Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls
Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls with mozzarella and a delicious nut-free pesto. This recipe for chicken breasts is one you just have to try!
Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls
For another great stuffed chicken recipe, try this Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken. For an international flair, this Tuscan Stuffed Chicken is truly amazing.
Yet if an incredible chicken recipe is what you’re after, you simply can’t beat this Baked Hawaiian Chicken. We love it!
Right now we are seeing a tremendous jump in beef prices, and while that’s not stopping me from buying it altogether, it’s slowing down the consumption for sure. So, when I spotted a great sale on chicken breasts, I went to town.
Then as a result, I quickly got bored with my usual chicken recipes, even though I have plenty of them. In fact, there’s a great number of chicken recipes on this blog alone, so you can imagine how many I have waiting to be featured.
One day the kids were begging me to make bacon wrapped chicken, or one of my stuffed chicken recipes – yet I wanted to try something new – but not so different that the kids would go running from the kitchen.
This Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls recipe was just the meal we needed. It helps that there’s mozzarella inside, because my kids will try anything if you say there’s cheese inside.
While the instructions for these Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls seem lengthy at a glance, they are just detailed, so don’t be discouraged.
If you have pesto left over when they are made, drizzle some over the top of the chicken, it’s a nice and tasty touch. Also, this pesto is also nut free so if you would like to add nuts, add about ¼ cup pine nuts during the processing of the basil mixture.
Enjoy!
What’s your go-to chicken breast recipe right now?
Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls
Pesto Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls with mozzarella and a delicious nut-free pesto. This recipe for chicken breasts is one you just have to try!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast {about 1 ½ pounds}
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 + tbsp oil
- 1 small ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly into at least 8 pieces
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried basil leaves
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- toothpicks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet by placing a wire cooling rack on top {the metal kind you cool cookies on}, and spray the wire rack heavily with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add basil leaves, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and garlic; pulse for about 30 seconds. Begin processing continuously and slowly stream olive oil into bowl while processing {from opening at the top}. Once you used all the olive oil, process for 15 seconds, scrape down sides, and process for a few more seconds. If the pesto seems too thick, add additional olive oil in very small amounts at a time. Once smooth, scrape into bowl and set aside.
- After trimming your chicken breasts, place one at a time, under a sheet of plastic wrap/saran wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound your chicken out until it’s very thin, about ¼ inch thick, careful not to break through the chicken; set pounded chicken aside and repeat for all breasts.
- Crack egg into a shallow dish and beat well; set aside. Combine panko, whole wheat bread crumbs, dried basil, salt, pepper, and onion powder in a shallow bowl; set aside.
- Laying your pounded chicken breast out, spread about 1-2 TBS of pesto to cover the chicken (use your judgement on how much, just spread it entirely over one side of the breast), then add 2 slices of the fresh mozzarella into the center of the chicken. Roll chicken from one side to the other, holding tightly as you roll. Use a few toothpicks to hold the chicken roll closed. Dip the chicken roll into the egg, using a brush if necessary to coat well with egg. Dip chicken into breadcrumb mixture, being sure to cover the chicken with breadcrumbs (use hands or spoon or whatever needed to spread around). Place chicken roll onto the wire rack on top of the baking sheet. Repeat with all chicken.
- Place into oven and cook for 30 minutes. Check doneness, and cook for up to 10 more minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes, slice using a sharp non serrated knife. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you have pesto left over, I like to drizzle some over the top of the chicken - yum!
This pesto is also nut free - if you would like to add nuts, add about ¼ cup pine nuts during the processing of the basil mixture.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 235Saturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 386mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 29g
Well it sure looks delicious thats for sure,will bkok mark this for later,thanks
These look sooo good! I love the idea of using Panko. I think it coats better than regular bread crumbs:)
Okay this sounds really good. My mom used to make similar things when I was a kid and I loved them. I want to try this recipe.
Yum this looks delicious thank you
That is different from the recipe I use. Sounds much better. I must give this a try.
This sounds so yummy! Def something we wouldnt normally make, so will def have to try it!
I love that these are breaded, yum! My chicken recipes are getting a bit over-used so I’ll have to give this a try.
This looks so yummy!! I love pesto will have to try 🙂
What a delicious looking recipe. Definitely have to put some of those ingredients on my shopping list so I can make it this week.
This stuffed chicken recipe looks decadent and made my mouth water, thanks for sharing it!
I’m disappointed that we had chicken tonight for dinner. I might just have to have it two nights in a row to try this recipe, it looks delicious, Thank you
I’ve never done chicken like this before…..must try, it looks so tasty!
I have tried a slightly different recipe for this , it was delish ! , I think Ill bookmark this recipe and give it a try too .
These look absolutely yummy, I will have to give them a go sometime!
these look like a tasty idea for an appetizer too.
I love chicken but find that I use the same recipes over and over again – this recipe sounds and looks delicious! Thanks for the idea!
Sounds really yummy, will have to try this the next time I stock up on Chicken. Haven’t seen any good sales on it for several weeks now.
These look delicious – definitely going to try them!
Thank you for sharing! I’ve been stuck in a rut when it comes to dinner. I think my family would like this. I’ve added the ingredients to my shopping list!
These look really good, I love my chicken and like to try different recipes!!
Oh these look delish , a must try thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
oh i love pesto with chicken
I was just browsing around for a recipe to make for our friends visiting tomorrow night… this is the one!
This looks so good, and something different to make for supper!
These look so good. I love Pesto everything. If I have Boneless chicken I usually make schnitzel.
Your recipe for these stuffed chicken rolls sounds really delicious, thanks!
Gahhh You always have the most incredible recipes! I don’t think there is one recipe I have not loved from your pinterest page & Blog.
these look so good! will have to do up a batch!
this looks amazing! i will have to try this soon!
After reading a lot of the reviews, I really didn’t see anyone who really tried the recipe. Well, did last night. Thought it was very tasty, I adore pesto and chicken and am getting my husband to like it as well. It wasn’t dry, the panko( if I’m spelling it correctly) is a nice touch. I used a pre-packaged pesto ( not a cheap brand) and added some dry ingredients to the crumbs. And since I had some leftover pesto I made a ramen noodle pesto with fresh parmesan cheese on top.
Took a sample to work today and gave it to one of our cooks. She loved it. A bit of a laugh 😂 I warned my husband about the tooth picks and he claimed that he swallowed one!
I’ve also tried the bacon 🥓 wrapped chicken, fabulous!
Love this, thank you for taking the time to comment. 🙂