Cream Cheese-&-Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Name: Cream Cheese-&-Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese; 1 tablespoon basil pesto (store-bought or homemade); Ground pepper to taste; 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1 1/4 pounds total); 1 egg white; ½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs; 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Rating: 4.83 stars

18 Ratings
7 Reviews

Cream cheese and pesto make a delectable filling for lean chicken breasts. Use this technique to experiment with other fillings as well, such as ham and cheese or goat cheese and chopped olives.

EatingWell Test Kitchen

Source: EatingWell Magazine, Winter 2004

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Recipe Summary

total:

50 mins

Servings:

Nutrition Profile:

Heart Healthy

Low-Calorie

Low Carbohydrate

Diabetic Appropriate

Low Sodium

Healthy Aging

Low Added Sugars

Nutrition Info

Ingredients

2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon basil pesto (store-bought or homemade)
Ground pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
1 egg white
½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

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Step 2

Combine cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl with a fork.
Step 3

Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
Step 4

Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
Step 5

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170 degrees F, about 20 minutes.

Tips

Easy cleanup: Recipes that require cooking spray can leave behind a sticky residue that can be hard to clean. To save time and keep your baking sheet looking fresh, line it with a layer of foil before you apply the cooking spray.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 stuffed chicken breast

Per Serving:

249 calories; protein 29.5g; carbohydrates 10.7g; dietary fiber 0.7g; sugars 1.3g; fat 9g; saturated fat 2.3g; cholesterol 88.1mg; vitamin a iu 106.3IU; vitamin c 0.3mg; folate 34.1mcg; calcium 69.9mg; iron 1.2mg; magnesium 41.2mg; potassium 449.5mg; sodium 220.2mg; thiamin 0.2mg.

Exchanges:

1/2 starch, 3 1/2 lean meat, 1 fat

Reviews (7)

Read More Reviews

18 Ratings

5 star values: 15
4 star values: 3
3 star values: 0
2 star values: 0
1 star values: 0

Reviews: Most Helpful

Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest

Tricia Cagle

10/30/2011

Quick easy and delicious! Loved the cream cheese and pesto combo and even my picky 2 year old ate it. This is getting added to our meal rotation. It's nice to have a new way to cook chicken breasts and will make for company in the future. Read More

EatingWell User

09/17/2012

Makes a great impression! I've made with basil pesto and cream cheese three times; have added it to my standard chicken rotation. I use panko for more crunch and also add garlic a dash of black pepper and a dash of cayenne to the breading mix. Sooo yummy! This is a requested favorite already. Also made up one with leftover hot italian sausage and cream cheese with a mix of parmesan and panko on top. My hubby loved that! Pros: Tastes great looks beautiful when served Read More

EatingWell User

10/30/2011

The cream cheese and pesto stuffed chicken breasts are amazing! Definately making these again. Pretty easy to prepare. My boyfriend loved them! Its hard getting him to eat healthy and with these he asked for more! YUM! Read More

Blovely

03/15/2012

Great recipe! I have made this a few times including the stuffed ham and cheese version. I absolutely love both! I will admit the ham and cheese won me over more but my boyfriend and I have been trying to put some new twists on our chicken dishes and he adores this recipe!!! 5 stars!!!! Read More

Blovely

10/29/2011

Great Idea! I LOVED this recipe! I can't figure out why I didn't think of stuffing my chicken before! The pesto flavor was so delightful and I can't wait to try other stuffing. My BF said this tasted just like a meal they prepare at his hotel. I will be making this again for sure! SN: I did substitute REAL bread crumbs though which added an amazing extra flavor and crunch. I used a fresh loaf of rosemary & olive oil from the grocery store bakery. I chopped up a chunk then added it to the blender. It crisped up very nicely in the oven:) Read More

shawneegirl@cox.net

11/04/2011

OMG this ROCKS! I made this using the goat cheese & olive filling and I added about 4 sun dried tomatoes (not in oil diced) a little fresh garlic (1 clove finely minced) and 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning...WOW!!! I thought the cream cheese & pesto was great but the goat cheese/olive/sun dried tomato filling was to die for!! This ROCKS!! I can't wait to try the ham & cheese too!!! Pros: Easy healthy delicious versatile! Read More

shawneegirl@cox.net

10/29/2011

Fast easy and DELISH!!! This recipe is in my regular rotation. It's quick to prepare with minimal effort and yields fabulous results! Fits perfectly into our healthy diet...my husband doesn't feel like he's eating healthier with dishes like this! All of the fillings are great. I do use panko instead of bread crumbs (hubby prefers it). Otherwise I make it right to the letter. You won't be sorry you tried this one! Pros: Easy to prepare great tasting low cal cholesterol fat & carb. Cons: None!! Read More

EatingWell User

10/30/2011

This is a keeper! The pesto-cream cheese filling is excellent and baking the chicken like this makes it so tender. Delicious! Read More

EatingWell User

07/23/2014

Delicious tender flavorful. My husband really enjoyed this. The chicken was tender and juicy and the filling very flavorful (pesto and cream cheese). I pounded the chicken a little and cooked in the oven for 15 mins. Pros: easy Read More