Lately I think I've been watching too many of those cooking competitions on the Food Network because I've been going almost nuts wanting to make something using Prosciutto. It seems like almost every episode or show that comes on something has Prosciutto in it! It must be good if it comes up so often right?
Well, I decided to come up with my own gormet-ish recipe using the popular ingredient and it does not disappoint! My roasted red pepper, prosciutto & basil pesto stuffed chicken breast is so awesome – it looks and tastes like a million bucks!
Have you ever had Prosciutto? It's often compared to bacon but there's just something about it that's so amazing. It's thin slices and smoky flavor taste absolutely unbelievable when paired with the roasted red peppers and fresh basil pesto in this recipe!
If you don't have prosciutto no worries – you can use bacon in it's place and the recipe will still turn out scrumptious. Prosciutto does cost a bit more than bacon so you can always keep your eye out for a sale like I did. It worked out to a little under $3 per breast since both the chicken and the Prosciutto were on sale! Keep your eyes peeled for a sale – it's so worth it!
The recipe isn't very complicated at all. The chicken breasts are sliced on their underside to give a little more surface area to work with when you roll them up and then they're pounded out using a rolling pin or tenderizer mallet.
TIP: When flattening out any meat for a recipe some people like put it in between a couple layers of plastic wrap. I find that it works much better to place the meat in a zip top bag when doing this. The zip top bag is much more sturdy and won't tear apart from using the tenderizer mallet (flat side).
After the breasts were flattened the ingredients were layered and rolled up into the chicken (I've included images below of the steps). I wrapped some Prosciutto around the outside of the chicken breast as well to help keep everything together. Then some more basil pesto and mozzarella were added to the tops before placing it into the oven.
The aroma in the kitchen was so delicious as this was cooking in the oven!
This one was definitely a winner! I hope you enjoy this recipe because we certainly did! 🙂
PrintRoasted Red Pepper, Prosciutto & Basil Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 8 slices of smoked Prosciutto (if using bacon you'll need 16 pieces)
- 5 oz roasted red peppers in oil
- 1/4 cup basil pesto, store bought or homemade – you can use my recipe here 🙂
- 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cut the underside of each breast horizontally so they're shaped almost like a heart.
- Place one of the breasts in a large zip top bag and using a cooking mallet or tenderizer flatten it out until it takes up about twice as much space as it did before (use the flat side not the one with the spikes). Try to get it pounded out evenly so that it will cook evenly. If you don't have a cooking mallet that's ok! You could use a rolling pin or even the bottom of a heavy mug.
- Pound out each of the chicken breasts.
- Lay the chicken breast so that it's outside is the part touching the cutting board. You want to make sure that the filling is put on the inside of the breast.
- On each, spread about 2 tsps of the basil pesto evenly on it's surface.
- Next place a strip of Prosciutto (or 2 slices of bacon) on each.
- Now lay a few strips of roasted red pepper and top with about 1/2 tbsp of mozzarella.
- Now roll the breast up back into it's original shape as best as you can. Wrap a piece of Prosciutto around the breast to help hold it together (or use 2 slices of bacon). Place in a baking dish.
- Once they've all been rolled up and placed in the baking dish, spread the remaining basil pesto evenly over the tops of the chicken. Then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
- Place the dish into the oven COVERED and bake for 45 minutes.
- Serve with rice or potatoes and enjoy!
Click on the images to the left to see the steps from the recipe closer. 🙂
