This easy recipe for stuffed chicken breasts with bacon, goat cheese, and basil is an easy dish to make during the weeknight and elegant enough for a dinner party.
Take boring chicken and turn it into a dish elegant enough to serve dinner guests or a simple weeknight dinner. That’s where this recipe for stuffed chicken breasts comes into play. While the “stuffing” is amazing, I think the balsamic glaze makes the dish. It tastes so good with the chicken. It’s so easy to prep (15 minutes) and cooking time is about 30 minutes in the oven.
You may also enjoy asparagus stuffed chicken breasts recipe or broccoli and Swiss cheese stuffed chicken.
Ingredients
I also love that the stuffed chicken breast recipe is easy to adapt to what ingredients you may have on hand. Not a goat cheese fan? Use feta cheese or even mozzarella.
No fresh basil? How about using fresh spinach? Turkey bacon can be used in place of pork bacon.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 6 strips cooked bacon, crispy and crumbled
- 6 fresh basil leaves, julienned
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
Butterflying a chicken breast
Butterfly the chicken by running a sharp knife horizontally through the thickest part of each breast. Place one hand on top of the breast to stabilize while holding the knife parallel to the work surface while cutting. Do not cut all the way through. Open the breast so both halves can lie flat. Season the exposed surface with salt and pepper.
Instructions
Once you have your chicken breasts butterflied, you will start to add the “stuffing”. Divide the goat cheese, crumbled bacon, and sliced basil leaves up among the chicken breasts.
Fold the chicken breasts in half so the cheese mixture is surrounded by chicken breast on the bottom, back and top. You can secure with long wooden toothpicks to help the stuffing stay in place, if desired.
When all of chicken breasts are stuffed, it’s time to brown them in a hot skillet and then finish cooking in a hot oven. Gently turn over the chicken breasts when searing them in the skillet so that the filling stays inside. When there is a few minutes left of bake time for the chicken, start making the balsamic glaze to drizzle over the cooked stuffed chicken breasts.
Easy Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Bacon, Goat Cheese, and Basil
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 6 strips cooked bacon, crispy and crumbled
- 6 fresh basil leaves, julienned
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Butterfly the chicken by running a sharp knife horizontally through the thickest part of each breast. Place one hand on top of the breast to stabilize while holding the knife parallel to the work surface while cutting. Do not cut all the way through. Open the breast so both halves can lie flat.
- Season the each chicken breast with salt and pepper, then add 1/4 each of the goat cheese, crumbled bacon, and sliced basil leaves to each breast.
- Fold the breasts in half so the cheese mixture is surrounded by chicken breast on the bottom, back and top. Secure with long wooden toothpicks to help keep the stuffing in place, if desired.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-safe skillet. Once hot, add the stuffed chicken breasts to the pan to brown. Once browned on the bottom, carefully turn each breast over and repeat on the other side.
- Place skillet in preheated oven and cook for 230-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness (chicken should be at 165 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cover until ready to serve.
- A few minutes before removing the chicken from the oven, start making the balsamic glaze. Heat balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stir while heating until the vinegar is reduced to about 1/3 of its original volume. It will form a thick, syrupy consistency when it is ready.
- To serve, place a stuffed chicken breast on each plate and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Pairs well with a mixed green salad or roasted vegetables.
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