I am not sure what my fascination is with stuffing my chicken but I do it all the time. I guess there is something fun about cutting into what looks to be a basic chicken breast and finding that it has a little secret.
So far I have shared my Pizza Stuffed Chicken, Chicken Kiev and my Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll Ups. Today I thought I would share one of my family’s favorites – Broccoli & Swiss Stuffed Chicken! This is a delicious recipe that also happens to be a healthy choice for those of us who are trying to keep it light.
I opt for low fat swiss cheese and bake this dish to keep the calories low. These little modifications don’t affect the taste. You still get a chicken that oozes yummy cheese with perfectly cooked broccoli.
I am not a fan of mushy broccoli so I opt for fresh uncooked broccoli in this recipe. Baking cooks it so that it is crisp tender. If you prefer a super soft broccoli, you can steam it slightly before adding it to the chicken. I have tried frozen broccoli and find that it adds too much moisture. Go with fresh, I think you will find it makes this dish just delicious.
- 2 lbs chicken breast cutlets pounded thin (I used 3 large breasts that I cut in half lengthwise)
- 6 slices swiss cheese - I used low fat
- 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
- ½ cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- Place chicken cutlets between sheets of wax or parchment paper and use a meat mallet to pound super thin (approx ⅛ inch thick). Be sure to pound the edges as thin as possible as it will help to seal the rolled chicken.
- Place 1 piece of swiss cheese and a small mound of broccoli in the middle of each pounded chicken cutlet.
- Fold the short sides of the pounded chicken over the filling then start at one end and roll the chicken until you have a tightly sealed mound. Repeat this process with all chicken cutlets.
- Create your breading station by placing the flour into a shallow dish, beaten egg mixed with water in another shallow dish and breadcrumbs into a third shallow dish.
- Sprinkle each rolled chicken with salt and pepper then roll in the flour.
- Next dip the floured chicken into the egg/water mixture.
- Finally roll the chicken in the Panko bread crumbs.
- Repeat this with remaining rolled chicken cutlets.
- Place chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray.
- Place chicken into the 375ºF oven and cook for 25 - 30 minutes or until done.
- If needed you can broil the chicken for 1 -2 minutes to brown the top of the chicken.
- Serve warm.
Vegetarian Creole Rice
Wow, this looks great! I love a good cordon bleu (pork or veal cutlets stuffed with ham and cheese) but always feel like I have to have a couple healthy dinners afterward to make up for it. This captures a lot of the same flavors with a lot less impact on the waistline and cholesterol!
This looks great! I just recently started eating chicken and so I’m thrilled to find yummy, healthy recipes like this. I try not to bread things, though. Do you think the breading is absolutely necessary here?
Thanks!
you can get it wrapped tightly you could skip the breading for sure. I might add a little extra seasoning after you wrap to make sure the chicken wasn’t bland….give it a try and let me know how it turns out!!
Thank you for your reply! I’m trying them tonight and can’t wait. One more question… Do you think I could prep the chicken breasts this afternoon and stick them in the oven a couple of hours later? It sure would be nice to get it ready to go while the kiddo is at school 🙂
It was such a hit! Making them ahead of time worked GREAT and they were good even without the breading. I did grate some high-quality parmesan on half of them and those were especially yummy 🙂
Thanks again for the recipe!
Was disappointed bc this was definitely labor intensive and had very little flavor. I would put some shallot chopped up inside and seasoning as well- like garlic powder or even Italian seasoning.