Elevate your dinner game with this easy-to-follow Chicken Roulades recipe starring juicy chicken breasts stuffed with a homemade pesto sauce and gooey mozzarella cheese. Perfect for impressing guests but quick enough for busy weeknights, too!
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We just can’t get enough of chicken over here. It’s affordable and versatile, and nobody complains when it shows up on their dinner plate. This recipe involves pounding chicken breasts until they’re thin, stuffing them with a quick homemade pesto and mozzarella cheese, and rolling them up tightly before cooking to tender perfection.
It’s one of our favorite chicken recipes and a dish that I bring out at dinner parties just as often as I serve it on any old weeknight. And who doesn’t like pesto? Its bright, nutty flavor is a star in some of my favorite recipes, including Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Shrimp and Easy Pesto Lasagna Roll-Ups (another rolled recipe, because bright-green pesto always makes a pretty swirl!).
With its mild flavor, chicken recipes can go in many different directions, from Asian-inspired chicken wings to sweet and sticky baked chicken thighs to bruschetta-topped breasts. Make these roulades when you want a dinner that will appeal to everyone. Kids will love the gooey mozzarella while adults will appreciate the bright pesto flavor. Talk about winner, winner chicken dinner!
Why You’ll Love It
- Ready in 40 minutes.
- A great use for a bumper crop of pesto. Three cups are packed into the pesto filling for maximum flavor.
- Fancy enough for company. When sliced, the roulades make a pretty spiral that looks great on a serving platter.
- Kid approved. Kids who like cheesy pizza will love this recipe.
Just a few fresh ingredients are used to make this pesto chicken recipe.
- Chicken breasts: Choose boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are at least 6 ounces, so that they can be pounded out to a big enough surface to spread the pesto.
- Basil: Use basil from your garden or buy it by the bunch so you’ll have enough to make three packed cups.
- Parmesan cheese: Shredded parmesan cheese is a standard ingredient in pesto.
- Garlic: Use three cloves, chopped, to spice up the pesto filling.
- Pine nuts: Another classic pesto ingredient, pine nuts add richness to the mixture.
- Olive oil: You’ll use olive oil as the base for the pesto as well as to saute the chicken breasts.
- Mozzarella: Choose deli slices of mozzarella cheese for the filling or thinly slice a log.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Chicken roulades are made by rolling up pounded-thin chicken breasts around a filling. Try different fillings and cheeses for variety.
- For a different flavor profile, use tapenade and prosciutto for the chicken roulade filling.
- Change up the pesto filling. Sub in another version of pesto from another recipe, such as pistachio pesto or kale pesto.
- Try a different type of cheese. Fontina or provolone cheeses would both work great in this cheesy chicken roulades.
- Dress it up with a sauce. Drizzle the finished roulades with more pesto or reduced balsamic vinegar for a boost of flavor and an Instagram-worthy look.
- Serve on a salad. Slice the roulades and serve them atop a Caesar salad or green salad with Italian dressing for a fresh lunch idea.
Don’t be intimidated by the impressive look of this recipe. As long as you have a good meat mallet or even a heavy frying pan, making chicken roulades is easy.
- Preheat the oven. With the rack in the center of the oven, preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Pound the chicken. Place a chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper and pound it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or meat mallet or a heavy frying pan until the chicken is a uniform 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.
- Make the pesto. In a blender, combine the basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, garlic and pine nuts. Pulse for a few seconds until the basil is finely chopped. With the blender running, drizzle in the olive oil. Continue to blend until the mixture is pureed and emulsified, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Form the roulades. Divide the pesto evenly between the flattened breasts, spreading evenly over the entire breast. Arrange three slices of mozzarella cheese over the pesto on each chicken breast. Beginning with the shorter end, tightly roll up the chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks. Season the outsides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Cook the roulades. Over medium-high heat, heat two large oven-proof skillets and add enough olive oil to coat the cooking surface, two to three tablespoons per pan. When the oil is hot, add the roulades and sear on all sides until brown. Transfer the pans to the preheated oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165˚F when checked with a meat thermometer.
- Rest and serve. Remove the roluades from the oven and let rest fo 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks, slice the roulades and serve.
Pro Tip: To toast the pine nuts, spread them in a small skillet over medium heat and toast until they are fragrant. Watch them closely as they can burn.
- Pound Properly: Start in the center of the breast and make sure the meat mallet or frying pan hits the chicken flat, ending with a slight motion towards the edge of the meat to encourage it to spread. Avoid hitting the chicken with the edge of your mallet, which can create holes.
- Roll Tightly: The tighter your roll, the more of a uniform spiral look your finished roulades will have.
- Don’t Skip the Rest Time: The five minutes of resting time before serving the chicken roulades is crucial to allow the meat to come up to temperature and to seal in and evenly distribute the juices.
Chicken roulades are a versatile main course that goes with a variety of side dishes. Mix and match these side dishes for a delicious dinner.
- Quick and Crispy Vegetable Fritters
- Garlicky Pasta Primavera
- Secret Ingredient Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Cacio e Pepe Pasta
- Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
Store chicken roulades in the refrigerator for up to three to four days.
Cool the roulades completely and wrap tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap before refrigerating. Wrap the roulades in alumium foil to prevent them from drying out before reheating in a 350˚F oven for 10 minutes or until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
A chicken roulade is a thin piece of chicken breast rolled around a filling and cooked. Originating from the French word for “to roll,” a roulade can be any type of flat food, such as pastry or thinly sliced vegetables, rolled around a filing and sliced to reveal a spiral pattern.
Sure! Any thin slices of cheese can work in this recipe. Mild Italian cheeses like Provolone or Fontina would both be good alternatives to the mozzarella. If you prefer a creamier dish, you could also spread a thin layer of softened goat cheese or cream cheese over the flattened chicken breasts before topping with the pesto and rolling.
Chicken roulades can be made and assembled one day ahead. Wrap each rolade tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Unwrap them before cooking as directed.
Using store-bought pesto is a great shortcut to save time, or if you don’t have enough fresh basil. I prefer fresh refrigerated pesto rather than jarred pesto, because it has a brighter, fresher flavor.
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Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (See Kelly’s Notes)
- 3 cups packed basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
- 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for sautéing
- 12 thin slices mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Place one chicken breast between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and pound it with a meat tenderizer (or the bottom of a heavy skillet) until it is 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- In a blender, combine the basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, garlic and pine nuts. Pulse for 15 seconds, then with the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed and continue blending until the pesto is puréed. Taste and season the pesto with salt and pepper.
- Spread one-fourth of the pesto on one side of each of the chicken breasts then top the pesto with three slices of mozzarella cheese per chicken breast. Beginning at the shorter end, tightly roll up each chicken breast and secure it with a toothpick. Season the outsides of the roulades with salt and pepper.
- Heat two large oven-proof skillets over medium heat and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the roulades and sear them on all sides until they’re browned. Transfer the pans into the preheated oven and bake the roulades until they are cooked throughout and reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- Remove the roulades from the oven and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks then slice and serve.
Kelly’s Notes
- When pounding out the chicken breasts, start in the center of the breast and make sure the meat mallet or frying pan hits the chicken flat, ending with a slight motion towards the edge of the meat to encourage it to spread. Avoid hitting the chicken with the edge of your mallet, which can create holes.
- The tighter your roll, the more of a uniform spiral look your finished roulades will have.
- Don’t skip the five-minute resting time, which is crucial to allow the meat to come up to temperature and to seal in and evenly distribute the juices.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
My husband made this for dinner last night, and the flavor was phenomenal. Thank you!!!
Happy November! Just letting you know that I featured this recipe in my October 2015 round-up of Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes. Hope a lot of my readers will click over here and try it!
Thanks so much, Kalyn! I hope you’re doing great!
I honestly feel like making raw chicken look appetizing on the net is nearly impossible ~ and you did it. This looks absolutely fabulous. Stuffed with nutritious ingredients and low carb, thank you!
Haha! Thanks so much, Laura!
That looks awesome! Great job, pinned :)