Chicken and Cheese Roll Ups – Are a healthy dinner idea that’s perfect for a backyard barbecue . Or bake these chicken rolls in the oven.
These chicken rolls are made with red pesto sauce, Krakus Polish ham, provolone cheese, and sweet and spicy mango salsa.
To make this dinner entirely your own feel free to add whatever meat and cheese you like. Some of my favorites are prosciutto and Havarti cheese.
If you don’t eat ham try making this recipe with no meat. Either way, these chicken rolls are delicious.
Why You’ll Love Chicken and Cheese Roll Ups
- Light & healthy summer dinner – Chicken and cheese roll ups are the perfect dinner for summer gatherings. This meal is high in protein, rich in antioxidants and delicious!
- Grill or bake in the oven – Summer time is for grilling and my favorite way to cook this meal. Another favorite is Pineapple Chicken Kabobs. Which can be grilled or baked in the oven as well.
- A real crowd-pleaser – Sometimes the same old recipes get boring after a while. That is not the case with this stuffed chicken, my friends and family love this meal and request it quite often.
Chicken and Cheese Roll Ups Recipe
This summer dinner is simply organic chicken breasts stuffed with meat and cheese. All the seasoning comes from red pesto sauce and mango salsa.
Here is what you need.
Ingredients & Variations
- Chicken Breasts
- Red or Green Pesto Sauce
- Provolone Cheese or Mozzarella
- Sliced Ham or No Meat
For Mango Salsa
- Mango
- White Onion
- Green Pepper
- Red Pepper
- Jalapeno
- Cilantro
How to Make Chicken and Cheese Roll Ups
- Tenderize chicken. Wrap meat in parchment paper and beat meat with a meat tenderizer until flattened thin to about cutlet size.
- Prepare the vegetables. Dice mango, green pepper, red pepper, white onion, and cilantro. Set mango salsa in a bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Stuff chicken and roll. Evenly spread a thin layer of red pesto sauce on chicken breasts then add ham and cheese. Add about two tablespoons mango salsa on top and roll chicken.
- Grill or bake chicken rolls. If you are baking rolls in the oven use toothpicks to keep chicken breasts closed. If you are grilling chicken and cheese rolls wrap chicken breasts with twine. Grill or bake until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Recipe Notes
Tips for prepping chicken rolls, wrap chicken breasts in parchment paper before beating with meat tenderizer. Flatten chicken breasts to cutlet size, doing this makes chicken easy to roll.
Don’t over stuff chicken breasts or they become hard to roll.
Keep chicken breasts closed with toothpicks when baking in the oven and wrap and tie twine around chicken rolls when grilling. This keeps all the mango salsa and cheese from oozing out the sides.
Tips for grilling, Don’t add too much charcoal when heating the grill. Or else your grill will heat too fast and overcook the meat. Less is more in this situation.
Allow lighter fluid to burn off charcoal for 10-15 minutes. Charcoal will be white when ready.
Make sure to allow time for lighter fluid to burn off the coals or else your meat will taste like lighter fluid.
Keep the grill temperature at 250 degrees if the temperature drops, add a piece of charcoal to heat the temperature back up.
Questions You May Have
Are Chicken Rolls Healthy?
According to healthline, there are 50 foods that are super healthy for you. My chicken and cheese roll recipe contains at least 5 super foods on the list.
Organic Chicken Breasts – Are high in protein and a single chicken breast contains 26 grams of protein.
Bell Peppers – Are high in vitamin C and rich in antioxidants.
Onions – Can improve heart health, help blood sugar regulation, and increase bone density.
Cheese – Contains protein and offers the same nutrients as a full glass of milk.
Mango – Not only are mangoes delicious they are high in vitamin C, low in calories, high in healthy plant compounds, and contain immune boosting nutrients.
Mangoes may help prevent diabetes, support heart health, improve digestion, improve eye health, and help lower the risk of some cancers.
Can I Eat Chicken Roll after Workout?
Yes, since my chicken roll contains healthy ingredients you can eat these post workouts. After a workout it is best to eat a meal that is high in protein because protein helps replenish the body and build muscle mass.
Can I Eat Chicken Roll Every day?
According to Eating Well, You can eat a chicken roll everyday as long as you are incorporating enough fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and Omega-3 s into your diet.
How many calories does a chicken roll have?
Depending on the ingredients used to make chicken rolls the calories may vary from 600-1,000 calories a roll.
In my recipe for chicken rolls one roll is 369 calories.
What to Serve with Stuffed Chicken & Cheese
- Low Carb Broccoli Salad
- Couscous Lemon Salad
- Cheddar Broccoli Pasta Salad
- Red Potato Salad (No Mayo)
Chicken and Cheese Roll Ups
The same old recipes with chicken can get kind of boring. Change up your chicken game with these chicken and cheese roll ups. Organic chicken breasts are coated with red pesto sauce and stuffed with Polish ham, provolone cheese, and a sweet and spicy mango salsa. This recipe is sure to be a dinner-time favorite.
Ingredients
Equipment needed for baking:
- parchment paper
- meat tenderizer or rolling pin
- sheet pan or baking dish
- toothpicks
Equipment needed for grilling:
- twine
- hardwood lump charcoal
- lighter fluid
- apple wood, wood chunks
Ingredients for chicken and cheese rolls:
- 5 chicken breasts, flattened with a meat tenderizer
- 5 slices provolone cheese or mozzarella cheese
- 5 slices Krakus Polish ham
- 6.7 ounce Filippo Berio tomato & ricotta pesto
For Mango salsa:
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 mango
- 1/2 white onion
- 1/4 cup finely, diced cilantro
Instructions
- How to Make Mango Salsa:
- Peel mango with a knife or peeler and dice. Chop and dice red pepper, green pepper, half white onion, jalapeno, and finely dice cilantro.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together. Store ingredients in fridge until ready to stuff chicken breasts.
- How to Bake Chicken Rolls in the Oven:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray baking dish or sheet pan with olive oil spray.
- Wrap chicken breasts in parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound them thin ( cutlet size) using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin.
- Add 1 tablespoon Flippo Bero tomato & ricotta pesto sauce to each chicken breast and spread evenly to cover the chicken.
- Add a slice of ham and cheese to each chicken breast and add 2 tablespoons mango salsa.
- Roll each chicken breast tightly, securing with a toothpick. Close the ends up and secure with a toothpick to help prevent cheese from oozing out.
- Place chicken in baking dish or sheet pan and brush tops of chicken breasts with a small amount of olive oil. Optional: sprinkle tops of chicken with your favorite chicken seasonings.
- Bake chicken and cheese roll ups in the oven at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Broil for 2-3 minutes for charred tops.
- How to Grill Stuffed Chicken:
- Prepare chicken breasts the same way as if you were baking them but instead of closing chicken breasts with toothpicks. Roll chicken and wrap twine around the center and sides to keep the mango salsa and cheese from oozing out. (See Grill Tips)
- Add natural hardwood lump charcoal to grill and squeeze lighter fluid over coals. Heat coals for 10-15 minutes so lighter fluid burns off. Coals will be white when ready.
- Push charcoal to one side of the grill and heat grill to 250 degrees. Once grill is heated add two apple wood, wood chunks.
- Cook chicken and cheese rolls on indirect heat. (side of grill without charcoal)
- Cook for 1 hour on the grill or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees. Let rest 15-20 minutes cut twine off before eating.
Notes
Rolling Tips:
- Wrap chicken breast in parchment paper and beat with a meat tenderizer until flattened to cutlet size. Make sure chicken is thin it's easier to roll.
- Don't over stuff chicken or they become harder to roll.
- Close chicken breasts with toothpicks if you are cooking in the oven. This ensures cheese won't ooze out the sides.
Grill Tips:
- Cut twine tie and wrap 4 strings across the middle and one long string of twine lengthwise so the mango salsa and cheese stays inside when grilling.
- Allow lighter fluid to burn off charcoal for 10-15 minutes. Charcoal will be white when ready lighter fluid is burned off.
- Keep grill temperature at 250 degrees if the temperature drops add a piece of charcoal to the grill and heat the temperature back up.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 chicken breastAmount Per Serving: Calories: 369