It’s no secret that we adore chicken – I mean, who doesn’t?! – and we’re always looking for new and exciting ways to adapt and enjoy it. Our favorite ways? Well, they usually involve stuffing, both stuffing chicken into our other faves or – even better! – stuffing the chicken itself with delicious flavor combinations. Today, we’re doing the latter— with PIZZA.
That’s right: Pizza Stuffed Chicken! These tasty spirals of baked chicken are filled with a classic pizza combo of mozzarella, pepperoni, and marinara. Even better? You can absolutely adapt it to include YOUR favorite pizza toppings! Let us show you how, then read on for the full recipe.
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Pizza Stuffed Chicken
Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded thin
- 1 cup marinara sauce, divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup chopped pepperoni (about 40 pepperoni)
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, divided
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt, to taste
- 12 to 16 pepperoni, left whole
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
- Place a chicken breast vertically on your cutting board, with the side holding the tender facing up. (Remove the chicken tender if it is not well attached.) Using a sharp knife, make a shallow vertical cut, lengthwise, down the center of the breast. Make sure you do not cut all the way through the breast; you want to leave about ¼ inch of the breast intact under your knife. After you make the first cut, turn the cutting edge of your knife at a 45 degree angle, and make a horizontal cut from the center of the breast towards the side of the breast, leaving about ¼ inch intact on each side. After making the first horizontal cut, rotate the breast 180 degrees so that is is easier to make the second cut. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Place a layer of plastic wrap over the butterflied chicken breast. Use a mallet, rolling pin, or cast iron skillet to pound the chicken breast into an even thickness of about ¼ inch. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken breasts.
- In a bowl, combine ½ cup of the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, chopped pepperoni, ¼ cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan cheese; mix to combine. Set aside.
- Lay the pounded chicken breasts out in front of you, and season with salt. Spread about ¼ of the marinara sauce mixture in the center of each breast. Leave about a ½-inch border of the chicken breast uncovered with sauce mixture.
- Carefully roll up the filled breast. Repeat this process for the remaining chicken breasts.
- Place the rolled chicken breasts, seam-side-down, into an 8-inch-by-8-inch or a 9-inch-by-9-inch square baking dish. It is OK if they touch. If necessary, use toothpicks to secure the chicken rolls, making sure to leave them visible so you do not forget to remove them once the rolls are cooked.
- Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the top of the chicken. Add the remaining mozzarella cheese, and then top with 3 to 4 slices of pepperoni on each breast.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. If the pepperoni begins to get a little too brown, you can cover the top of the baking dish loosely with foil in order to finish cooking.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes after baking. Remove the toothpicks (if used),and then slice in half or into thinner spirals, and serve.
Delicious! It’s a festive dish that’s not too fancy, don’t you think? Will you give it a try? What pizza toppings do YOU want to include in your chicken? Tell us how you twist it and how it turns out!
Recipe adapted from Simply Stacie