Tomato And Spinach Stuffed Chicken Roulade

Don't try this one at home folks........just kidding. I found this recipe in the September issue of Shape Magazine. The headline said, “Weeknight Dinners Made Easy.” Riiiight.......

Ok, so this did end up being REALLY good. I would not, however, consider it weeknight material or all that easy. I think I may be personally responsible for the destruction of a rain forest based on the number of toothpicks I had to use to hold everything together.

As usual, I changed ingredients for what I had on hand. Also, the original recipe seemed to be lacking a lot, especially seasonings. Original ingredients are in the parenthesis, all seasonings are mine. Anyway, here goes.........


4 6 oz chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 cup spinach, chopped (baby spinach)
1 cup of cheese, I used about 3 parts mozzarella to 1 part shredded parmesan (cheddar)
1 large tomato, sliced
6 egg whites
¼ cup vegetable broth
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour (½ cup flour)
2 Tbsp olive oil (1 Tbsp olive oil)

Topping
1 tomato, diced (1 cup diced tomato)
1 red pepper, chopped
½ cup spinach, chopped (baby spinach)
1 handful fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, sliced or diced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste

I pounded the chicken breasts and they were sort of falling apart. My recommendation for this recipe is fresh chicken breast, as my issues may have been because I was using packaged frozen.

It all started pretty easily – Pound the chicken, top it with cheese, top it with spinach, add the tomato.

Here's where it gets hairy. Now you have to roll these guys up. The magazine describes it like this:

Fold in ends and roll tightly

I have no idea what that meant so I just rolled the best I could and used a gazillion toothpicks to hold them together. Don't get discouraged if they still look like they're on the verge of falling apart. Once they were rolled I put them seem side down in a dish.

Whisk together the egg whites and broth. To avoid a fried egg texture, I whisked until foamy. Then divide the flour into two dishes large and flat enough to roll these things in.

Are you ready?

First roll the chicken in flour, then dunk into the egg mixture, then roll in the other flour. This is SO much easier said than done. My hands seemed like they were covered in paste and the chicken seemed to be losing the first coating of flour. Honestly, at this point I thought I had a disaster on my hands, not to mention it looked like a war zone.

Once everybody is coated, give them a good sear in a hot pan with olive oil. Make sure the oil is good and hot before putting the chicken in there.

This is where the miracle happens. Believe it or not, all that flour and egg and oozy cheese start to seal everything closed despite any rolling or coating issues.

Once you have a good sear on all sides, which takes about 5 – 7 minutes, put them in a baking pan and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

WAIT!....You're not done....While they're baking make the topping.

Put all the topping ingredients into a small sauce pan and cook for about 5 – 7 minutes until everything is tender and some of the liquids are evaporated.


Slice the chicken into equal slices and top with the topping.

This meal seems like a disaster in the making, however, they turn out GREAT!!! Despite the failed attempts at perfect rolling and the...ahem...cussing.....I have to say that they were SO worth it! I will definitely make these again, I'm just going to start a little differently....with a nice glass of wine....

By the way, I have no idea what Roulade means.


This recipe is linked up at:
Simple Lives Thursday, Make It From Scratch, Tasty Traditions, Recipe Swap Thursday, The Pennywise Platter, Lisa's Gluten Free Food & Health Carnival, Food On Fridays, Friday Favorites, Fight Back Friday, Foodie Friday, Friday Firsts, Feature Yourself Friday, Wholesome Whole Foods, The Grocery Cart Challenge, Friday's Kid Tested Recipes, Remodelaholic