Italian Chicken Rolls
A comforting chicken built around boneless skinless chicken breasts, ricotta cheese and cream cheese β roughly 70 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 8 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and frying pan / skillet. At medium difficulty across 8 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (7)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F) and lightly oil a baking dish.
- Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness of about 1 cm, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a bowl, mix the ricotta, softened cream cheese, half the mozzarella, the minced garlic and chopped basil until smooth.
- Spread a quarter of the cheese filling over each flattened breast, roll up tightly from the narrow end and secure with toothpicks.
- Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and sear the rolls on all sides for about 5 minutes until lightly golden.
- Pour the tomato sauce around the rolls, scatter over the remaining mozzarella and the parmesan, then transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74 C (165 F) and the cheese is bubbling.
- Remove the toothpicks and let the rolls rest for 5 minutes before serving with the sauce spooned over.
You'll use: Oven Β· Frying pan / skillet Β· Baking dish
Ingredient substitutions
- Ricotta
- cottage cheese (blended) Β· mashed silken tofu
- Parmesan
- pecorino Β· grana padano Β· aged asiago
Tips & common questions
How long does Italian Chicken Rolls take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 8 steps and 11 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of ricotta?
Try cottage cheese (blended). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Italian Chicken Rolls is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Chicken roll with vegetables & goat cheese (5742199145).jpg by Luca Nebuloni from Milan, Italy, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.