Chicken breast is pounded out and rolled up with a sundried tomato pesto for an easy and flavorful dinner. Updated the recipe, photos, and writing. Originally published August 2011.

Chicken Roulade - Sliced On plate and filled with Sundried Tomato Pesto

I’ve always loved chicken roulade, because in every bite you get a little bit of chicken and a little bit of the stuffing. And in a way that’s similar to a Pumpkin Roll Cake, it may not look like much before it’s sliced, but when you slice it up and serve it on the plate, it always looks so pretty.

One of my favorite stuffings for chicken roulade is this sundried tomato pesto. It took me a while to get on board with sundried tomatoes. When I was a little girl in Girl Scouts, on Halloween they told us they were dried up newts and I was scarred for quite a while, haha.

Even now, I only like sundried tomatoes in certain settings, but I think this is a great one. Sundried tomatoes are pulsed with parmesan, walnuts, scallions, basil, parsley, and olive oil, and rolled up into thinly pounded chicken breasts. It screams weeknight dinner!

Start the pesto by adding parmigiano reggiano chunks and sundried tomatoes together in the bowl of a food processor.

Sundried Tomatoes and Cheese in Food Processor Bowl

I use the sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, by the way.

Pulse together until well chopped:

Sundried Tomato Paste in Food Processor bowl

Add scallions, parsley, basil, and walnuts:

Fresh Basil and Walnuts With Sundried Tomato Paste in Food Processor bowl

Pulse until it’s nice and chopped up, then spread a thin layer on butterflied and pounded chicken breasts:

Spreading Sundried Tomato Pesto on Chicken Breast

Roll the chicken up (I roll it up the length of the chicken, so the longest part is rolled), then secure with kitchen twine:

Rolled and Tied Chicken Roulade Recipe on Board

Repeat with the remaining sundried tomato pesto and chicken breasts, and place on a sheet pan:

Rolled and Tied Stuffed Chicken Breasts on Sheet Pan

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until fully cooked through.

Oven Roasted Stuffed Chicken Breasts on Cutting Board

Snip and remove the twine, then cut into slices for the prettiest presentation. Enjoy!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Slices on Plate with Tomatoes

Chicken Roulade - Sliced On plate and filled with Sundried Tomato Pesto with Tomatoes

Chicken Roulade with Sundried Tomato Pesto

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Chicken breast is pounded out and rolled up with a sundried tomato pesto for an easy and flavorful dinner.
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Ingredients

  • 3 oz parmigiano reggiano cheese cut into chunks
  • 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
  • 3 scallions roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pinenuts
  • 4 tbsp olive oil preferably from the sundried tomatoes jar
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (4 pieces)
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Add the cheese and sundried tomatoes to a food processor and pulse until chopped up. Add the scallions, parsley, basil, and nuts and pulse until it’s chopped up. Stream in the sundried tomato olive oil and pulse until combined. The pesto will be pretty chunky, but the pesto stays rolled up in the chicken better if it’s thicker.
  • Set your chicken breasts on a cutting board, and butterfly them with a very sharp knife, cutting into the thickest part of the breast. Then place the butterflied chicken breast into a gallon sized ziploc bag and pound it out with a meat mallet or a frying pan.
  • Before you get your hands messy, cut some kitchen twine to tie up your chicken. Lay the flattened chicken breast out on a flat surface, and season with salt and pepper. Spread a big spoonful of the sundried tomato pesto onto the breast, then roll the chicken up the length of the pieces, and secure with the kitchen twine. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and pesto.
  • Place the chicken on a sheet pan and bake for about 25 minutes, until the interior reaches 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Let the meat rest for a couple minutes, then slice and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 587kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 59g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 159mg, Sodium: 628mg, Potassium: 1262mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 405IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 294mg, Iron: 2.5mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: Joanne Ozug