination of ingredients sounds good to you. Here are a few ideas:
- Make it a Mexican-themed roll-up with a stuffing of sauteed bell peppers and onions, pepper jack cheese, and a sprinkling of taco seasoning on the chicken.
- Add some Italian flair with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.
- Go Greek with kalamata olives and artichoke hearts.
However you choose to stuff it, I hope you enjoy it!
Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
Simple baked chicken breast pounded thin, seasoned, and rolled up with ham, cheese, and asparagus spears.
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Grease a large baking dish and set it aside.
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Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, creating two thinner chicken breast pieces.
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Use a meat mallet to pound each chicken breast half into ¼-inch thickness.
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Place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese onto each chicken breast.
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Place three spears of asparagus onto the short end of each chicken breast.
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Roll each chicken breast up starting at the end with the asparagus.
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Sprinkle the rolled-up chicken breasts with garlic powder, basil, salt, and pepper.
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Place the chicken roll-ups in the prepared baking dish.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to 165°F.
Notes
- Sauteed spinach and mushrooms
- Sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella
- Sauteed bell pepper and onion and seasoned with taco seasoning
Nutrition
Serving: 1stuffed breast + 1 cup cauliflowerCalories: 624kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 74gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 238mgSodium: 1857mgPotassium: 1082mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 678IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 428mgIron: 2mg
What is your favorite way to prepare chicken? Tell me below!
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