I’m always looking at ways to dress up chicken. Let’s face it! It’s a blank canvas, especially boneless breasts. They are super lean and lack a bit of flavor. Obviously, we could add lots of goodies to this breast and cook it in yummy fats, but I’m keeping with my healthier ways this month. I’m going with something a little lighter. Spinach is like one of the healthiest foods ever. The baby spinach leaves are tender and gives a great color to the dish. It also requires no cooking at all which keeps it easy. Sun dried tomatoes are awesome because the tomatoes are super concentrated with natural sweetness. No added sugars here! Pecorino Romano adds a salty bite without too much fat or calories, and I just love it on everything. 
Let’s get started on this journey, although it will feel like a short walk when you see how quickly this dish comes together. First pound out the breasts to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. By placing waxed paper over the breast, and pounding it with the smooth side of a meat pounder. If you don’t have a meat pounder or you’re not really comfortable doing this, ask the butcher to do it. Tell them what you’re making, and they should know what to do. 
Before adding the spinach to the chicken make sure to add salt and pepper that will be your first layer. After seasoning the chicken, layer the ingredients as I did with baby spinach leaves on the bottom, sun-dried tomatoes, and then the cheese sprinkled on top. When I roll them, I just roll it by tucking all the ingredients inside. If you don’t have butcher’s twine, toothpicks work well too, but they are harder to pull out later. Butcher’s twine is so cheap and lasts a pretty long time, so grab some next shopping trip.
I’m no pro at making knots, but they are pretty secure. Also, I can easily cut the strings once they are cooked and remove before I serve it. What I like about this meal is you can prepare it up to this step in advance. You can get the chicken rolled and tied the night before and then just cook the next day. Just be sure to cover it and store in the fridge. 
Otherwise, heat your oven and get a skillet very hot. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. I always cook chicken on high, that’s the way my mom taught me, and she always makes great chicken. Breast usually cook pretty quickly, but these are stuffed and will require a few more minutes, which is why we need the oven. First we must sear them, which is basically browning them on all sides. This will help the chicken stay moist and juicy inside. I am not using a lot of oil because I’m really trying to keep the calories and fat down. 
Now that our chicken is browned remove it from the pan. Now we can make a pan sauce using the cooked on bits of chicken left in the pan, white wine, shallots, garlic, and low sodium chicken stock. It creates a flavorful sauce and some liquid for the chicken to cook with when we add it to the oven. Shallots are a great thing to keep in the house, and I have been using them in everything lately; dressings, sauces, stir fries, you name it. It’s sort of my go to “secret ingredient”. Ok, it’s not much of a secret, but believe me it’s a fabulous flavor booster without being overbearing. Once the sauce comes together, return the chicken to the pan and add a sprig of fresh thyme. Place the pan in the oven for 7-10 minutes and baste the chicken with the sauce about half way through. 
Allow the chicken to rest a few minutes before slicing it. While the chicken rests, check your sauce, taste it and see if it needs seasoning. If it’s too thin, cook it down a few minutes or add a pat of butter. If you’re keeping it healthy like me, avoid the butter, it just adds more calories. Save the calories to have a glass of wine with the meal, you definitely have some leftover. Everyone deserves a nice chilled glass of chardonnay when the day is done. . Serve the chicken with your favorite side, maybe a little wild rice or pilaf. If your staying away from carbs a nice salad would work too. Obviously the chicken some veggies in it, getting a little bit in every bite. Best of all this meal is super easy to make and can be ready in about 30 minutes. It doesn’t involve lots of prep time and gives you a healthy and tasty option for dinner.
Boneless chicken breast stuffed with spinach and sundried tomatoes
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 15 minutes |
| Total time | 25 minutes |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 1lb boneless chicken breasts (pounded into 1/2 inch cutlets)
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (left whole)
- 2 teaspoons pecorino romano cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Small Shallot (minced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup Chicken stock (Low sodium)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
Directions
| Pound out the chicken breasts to about 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. You can also ask your butcher to do this if you are not comfortable doing it. | |
| Lay breast out on work surface and begin layering. Start with salt and pepper, then add a layer of uncooked spinach leaves and cover the entire breast, add 2-3 sundried tomatoes depending on the size of your breast, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of pecorino romano as the last element of the stuffing. | |
| Cut butcher twine or grab a few toothpicks to hold the breasts together. Roll them and secure with either method. Season the outside with salt and heat an ovenproof skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the chicken on all sides which is just browning it and locking in the juices. | |
| Heat oven to 400 degrees. Once chicken is seared, remove from pan and create your sauce. If the pan is too dry add 1 tsp more of oil and add shallot and garlic. Cook for 1 minute then add white wine. Cook wine for another minute just until the alcohol cooks down and finish with chicken stock and thyme. Return chicken to the pan and place in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Chicken should be 165 degrees when finished. | |
Note
*If you want your sauce to be slightly thicker cook it down a few minutes.
Leave a Reply