Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken Breasts are filled with vegetables and topped with a Dijon mustard pan sauce. Perfect for an elegant dinner at home. Keto, low carb, and gluten free.
As I was browsing through my favorite cookbook, the America's Test Kitchen Complete TV Show Cookbook, I stumbled upon this recipe for French Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I was instantly intrigued because typically stuffed chicken recipes contain breadcrumbs, but this recipe was stuffed with vegetables and minced chicken. I realized this recipe was naturally gluten free as well as low carb and keto friendly!
America's Test Kitchen recipes do not disappoint. They do tend to be more involved that other recipes, so I made sure I blocked off plenty of time to make this. I ended up making some changes to the method of the recipe that made it easier for me.
These stuffed chicken breasts were so good! Bob and I really liked them. I figured the girls would turn their noses up at the filling, so I made these for an at home date night. I think they would be perfect for a special meal at home, such as Valentine's Day or an anniversary.
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Ingredients
Prepare the Chicken Breasts
To make the chicken easier to cut, you can freeze it for 15 minutes and then butterfly the chicken breasts. You want to cut open the chicken breast but not completely through, so you're making it larger and thinner.
The chicken is then pounded thinner with a meat tenderizer. The edges of each chicken breast are trimmed and set aside to be used to make the filling.
Prepare the Filling
The chicken trimmings are processed in a food processor until minced and transferred to a bowl. The food processor does not need to be cleaned because the vegetable mixture will be added next.
To make the vegetable mixture, the mushrooms are sauteed in oil until brown. Then the leeks are added and finally the garlic and thyme, followed by lemon juice. Once the juice has evaporated, the vegetable are finished cooking.
The vegetables are transferred to the bowl of a food processor. The pan is returned to heat and deglazed with the wine. The wine is then transferred to a small bowl for use later in the pan sauce. The pan is rinsed and dried so it is ready to brown the chicken later.
The vegetable mixture is then processed in the food processor and added to the small bowl with the minced chicken.
The chicken and veggie are combined until well blended. The filling is ready to be stuffed inside the chicken breasts.
Stuff the Chicken Breasts
The trimmed chicken breast is laid flat, and ¼ of the filling is spread over the chicken breast, leaving a small border on each side. The chicken is then rolled up and placed seam side down on top of 3 pieces of kitchen twine. The twine is tied around the chicken breast and trimmed as necessary.
This process is repeated for each chicken breast.
Cook the Chicken and Prepare the Sauce
The chicken breast bundle are browned in oil in a skillet, then transferred to a foil lined baking sheet and baked until cooked through.
For the sauce, the reserved wine and chicken broth are added to the pan. The Dijon mustard is whisked in, and the sauce is reduced to about ½ cup. Off heat, the butter, some parsley, and lemon juice are added to finish the sauce.
To serve the chicken, it is cut across into medallions so that each piece has the filling in the center. The sauce is spooned on top.
Gluten Free Option
These chicken breasts are stuffed with minced chicken and vegetables rather than breadcrumbs. The pan sauce is a simple Dijon wine sauce without any flour thickener. This recipe is naturally gluten free, keto friendly, and low carb.
📖 Recipe
Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Equipment
- kitchen twine, cut into 12 pieces, approximately 12-inches long each
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Stuffing:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen for 15 minutes)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 10 ounces white mushrooms (wiped clean and sliced thin)
- 1 small leek (white part only, chopped and rinsed thoroughly, about 1 cup)
- 2 medium garlic cloves (minced or pressed through a garlic press, about 2 teaspoons)
- ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (minced)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- salt and ground black pepper
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken Breasts:
- Butterfly the chicken breasts horizontally, stopping ½ inch away from one edge so the halves remain attached.4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Open up each chicken breast, cover with plastic wrap, and pound to ¼ inch thick.
- Trim ½ inch from the long sides of the cutlets to form rectangles that measure about 8x5-inches. Set the trimmings aside.
Prepare the Filling:
- Add the trimmed chicken breast pieces to the bowl of a food processor and puree. Transfer the minced chicken to a medium bowl and set aside. You do not need to clean out the bowl o the food processor, as it will be used to puree the vegetable mixture next.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.10 ounces white mushrooms
- Add 1 tablespoon more oil to the pan with the leek and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.1 small leek
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook about 30 seconds. Add 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds until the liquid has evaporated.2 medium garlic cloves, ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Transfer the vegetables to the bowl of a food processor, and return the pan to the heat.
- Add the wine and scrape the pan to loosen browned bits. Transfer the wine to a small bowl and set aside. Rinse and dry the skillet.½ cup dry white wine
- Process the vegetables in the food processor, then transfer to the bowl containing the minced chicken. Add 1 ½ teaspoons parsley, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Fold together with a silicone spatula until well combined.1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Stuff the Chicken Breasts:
- Lay out 3 pieces of kitchen twine (approximately 12-inches long each) and 1 chicken breast cutlet, opened up, on a work surface
- Add ¼ of the stuffing mixture evenly over the chicken, leaving a ¾-inch border along the short sides and a ¼-inch border along the long sides of the chicken cutlet. Roll the chicken breast up tightly without squeezing out the filling. Place seam side down on top of the 3 pieces of twine. Tie each piece of twine around the rolled chicken breast, trim excess twine if necessary. Repeat with each chicken breast.
Cook the Chicken Breasts:
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat, just until smoking. Add the stuffed chicken and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.salt and ground black pepper
- Transfer the chicken bundles to the prepared baking sheet and bake until the inside registers at least 165 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes. The filling contains raw chicken, so it is important that it reaches a safe temperature in the center. While the chicken bakes, prepare the pan sauce.
Prepare the Pan Sauce:
- Add the broth and reserved wine to the pan.1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- Whisk the mustard into the sauce and increase the heat to high and simmer until reduced to ½ cup, about 10 minutes.1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter, 1 ½ teaspoons parsley, and 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice. Check sauce for taste and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.2 tablespoon butter, 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Serve the Chicken:
- Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a cutting board and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove and discard the twine.
- Slice each chicken breast through the filling into medallions. Place on a plate and spoon sauce over the chicken.
Renee says
This stuffing is delicious and they looked so good when we cut into them. Thanks!
Meghan says
So glad they turned out!
Barb says
Not sure this isn’t the best chicken we ever had.
The chicken was so tender and the filling was amazing. We were a little nervous with all the steps when we first saw it BUT do not worry- just find a good sous chef to help you prep (that was me while my husband did the cooking) and then it takes no work at all. AMAZING
Meghan says
So glad you liked it! It is extra work but worth it 🙂