How to Stuff Chicken Breasts
Looking for a light and flavorful entree that looks very fancy but is really easy to make? Well, this recipe is for you. Tarragon is a wonderful French herb that tastes a little bit like mild licorice.
It brings a wonderful spring like freshness to the dish. If you cannot find tarragon or do not like it, feel free to substitute any herbs that you enjoy - sage, dill, thyme or marjoram would be nice choices.
Having the goat cheese at room temperature speeds up the cooking process. Make sure that you take both the chicken and the cheese out of the refrigerator at least 45 minutes before you plan to cook.
Update: 1/16/11 : We prepared 12 stuffed chicken breasts over the weekend for a dinner party arranged by my youngest daughter. She invited 4 of her close friends over for a sleep-over and we invited her friend's parents. We prepped the chicken in the afternoon so it would be an easy dinner.
The adults were served chicken breasts, asparagus risotto and my oldest daughter's special carrot dish. The kids enjoyed homemade fried chicken with french fries.
I made a few changes to the original recipe but that's what makes this dish so great. There are lots of ingredients you can change depending on what's in season and what you have on hand.
So for example, I sautéed up a couple of diced garlic cloves and added them to the goat cheese mixture. We also changed the sauce by using a commercial apricot jam instead of the peach chutney and did without the rosemary and garlic.
📖 Recipe
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 ounces fresh goat cheese at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon chopped
- 4 boneless chicken breasts at room temperature
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon shallots chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 ounces red wine
- 2 tablespoons peach chutney
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary minced
- 2 cups chicken stock reduced in half (chicken glaze)*
- 1 bulb roasted garlic mashed
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the goat cheese with chopped tarragon and season with salt and pepper.
- With a sharp knife, cut a slit in the side of each breast to form a pocket. Stuff each breast with goat cheese mixture and seal with a toothpick.
- Salt and pepper the breasts.
- Heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a sauté pan with enough room for all 4 breasts. Sauté 4 to 5 minutes on one side until lightly browned.
- Flip over and sauté an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat (not the filling) reaches 165° F.
- Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Sauté shallots in olive oil for 3 minutes until translucent.
- Deglaze pan with wine and reduce to an essence.
- Add chutney, thyme, rosemary, chicken stock, roasted garlic and reduce until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon sauce over chicken breasts and serve.
Notes
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