Stuffed Caprese Chicken

Stuffed Caprese Chicken  -  All the flavors of an Italian Caprese Salad, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, are rolled up inside chicken, cooked to perfection and then finished off with a balsamic glaze.  An impressive meal.

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Related Recipe: AIR FRYER CHICKEN CAPRESE

Don't you love when you get an idea, try it and it is awesome?  That's pretty much what happened when I got the idea for this Stuffed Caprese Chicken recipe.

It's tough for me to get my husband to eat tomatoes and if I'm honest, I am not a huge fan unless they are treated in a certain way. 

I prefer using small sweet tomatoes like the grape or cherry.  Usually, if I incorporate them into a pasta, my husband will eat them but they have to be cut at least in half.  He will not bite into a whole cherry or grape tomato.  God forbid, right?

Anyway, I found myself staring at a pint of cherry tomatoes and that is when the idea hit me.  Caprese.

I knew I couldn't just plop the ingredients on top of the chicken but I figured if I "hid" it inside, I'd get no complaints.

Do you know, when all was said and done, I even got a compliment on this dish from him.  Yup, Mr. Tomato Hater loved this dinner!

It looks difficult but really anyone can do it.  The biggest tip I can lend you is to make sure that chicken is pounded out VERY WELL.  The thinner the chicken, the easier it is to roll up. 

I started getting lazy towards the last piece or two of chicken and it made it much more difficult for me to roll.  Don't be lazy.  Don't be me.

The other thing I want to talk about is an oven-safe skillet.  If you don't have one yet, I highly suggest you do.  I make a lot of dishes that start on the stove and finish in the oven.  Using an oven-safe skillet removes the need to transfer food from a skillet to a baking dish.  You know, one less thing to wash at the end. 

I have had a few oven-safe skillets and this one is by far my favorite.  It's big, so most of the time I don't have to cook in batches.  I can basically brown it all up at once, even if I'm making 5 or 6 pieces.

Basically, what I'm saying is that it's a time saver.  If you are interested in the one I use, it's below.  Click on it to check out the price and details.

Okay, now that my pan schpeeel is behind us, let's get on to this yummy Stuffed Caprese Chicken.

How To Make Stuffed Caprese Chicken

Tried.

You know how hard it is to stop and wash your hands every two seconds to take a picture?  It's torture.  I did my best.

Oh, before I forget, let's talk balsamic glaze.  I make this kind of glaze all the time.  All it is, is balsamic vinegar (please don't buy the cheapest one you can find, quality makes a difference) that reduces and gets thick.  Some people mix in sugar and all that but I keep it simple.  If you don't want to bother with the extra step of the glaze, I have seen bottles of prepared glaze.  I haven't yet tried one, although I do have a bottle in my pantry.  But if you are interested, you can find a few on Amazon.

I think this Stuffed Caprese Chicken not only makes a great "any day kind of meal" but is a visual showstopper, making it perfect for special occasions like holidays, birthdays and dinner parties.

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Stuffed Caprese Chicken

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

  

• 2 T olive oil
• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts pounded flat and thin
• 5 oz cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
• 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 4 leaves basil freshly torn
• Salt & pepper
• ½ C seasoned breadcrumbs
• ½ C balsamic vinegar or ¼ C prepared balsamic glaze
• Also needed – toothpicks or kitchen twine

Instructions

 

• Make sure chicken breasts are pounded very thin. Season chicken with salt and pepper, liberally.
• In a bowl, toss the tomatoes with the seasoning, cheese and basil.
• Spoon some of tomato mixture down the center of each chicken breast. Roll up each breast, taking care to tuck in any loose edges that might come undone. If a little filling falls out it is okay (we’re going to put some more on top after). Secure chicken bundles with either toothpicks or kitchen twine.
• Roll each bundle carefully in the breadcrumbs.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Heat oil in a large, oven-proof (if you do not have an oven-proof skillet you will need to transfer to a baking dish after browning in a skilleskillet, over medium/high heat. Place each chicken bundle in the hot oil and brown for about 3-5 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn each chicken bundle over and brown other side. Once both sides are browned, pour remaining tomato mixture over chicken (or around chickeand transfer skillet to oven (If not using an oven-safe skillet, transfer chicken to a baking dish and then continue). Bake chicken for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru.
• While chicken is baking, place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium/high heat. Once the vinegar comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Allow to cook, about 10 minutes, until beginning to thicken. Turn off heat and set aside. ALTERNATE – use a store bought balsamic glaze.
• Once chicken is removed from oven, drizzle balsamic glaze over the chicken and top with additional torn basil leaves if desired.

Notes

Serving suggestion: Serve atop a bed of pasta that is simply seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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