Name: Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts + Roasted Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved); 1 onion (sliced); olive oil and salt (as needed); 4 tablespoons butter (divided); 2 boneless (skinless chicken, about 7 ounces each); 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley; 2 cloves minced garlic; 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes in olive oil (drained); 1 tablespoon capers (drained); 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese; 1 cup dry white wine

Jump to Recipe

No ratings yet

Have you notice that in every new recipe I show you I roast cherry tomatoes and put them in stuff? It's a thing. I've been doing it multiple times per week and using the little guys in EVERYTHING. Jay is probably getting sick of it but hasn't said anything because if he did he might catch me at a bad time and get the YOU ARE WELCOME TO COOK ANYTIME THERE BUDDY. And no one wants that, so he graciously eats roasted tomatoes night after night.

They're just so good, right?

I think this what would be called a throwback recipe, right? We certainly never had anything like this growing up (would have been considered too unhealthy and also can you imagine stuffing any kind of raw meat with 4 kids? no. you risk someone setting the house on fire and not being able to stop it; being covered in raw meat is the ultimate parenting vulnerability), but I think this was like a thing in the 80s and 90s, stuffed chicken breasts, and pork chops. It doesn't feel old to me, just kind of foreign, but I see stuffed protein every once in awhile on TV, and Jay The Vegetarian is forever talking about stuffed chicken breasts, so I think he has some experience with them.

So now that we know why we're doing this, here's the how: it's a paste of your fav Greek salad ingredients, basically. Stuffed in chicken, seared in butter, finished in the oven. Topped with a pan sauce with butter, wine, roasted tomatoes and onions. What could be wrong with that?

Nothing could be wrong with that is the answer you're looking for. See also: feta cheese.

You'll need a chicken breast per person, but make them small; the stuffing makes this dish on the heavier side. Then, the sauce is made of cherry tomatoes, an onion, white wine, and butter. For the stuffing in the chicken it's garlic, parsley, feta cheese, capers, and sundried tomatoes.

Now, first, as full disclosure, I served this with a seasoned Israeli couscous mixture. If you'd like to do that, start it first! Just cook the couscous to the package directions, a cup for 4 portions with however much water you need. Then stir in some fresh parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil, and some toasted pine nuts. Just a few tablespoons of each of the ingredients and as much salt and pepper as you'd like.

Now, for the main event! The tomatoes and onions will roast together at 400F for 20-30 minutes. Arrange them on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt.

Then, roast the veggies until they're nice and dark but not burned - I lost a few onions to this effort, but c'est la vie.

While the veggies for the sauce are roasting, prep the ingredients for your chicken filling. Mince the garlic and chop the parsley.

In a bowl, combine the sundried tomatoes, feta, garlic, parsley, and capers.

Use a fork to mash it all together, now we have chicken filling!

Now, the chicken stuffing process is kind of messy, so I like to get the filling ready, preheat a skillet to medium-high with some olive oil, THEN stuff the chicken while the pan is heating. That way I can drop the stuffed chicken right into the skillet and it'll start to sear!

Before you start stuffing the chicken, put the breasts in a plastic bag and pound the thickest part a few times to even it out with the rest of the breast - this'll help the chicken cook more evenly. Then, to stuff the chicken, use a thin but sharp knife to make a hole in the thick end of the chicken. Then, kind of wiggle the knife around to make a little pocket, being careful not to poke through the chicken on the top or the bottom.

Then, just use your hands to mash as much of the filling into the chicken as you can. Go slowly and just keep pressing it down into the pocket you created - ¼ cup or more per chicken piece is ideal. Then, place the chicken in the pan you've been preheating and sprinkle it with salt.

Now, sear the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side until it's very nice and brown. It won't be cooked all the way through, so when the chicken is browned transfer it to a little baking dish.

When the tomatoes and onions are done roasting, take them OUT of the oven and put the chicken IN. Let the chicken cook for 10 more minutes at 400F, then remove it from the oven to rest. Now, we'll use the skillet we used to sear the chicken to make the pan sauce. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add white wine to the skillet. The wine should bubble and pick up any little chicken bits from the skillet. When the wine reduces by about half, add the butter, onions, and tomatoes to the skillet.

Stir everything together and taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper if you'd like. Pan sauce!

Now, to serve, I sliced the chicken so you could see the pretty filling and spread it over some of the cous cous.

Top the whole thing with the tomato wine sauce.

Then, to add some veg to my life, I threw some arugula and a lemon slice on top of everything.

Dinner!

Throwback or not, this is SUPER delicious. The tangy filling of the chicken is great with the sweet roasted tomatoes and onions, and the arugula means it's healthy, I promise.

Try this ASAP, and enjoy!

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts + Roasted Tomato Sauce

Recipe