Being half Cuban, I can still clearly recall my grandmother cooking this meal for us each time she came to visit. I searched the internet for various recipes before deciding on this one, which I modified. Every time I prepare this recipe, it is a hit because it is flavorful, spicy, and warms the soul.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 2 ounces goat cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir shallot until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour balsamic vinegar into skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until balsamic vinegar mixture is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir often.
- Cut chicken breasts from one side through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book.
- Spread half the goat cheese onto one half of each chicken breast and drizzle 1/3 of the reduced balsamic vinegar mixture over the goat cheese. Close the chicken breasts over the goat cheese and secure with toothpicks. Arrange chicken into a baking dish. Drizzle with remaining 1/3 of the balsamic reduction.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside, the filling is hot, and the juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of a filled breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
- You can add sautéed mushrooms if you like.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 340 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 83 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 230 mg |
| Sugars | 19 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I love that this dish is so versatile. You can make it exactly as written or add ingredients like mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, whatever! I love these 5 Ingredient dishes and this one doesn’t disappoint!
Great! Sundried tomatoes and basil on top of the cheese is a great modification to the recipe
Simple, quick and tasty. Liked the added notes for mushrooms too.
I took one reader’s suggestion and added oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained) along with the goat cheese. And another suggestion of adding sauteed mushrooms that I cooked on the stove to the pan with the chicken in the last 10 mins of cooking. I also seasoned my chicken liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I did not need to secure the chicken with toothpicks and the cheese stayed in place. Without all of these modifications, I think this recipe would have only been a 4 but because of the additions, I’m going to go ahead and give it a 5. My family loved it. My chicken was pretty thick and took about 50 mins to cook to temperature.
So yummy! My husband has requested this on several occasions and it has quickly become part of our meal rotation. So easy and flavorful. The only thing I did differently was salt and pepper the chicken itself.
Overall I think the recipe was very good. I would recommend adding some salt and pepper to the chicken prior to cooking. The next time I make it, I’ll probably retain some of the balsamic glaze and use it as a sauce.
I liked it but did not love it. I found the goat cheese and balsamic vinegar a little too strong even though I used half of what I was suppose to.
Followed the recipe as is but subbed the breasts for thighs. As with some comments regarding oven/baking time, we began checking after 20 minutes. It was a go at 25. So people’s oven mileage may vary, something to think about. Delicious but then we like balsamic and we like goat cheese and we like chicken, so it was a plus, plus, plus for us. Thanks for the easy to do recipe.
This recipe was so easy to follow. Didn’t change anything. It came out perfectly. The family loves balsamic so this was a big hit.
I pounded and rolled instead of butterflying each breast. Per other reviews, I added garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (1 clove and 1/2 tsp per breast) but could have doubled it. I cut the balsamic vinegar in half and it was more than enough even after reduction. Topped with sauteed mushrooms. Don’t overdo the goat cheese
Loved it. But it was not enough cheese for me. In the later attempts I increased to 2oz per breast. I also experimented with goat cheeses and honey one is the best for this
Delicious! I added fresh chopped baby spinach and baby portobello mushrooms to the goat cheese!
I swapped the goat cheese for cream cheese for some pickier palates. As another person mentioned, the balsamic vinegar is very intense, but I liked the sweetness it added. The chicken was a bit plain, I plan to salt and pepper the outside of the little rolls before cooking next time to see if that fixes it. Overall, really easy and very good.
This was delicious! The whole family loved it! The balsamic reduction was extremely mild and sweet with nothing added. I think reviewers who found the balsamic overwhelming definitely didn’t reduce long enough. My chicken wasn’t fat enough to make a “book” so I pounded them flat, put in the filling (I added spinach) and folded them over. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time!) I’ll probably make a sandwich with 2 breasts. I added sauteed mushrooms to top it off and served with roasted mini potatoes. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe that’s fancy enough for guests and super easy for weeknight dinners!
Followed the recipe closely I pounded the chicken and folded over the cheese and placed seam side down in baking dish. I do think mushrooms would be an ideal addition to the chicken.
Just made this and it’s absolutely outstanding. Thanks
So here are my modifications: • I had fat chicken breasts, and was cooking for four people. I cut them down the center to make a pocket/flap in each breast. I marinated the chicken in the balsamic vinegar over night in a Ziploc bag. • I then pan seared the chicken breasts on both sides to brown the surface. Also seals the balsamic flavor into the breast. • My goat cheese mixture was any herbs I had around, arugula, garlic powder, salt and pepper. This was thickly spread into each pocket. • I used three thinly sliced shallots, fried them in oil to just brown, drained on a paper towel and then placed a layer of shallots over the goat cheese layer. • Placed stuffed chicken breasts in a roasting pan, covered with the remainder of the balsamic marinade and roasted for 30-45 minutes at 350. • Served with couscous. The goat cheese flowing out into the vinegar made the most delicious sauce and the chicken was tender and moist.
Fabulous. One of the best recipes I have made. Balsamic vinegar and goat cheese are a great combination and can be used for many other dishes.
This is definitely a keeper! It was refreshing to actually find a recipe that’s designed for 2 servings. I made a couple of additions that were suggested by previous review… added a little honey to the vinegar and added some chopped sundried tomatoes to the filling. The one mistake I made was not giving the sauce enough time to reduce before I drizzled it on the filling. Still came out great. Tasty, tender chicken. I also sprayed some cooking spray in the baking dish since I thought the sauce would be quite sticky. Made cleanup a breeze.
Added chopped cooked bacon and chopped green onions to the goat cheese, followed recipe otherwise. Was fantastic.
Wow! This super-easy recipe is incredibly flavorful and delicious. Quick to put together and perfect for people who love the zippy flavor of vinegar (If you love salt & vinegar chips and Caprese salad, this dish is for you!). It’s definitely going to become a part of our family’s regular rotation of favorite dishes.