Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
for the chicken:
- 4 tablespoons frying oil divided
- 1 pound (450g) cremini mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
- 4 medium/large chicken breasts
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces (120g) Gruyere cheese
for the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/3 cup (80ml) dry white wine
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the mushroom filling:
- Prepare the ingredients: Wash mushrooms and pat them dry with paper towels. Cut mushrooms into 1/4-inch (5mm) slices. Finely chop garlic and parsley. Grate Gruyere cheese on the small holes of a box grater.1 pound (450g) cremini mushrooms, 4 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons chopped parsley, 4 ounces (120g) Gruyere cheese
- Cook the mushrooms: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over high heat. When hot add the mushrooms in an even layer. Don’t stir for 2-3 minutes, letting the mushrooms at the bottom brown. Start stirring the mushrooms, they will now release water. Cook them for a couple of minutes over high heat until all the liquid is evaporated. Then cook the mushrooms for a further couple of minutes, stirring from time to time, until soft and browned.
- Season: Reduce the heat to low and add garlic, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Cook for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove to a plate.1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Stuff chicken breasts:
- If your chicken breasts come with tenderloins attached, remove them and use them in another dish.4 medium/large chicken breasts
- Cut a slit horizontally in the chicken breast, creating a pocket (don’t cut the breast all the way through, see the photo in the post for reference). Aim to maintain even thickness on both parts of the chicken.
- Fill the pockets with mushrooms and 2/3 of the grated cheese. If you have some mushrooms left, reserve them – you can add them later to the sauce. Close the pockets with toothpicks (optional).
Sear the chicken:
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan over high heat. When hot add the stuffed chicken and cook on both sides until browned (the chicken doesn’t have to be cooked through at this point, only browned). Transfer chicken to a plate.
Make the pan sauce:
- If there is some oil left in the pan, discard it. Add the butter and finely chopped garlic to the pan. Cook over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.2 tablespoons butter, 4 cloves garlic
- Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring.1 tablespoon flour
- Add the wine and cook until it’s almost evaporated. While the wine is cooking, scrape with a spatula all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.1/3 cup (80ml) dry white wine
- Add the broth, cream, and Dijon mustard. Bring the sauce to a boil and whisk until all the ingredients are well combined.1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, 1 cup (240ml) chicken broth, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Finish the chicken in the sauce:
- Return the chicken back to the pan - if one side of the chicken is noticeably thinner, place the chicken in the pan on the side that is thicker - it will have more contact with the heat and sauce and will cook faster.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked through (it took 13 minutes for me, but the cooking time will depend on how big the chicken breast is and how long have you seared it). About 5 minutes before the end of cooking time, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the chicken.
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. If the sauce is too thin, cook it a little bit longer until thickened. Season to taste with more salt and pepper (if necessary), add the remaining mushrooms (if you have any).
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve the chicken with sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of Gruyere cheese, you can use Swiss cheese (Emmentaler), or a mix of mozzarella and parmesan.
- How to know if the chicken is cooked: the best way to check if the chicken is cooked through is to measure its temperature with a thermometer. Insert it in the middle of the thickest section of the meat, it should register 160°F (71°C). You can use an instant-read thermometer or a grill thermometer (this is my preference). If I’m using a grill thermometer: I insert the probe into the chicken, then cover the pan with a lid (the cable of the probe is very thin so it’s possible to cover the pan completely) and set the thermometer to 160°F (71°C). The thermometer is ringing when the chicken has reached the temperature that I have set so I don’t have to check on it constantly. The chicken should then come to a safe temperature of 165°F (74°C) while resting.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/2 of the recipe).