Say the words “goat cheese” and I am all in! This recipe for Crispy Chicken with Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomatoes takes your plain old chicken to flavor country! It is a boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded thin, and filled with a mixture of goat cheese, mayo, garlic, and sundried tomatoes. It then gets rolled up and topped with a crunchy panko breading mixture.
My husband does not feel the same way as I do about goat cheese. He wants nothing to do with it…but he loves fish and it’s not my favorite- so we are even!
Last time he was out of town I made a couple of these and ate them the entire time he was gone. And I loved every single bite!
How to Make Crispy Chicken with Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomatoes
If you love watching cooking shows you can pop over to Pinterest and watch me make this in a 30 minute episode of Pin TV!
Pounding The Chicken
You are going to start by pounding your chicken breasts very thin, about ¼ inch. I like to do this one of two ways:
- Place the chicken in a Ziplock bag on a hard surface. I use a rolling pin, or meat tenderizing mallet like the one linked here. Do this one breast at a time.
- Place the chicken on a solid cutting board. Butterfly it open by cutting it lengthwise, cover the top of the chicken with plastic wrap. Pound the chicken to the desired thickness using a meat mallet or wooden rolling pin.
Crispy Chicken Filling
Make the goat cheese and sun dried tomato filling by mixing together the mayo, goat cheese (it will be easier to mix the goat cheese if it is not straight out of the fridge), fresh garlic, sun dried tomatoes, basil, and a pinch of salt & pepper. You can set that aside for now.
Filling the Chicken
Lay the chicken breasts flat and spread a few tablespoons of the goat cheese mixture over the chicken, covering about ¾ of the surface. Roll the chicken breast over the filling, lightly, making sure the filling does not squeeze out of the sides of the roll up.
Place the breasts seam side down on the sheet pan.
It is ok if some of the cheese mixture gets on the pan while you are rolling them up. It is a messy process, but I promise it turns out beautiful.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?!
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Some of the filling will spill out during baking process and it gets all golden and gooey…. those are the super delicious parts you will want to make sure and serve with the chicken…. or sop up with a piece of bread.
Time to Bake
Now season each chicken roll up with a little olive oil and kosher salt and pepper and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes.
While that cooks you can put together the super delish crispy topping. It couldn’t be easier, you stir together the 4 ingredients and season with a little salt and pepper. Make sure the mayo is distributed evenly in the panko bread crumbs.
Pull the par cooked chicken out of the oven and top each breast generously with a HEAP of the panko bread crumb mixture.
Carefully put the chicken back into the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crunchy.
The final cooking time depends on how thick your chicken is! Make sure your chicken reaches 165 degrees internal temp before removing from the oven.
Bread Crumbs vs. Panko Bread Crumbs
Panko bread crumbs are the traditional bread crumbs bigger brother. Where traditional bread crumbs are processed into a finer powder, the panko crumbs are a bigger, drier, and crunchier.
Can I use regular breadcrumbs instead of panko bread crumbs? The answer is unfortunately no, for this recipe. I am sure there are a lot of recipes that the two are interchangeable but this is not one of them. You want the light crispy texture of the panko crumbs.
Make This Recipe Your Own
Here are a few additions you could try to change this recipe:
- Add toasted pine nuts to the goat cheese mixture for a little nutty crunch.
- Get your greens by adding spinach. I would recommend using frozen- thawed spinach that has been completely drained of liquid. Then add it to the goat cheese mixture.
- Put a few chopped artichokes in the goat cheese mixture.
Side Dish Ideas
Crispy Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes is pretty filling so no need to go crazy with the side items. I like to make a Caesar Salad or Big Italian Salad and my Oven Roasted Asparagus or Green Beans.
More Delicious Chicken Dinner Ideas
💛💛💛💛💛
Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Crispy Chicken with Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomatoes
Equipment
- meat mallet or wooden rolling pin (something to pound the chicken thin)
- parchment or foil
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - fresh, not frozen
- olive oil
- kosher salt and black pepper
- non-stick spray
Goat Cheese Filling
- 5 ounce goat cheese log - if possible pull it out of the fridge 20 minutes early to soften
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil - drained and chopped
- 1 plump garlic clove - minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper
Crunchy Topping
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- pinch of salt, pepper, & red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.non-stick spray
Prep the chicken
- Pound the chicken breasts to about ¼ inch thickness with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Set aside.Pro Tip: butterfly the chicken open and then pound it thin. You can watch me do this by clicking through to the Pin TV episode.4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Goat Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl mix together all the ingredients for the goat cheese filling. Stir until it is well combined and there are no clumps of goat cheese remaining.5 ounce goat cheese log, ½ cup mayonnaise, ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil, 1 plump garlic clove, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper
Assembly
- Spread a few spoonfuls of the goat cheese mixture evenly over the flattened chicken breasts, covering about ¾ of the surface.
- Lightly roll the chicken over the filling, like a burrito, try to keep all the filling inside the chicken roll. Lay the chicken rolls seam side down on the prepared rimmed baking sheet. *** This will be messy, but don't worry it will turn out beautifully!
- Season the outside of the chicken with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper.kosher salt and black pepper, olive oil
Baking
- Place the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the Crunchy Panko Topping. Stirring well so the mayo coats all the panko.1 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon dried basil, pinch of salt, pepper, & red pepper flakes
- Remove the chicken from the oven and top it generously with the panko bread crumb mixture. You want this to be a pile of crunchy topping on each chicken breast.
- Carefully place the chicken back in the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crispy and the chicken is cooked thru to 165° internal temp.** This time will vary depending how thick your chicken is! Make sure the chicken is cooked through before serving. Check with an instant read thermometer.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?!
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Melissa says
This was so good!!! My son told me its the best dinner he ever had!!! Thank you so much!!
Susie says
WOW! High praise for sure. Thank you so much for commenting and rating the recipe!
Jeanna Yates says
This was delicious, and easy to make. I had to cook it for 10 minutes longer, but I made the mix for four pieces, and put it all into two pieces.
Jenny Epperson says
I did the same thing–put all the filling into 2 chicken breasts. I actually had to bake this WAY longer, like double the time the recipe called for. It was delicious though!
cheryl says
this chicken is great…making it my second time tonight! love the filling and the topping….only thing is my oven is off and I need to cook a little longer..but no big deal!!! worth waiting for!
Susie says
I’m so glad you love it!!! I absolutely love it too. It’s a great entertaining entree OR just a weeknight dinner. Thanks for letting me know
Emily Bruno says
I’m with you on the goat cheese! (And I’m also out on the fish- ha!) I’ve never tried making stuffed chicken, that needs to change!
Cheryl shulock says
I made this recipe the other night and there were no leftovers! Love it will absolutely make it again! Thanks!
Susie says
SO glad you loved it!! Thank you for letting me know : )
John says
Love the juicy chicken with crispy outside
Lana says
This was delicious!! A hit a my dinner party! Looked like I slaved all day but it was pretty easy! The recipe got rave reviews!!
Susie says
I am so glad it was a hit!!! It completely looks harder than it is… those are the best recipes. Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know! : )
Lana says
Do you add chopped artichokes with the tomatoes or leave tomatoes out?
Susie says
You can definitely add both! Delish
laura B says
Tried these tonight; quick & easy and absolutely delicious! This recipe is going in the book! I did use garlic paste from a tube though and didn’t actually completely lose all goats cheese chunks but it worked out great. Thank you!!!
also your star rating didn’t work for me- I can give a max of 3 star in safari?! I would give 5!!
Susie says
I am so glad you made it and loved it!!!! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I’m glad you told me about the stars… I will check on that. I changed recipe cards recently so maybe things got messed up.
Anna says
This looks and sounds amazing! Definitely going to try cooking it this week. Anything with sun dried tomatoes is delicious!
Susie says
Thank you!! I hope you love it! I love sun dried tomatoes too (and goat cheese).
Heidi says
This sounds amazing and packed with flavor! I’ve got the itching to try new recipes. 😉 Where could I get goat cheese?
Susie says
This is a great one to try! I usually get my goat cheese at Aldi or Trader Joe’s , but you should be able to find it in just about any market. I buy mine in little 4oz logs.
Dana says
This is such a great way to stuff chicken and kick things up with weeknight dinners!
Susie says
Definitely works for weeknights, or weekend family dinners, or entertaining!
Sean@Diversivore says
I adore goat cheese (though I adore fish too, so if you and your husband ever need a culinary mediator, let me know, haha). It’s been so long since I did a recipe like this, but I’m honestly not sure why now. It looks so delicious and simple, and it nicely stands along the fence between weeknight-easy and company’s-coming fancy. My favourite kind of recipe.
Susie says
Thank you! That is exactly right- it is a very versatile dish. I hope you will give it a try
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
What?!!! How can the hubs not like goat cheese. It just adds so much more elegance to plain old chicken & has the power to make a salad all the more special. Loving what you did with it. I can see why you indulged on this while the hubby was away.
Susie says
I know, right?! I think he had a bad experience with spoiled cheese/milk when he was younger and it ruined all “stinky” cheeses and dairy for him : (
I love it more than anything , especially because I don’t get it very often. I hope you give this recipe a try. It is divine!
Thanks for reading my post : )
Susie says
Lynn- I just looked at your site and it is SO beautiful. What an inspiration. Your photography is amazing!
Chris says
Now THIS is a winner winner chicken dinner. Dang, I seriously need to make this asap!!
Susie says
Thank you!!! Love the comment : )
Vicky says
I am with you, goat cheese makes everything better. Plus I add sundried tomatoes to as many dishes as I can. What a yummy way to take a traditional chicken dish up a notch.
Susie says
LOOOOVE goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes… thank you for your nice words. I hope you give this recipe a try