This recipe for Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Rolls makes the perfect weeknight comfort meal that is cheesy and delicious with even tastier leftovers! Serve with zucchini noodles for a complete meal!
Table of Contents
If there was one recipe I could urge you to make TONIGHT….um this would be it.
You guys these Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Rolls are just THAT good. Cheesy factor…check. Full of flavor…check. Amazing leftovers….double check! I am such a huge fan of making my own pesto at home and since I happened to have a big jar of sun dried tomatoes on hand, this recipe was a no-brainer. My hubby can’t stop talking about them! I served these chicken rolls with a side of zucchini noodles that I had leftover which I topped with the pesto marinara I used on the chicken. One word – DELISH!
Making the pesto is definitely the easiest part! Just throw everything into the bowl of your food processor, turn it on and watch the magic happen. I actually had SO much leftover pesto that I ended up making a simple sauce with it using crushed tomatoes and a little salt/pepper while everything baked to spoon over the chicken. This is a MUST! It really adds so much flavor to the stuffed chicken and made this dish similar to a chicken parmesan.
It was also the perfect marinara to top the zucchini noodles with since this also makes a ton! I hate throwing away anything so if I can make a couple meals out of one recipe I’ll definitely do it. Feel free to use spaghetti or any other type of pasta if you aren’t a fan of zucchini noodles or just save the sauce and use it another night!
For the chicken, it’s really important that you pound out the chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness so they are easy to roll when you stuff them. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is place the chicken breast in a ziplock bag and pound out evenly using the flat side of a meat tenderizer. Then you just spread on the pesto with a little shredded cheese and secure with a toothpick. You could of course purchase thin sliced chicken cutlets to save you some time, but I found that pounding the chicken out makes them more tender and moist which is what we want! 🙂
As I said before, this chicken makes DELICIOUS leftovers. Honestly they might even taste better the next day after the chicken absorbs all that flavor! This recipe is great to make on a Sunday when you have a little extra time in the kitchen to give you a few lunches during the week.
Now I always get tons of questions about zucchini noodles so I will say this. If you’re still on the fence about purchasing a spiralizer
, I’m here to tell you to just DO IT. Seriously you won’t be disappointed and then you can make these, these or even these! I’ve heard a few of you say that you just don’t have room for one in your kitchen. Well what I like to do is store it in the box in my pantry because it’s really not that big and I have easy access to it. There are also so many blade options giving you a huge variety of noodle sizes. If this spiralizer is still too large and you need something a little more convenient for easy storage, this handheld spiralizer
is a great option too!
Cleaning your spiralizer is super easy too, I just use a toothbrush and a little dish soap to clean it after every use.
Oh and if you’re looking for more fun ideas to spiralize, I also LOVE the Inspiralized cookbook
from Ali of Inspiralized! She has so many delicious recipes and creative ways to use your spiralizer, it’s incredibly helpful! I mean you can pretty much spiralize anything – sweet potatoes, squash, bell peppers, cucumbers – the possibilities are endless!
I absolutely LOVED this dish and the leftover zucchini noodles I had on hand really made this a delicious complete meal! I really hope you all enjoy these sun dried tomato pesto chicken rolls as much as we did and if you DO make them yourself, don’t forget to share your photos on Instagram or Twitter hashtagging #eatyourselfskinnyrecipe so I can see them!
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Rolls
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup shredded cheese
- 1 egg + 1 tsp water, egg wash
- Mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
For the Pesto:
- 1 8.5 oz jar sun dried tomatoes (in oil, not drained)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup packed basil leaves
- 1/4 tsp. each salt + pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- To make the pesto, in the bowl of a food processor add sun dried tomatoes (with the oil), garlic, parmesan cheese, basil leaves and salt/pepper and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.
- Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness and season with a little salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of pesto over the chicken and sprinkle a little shredded cheese in the center. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.
- In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, flaxseed meal, oregano and garlic powder. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together egg and water until frothy. Dip chicken into egg mixture and press into bread crumb mixture, coating both sides.
- Transfer chicken seam side down to a casserole dish or baking sheet coated with cooking spray and repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes, or until juices run clear.
- While the chicken is baking, in a small sauce pan mix together 1 cup of the remaining pesto along with crushed tomatoes and salt/pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Once chicken is done baking, remove and top each piece with 2 tbsp pesto marinara + a thin slice of mozzarella cheese and place back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes, until cheese has melted. Top with fresh basil and serve with zucchini noodles, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made these and they were awesome. My sister-in-law thought it was something that I got from hello fresh…..lol
This recipe is SO GOOD. Mine didn’t turn out as perfectly shaped as yours but still yummy! For anyone who doesn’t have a food processor, I used my nutribullet and it worked out well!
That’s awesome the Nutribullet worked for this recipe! 🙂
This looks delicious! I’m always looking fot new ways to spice up baked chicken so I love this! Plus zoodles are always a winner for this girl🙂
Are the noodles blanched? Don’t know how to cook those?
I usually just cook them in a skillet for 2 minutes with a little olive oil – super easy!