Description
A delightful baked chicken breast recipe stuffed with a creamy goat cheese and sun dried tomato filling, topped with a crunchy and flavorful panko breading. Perfect for an impressive yet simple dinner that combines creamy texture with savory and aromatic flavors.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh, not frozen
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Non-stick spray, for baking sheet
Goat Cheese Filling
- 5 ounce goat cheese log, softened by pulling out of the fridge 20 minutes early
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and chopped
- 1 plump garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper, to taste
Crunchy Topping
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray it with non-stick spray to prevent sticking.
- Prepare the chicken: Pound the chicken breasts to about ¼ inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. You can butterfly the chicken open before pounding to achieve an even thinness. Set aside.
- Make goat cheese filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the goat cheese, mayonnaise, chopped sun dried tomatoes, minced garlic, dried basil, kosher salt, and black pepper until well combined with no clumps remaining.
- Assemble chicken rolls: Spread a few spoonfuls of the goat cheese mixture evenly over each flattened chicken breast, covering about ¾ of the surface. Roll each chicken breast over the filling like a burrito, keeping all filling inside the roll. Place each roll seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the outside and season with kosher salt and pepper.
- Bake chicken initially: Place the chicken rolls in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Prepare crunchy topping: While the chicken bakes, combine panko bread crumbs, mayonnaise, dried basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Stir well to coat the panko evenly with mayo.
- Add topping and finish baking: Remove the chicken from the oven after 15 minutes and generously pile the panko bread crumb mixture on top of each chicken roll. Return the chicken to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crispy and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Rest and serve: Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving to let juices redistribute. Don’t forget to scrape up any crispy cheese and breadcrumb bits that spill out during baking – they make fantastic bites!
Notes
- Scrape up all the bread crumbs and filling that spill out during cooking, as the crispy, gooey bits are delicious.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer to ensure it is fully cooked to 165°F.
- Butterflying the chicken before pounding helps achieve even thickness for better rolling and cooking.
- If goat cheese is too hard, soften it for 20 minutes at room temperature to make mixing easier.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
