Basil & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Ooey gooey mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, roasted red peppers and fresh basil. So many delicious flavors are bursting out of this yummy stuffed chicken! It also makes for a beautiful presentation so would be a great party dish, too.
If you’re not a fan of roasted bell peppers, you could substitute tomato slices and make this more of a Caprese-stuffed chicken, too.
Depending on what’s on sale at your grocery store, you could also buy the thin chicken cutlets, and then you wouldn’t have to cut the larger chicken breasts in half. I found that cutting the larger ones in half helped with the cooking time and it’s still a pretty nice-sized portion. My boyfriend and I each ate a whole piece and then shared a second one 🙂
If you cut the chicken into pieces and served over pasta, that’s another great serving idea. I served this with rice and veggies on the side, which was good, too. But there’s a decent amount of tomato sauce to spoon over the finished chicken so you’ll want something hearty (rice, pasta, garlic bread, etc.) to absorb some of the sauce.
What you’ll need: chicken, tomato sauce, oregano, fresh basil leaves, roasted red pepper, shredded mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper (if you’re using) into the tomato sauce and stir until combined. Pour one cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Using a sharp knife, slice each chicken breast in half so you have 6 thin pieces of chicken. Lay the chicken breasts flat on a cutting board. Layer each piece with two basil leaves, two Tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella cheese and one strip of roasted red pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roll the chicken to secure the stuffing, and set with the seam-side down into the baking dish. Top each with the remaining 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining shredded mozzarella (one Tablespoon per chicken breast) over the top and broil on low for about 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts and browns on top. Remove the baking dish from the oven, transfer the chicken breasts to plates, spoon any remaining sauce from the baking dish around the chicken and serve immediately.
Basil & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Adapted from Right At Home
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups plain tomato sauce + 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 teaspoon salt added (and pinch of cayenne if you want a little heat)
- 12 fresh basil leaves, rinsed
- 6 strips of roasted red pepper, patted dry (I used a canned version but you could roast them yourself, too)
- 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (18 Tablespoons)
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Pour one cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and spread into an even layer.
- Using a sharp knife, slice each chicken breast in half so you have 6 thin pieces of chicken.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat on a cutting board.
- Layer each piece with two basil leaves, two Tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella cheese and one strip of roasted red pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roll the chicken to secure the stuffing, and set with the seam-side down into the baking dish.
- Top each with the remaining 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining shredded mozzarella (one Tablespoon per chicken breast) over the top and broil on low for about 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts and browns on top.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, transfer the chicken breasts to plates, spoon any remaining sauce from the baking dish on top of and around the chicken and serve immediately.
Reblogged this on Gorgeously Gluten Free and commented:
Have to make these soon!
Thanks for the reblog! Let me know how it turns out!!
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