Recipe for Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese

If you have any fresh basil left, make pesto and then make this Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese!

(Updated with photos and a better recipe, October 2011.)  For several weeks now I've been keeping an eye on the basil plants in my garden, hoping to get one more batch of pesto in the freezer before the plants started to freeze.  For the last few days the leaves were starting to look a little brown on the edges, so today I trimmed the plants vigorously and made a big batch of pesto.  Then I made this Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese and finally took some photos of this dish!

I'm always wanting to adapt recipes every time I make them, and when I looked at the old version of this I knew I wanted to change it.  The newer version is for only two chicken breasts, and it's lighter and a bit simpler to make than the old recipe that I first posted in 2005.  I greatly prefer the updated version, but I will leave the printer-friendly link for the old recipe in case anyone wants to compare or has the recipe bookmarked.  And if you still have some basil growing where you live, please make pesto and make this delicious chicken dish as soon as possible!

Use very large chicken breasts for this and then pound the heck out of them until they're as thin as you can possibly get them!

Mix together pesto, sour cream, and grated mozzarella to make the stuffing.  (If you use commercial pesto, it will probably be darker green than my homemade Basil Pesto with Lemon because I like it creamy.)

Spread a thin layer of the stuffing mixture over each chicken breast, stopping about 1/2 inch away from the edge.

Then roll up the chicken breasts and use toothpicks to keep them together.  (Don't worry if they look a bit messy like my one in the back!)

Prepare two bowls, one with beaten eggs and the other with a mixture of parmesan and almond flour.  (I used two eggs, but I think you could get by with one.)

Dip the chicken breasts first in the egg and then in the parmesan-almond flour mixture, patting it on so the chicken breasts are well coated.  Place them in a sprayed casserole dish.

Bake at 375F/190C until the chicken is firm to the touch and slightly browned.  I started checking at 30 minutes when they looked like this.

And I ended up leaving them in for 5 more minutes until they looked like this.  Be careful not to overcook though, or the chicken will dry out.  Serve hot.

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese
(Makes two servings, but recipe can easily be doubled or tripled; recipe created by Kalyn in 2005 and adapted again in 2011.)

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T Basil Pesto with Lemon or your favorite commercial pesto
2 T low-fat sour cream
2 T grated mozzarella cheese
(I used heaping tablespoons of pesto, sour cream and cheese)
2 eggs, beaten (or if they're large eggs one will probably be enough)
3 T finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 T almond flour (or almond meal, but almond flour is better for this because it's more finely ground)
black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.  Spray a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Trim any visible fat from chicken breasts, then put them one at a time inside a heavy plastic bag and pound with meat mallet until the chicken is as thin as you can get it.  Don't worry too much about the shape or whether there are some loose pieces, you can tuck them in when you roll up the chicken.

In a small bowl mix together the basil pesto, sour cream, and grated mozzarella.  Use a rubber scraper to spread a thin layer of this mixture over each chicken breast, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge of the chicken (so it doesn't run out so much as it cooks.)   Roll up the chicken breasts and secure them with a couple of toothpicks.  (I roll them so the finished piece is as thin as I can get it so they will cook quickly.)

Prepare two bowls, one with the beaten egg and the other with the grated Parmesan-almond flour mixture, seasoned with black pepper to taste.  Dip each chicken breast roll first into the egg mixture and then into the Parmesan-almond flour mixture, patting it on so the chicken breast roll is well-coated with the mixture. 

Put chicken breasts into the casserole dish and bake until the chicken is firm and lightly browned.  (Start checking after about 25-30 minutes; total baking time will be 30-35 minutes.)  Serve hot.

Printer Friendly Recipe (updated recipe from 2011)

Printer Friendly Recipe (original recipe from 2005)

South Beach Suggestions:

This recipe is great for any phase of the South Beach Diet, although you might want to make it a "once in a while" treat due to the amount of fat.  For phase one, it would be great with Mary's Perfect Salad or Roasted Broccoli with Garlic. For phase two or three, add something like Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi.

More Delicious Ideas with Basil Pesto:
(Recipes from other blogs may not be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)
Easy Recipe for Baked Pesto Chicken from Kalyn's Kitchen
Foil-Baked Salmon with Basil Pesto and Tomatoes from Kalyn's Kitchen
Late Summer Vegetable Soup with Basil Pesto from Food Blogga
Fettucine with Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes, and Basil Pesto from Mountain Mama Cooks
Shrimp and Spinach Basil Pesto Pasta from What's Cookin' Chicago?