Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Roll Ups [Video+Recipe]
Serving: 4 portions
Ingredients
For the chicken rolls
- 1 cup ricotta cheese [210 grams]
- ¼ cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach [30 grams]
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1 large egg
- 4 chicken breasts [544 grams]
- 16 slices bacon [460 grams]
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 1½ cups tomato sauce [355 ml]
- 2 tablespoons minced curly parsley divided
- ¼ teaspoons black pepper freshly-cracked, or ground
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
1. Make the stuffing mixture
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, spinach, onion powder, and Italian seasoning, and mix well. Season with salt to taste. Mix in the egg. Set aside.
2. Flatten the chicken breasts
- Butterfly each chicken breast. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap.Using a meat mallet or meat pounder, pound the chicken breasts until they are very thin and have about doubled in area.
3. Stuff the chicken
- Make the chicken rolls by scooping a quarter of the stuffing onto each chicken breast. Roll tightly, making sure to seal the ends. You can also pin them with toothpicks to prevent them from coming apart.Cover the rolls with plastic film and freeze them (they must be frozen hard for the next step).⚠️ If you wish, you can freeze at this stage for several days and complete the following steps at a later date.
4. Wrap the chicken roll ups
- While you make the roll-ups, preheat the oven to 400 ºF [205 ºC].Wrap the rolls tightly with bacon slices. Do not let the chicken rolls thaw before cooking.Place the baking roll on a baking tray with a wire rack. Tuck the bacon ends under the rolls.
5. Cooking the chicken rolls
- Cook for 20 minutes, or until the bacon has turned crispy and golden brown at the top. Remove the pan from the oven and rotate.Return to the oven and cook for 20 more minutes, or until the top side of the bacon is also crispy, and the internal temperature read with an instant-read thermometer reaches 165 degrees ºF [74 ºC].
6. Making the sauce
- While the chicken is in the oven, heat the olive oil in a saucepan or skillet over very low heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook covered for two minutes, or until the garlic releases its aroma. Pour the tomato sauce and half the parsley. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove from the heat and mix in the remaining parsley (you can save some for garnishing when served).
7. Serving
- Ladle the sauce onto a large shallow dish. Place the chicken roll-ups on the sauce and serve (remember to remove the toothpicks if you used any).
Nutrition
Calories: 834kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 230mg | Sodium: 2049mg | Potassium: 1166mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1625IU | Vitamin C: 13.3mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 2.6mg
