My cousin Kari served us this amazing pesto stuffed chicken when she invited us over to their house for dinner years ago, and it was the first time I’d ever heard of pesto! I was impressed and thought she was so fancy. Now Kari cooks in her own lovely little kitchen in Scotland!
The chicken is stuffed with pesto and cheese, and then breaded and baked. You can serve it over pasta tossed with a little bit of extra pesto, or you can serve it over baby greens tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar to lighten it up a bit. To finish it off, a sun-dried tomato cream is drizzled over the top. Impressive, but very doable.
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Pesto Stuffed Chicken With Sun-Dried Tomato Cream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tender, breaded pesto stuffed chicken breast, with basil pesto and swiss cheese, topped with a sun-dried tomato cream.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 oz sized portions)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 5 tablespoons basil pesto
- 3 slices of swiss cheese
- 1/2 cup panko
- 1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatos, chopped
Instructions
- Place chicken in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Pour buttermilk over the chicken and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. This makes the chicken tender and moist, without adding flavor.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Take the marinating chicken out of the refrigerator, and place one chicken breast into another ziplock bag. Cover the bag with a kitchen towel and pound the chicken to about 1/2 inch thick. Trim off any fat or uneven edges. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breasts.
- Spread about a tablespoon of pesto on each chicken breast and top with half a slice of cheese.
- Roll chicken up, and secure with toothpicks. Close both ends with toothpicks as well, so that the filling won’t seep out as it bakes (but don’t worry if it does anyway).
- In a small bowl, mix the panko and the breadcrumbs together. Coat each chicken roll in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs to the chicken to adhere if necessary.
- Place the breaded chicken on a greased or silpat lined baking sheet, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until juices run clear. If your chicken breast portions are larger than 4 ounces each, they will take longer to bake.
- While the chicken is baking, start on the sun-dried tomato cream. In a small saucepan, whisk together cream cheese, chicken broth, cream and sun-dried tomatoes over medium heat.
- Bring to a gentle boil, and then turn heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Remove chicken from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice chicken into 1 inch pieces and serve over pasta or greens. Drizzle sun-dried tomato cream over the chicken.
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