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Italian Chicken Rolls

Stuffed chicken breast rolls filled with ricotta, cream cheese, and mozzarella, baked in tomato sauce and broiled with cheese.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream cheese and mozzarella cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 137 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Italian Chicken Rolls

Oven425°F
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Combine ricotta, cream cheese, and ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Set aside.

  2. Place chicken on a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another.

  3. Pound chicken to ¼ inch thickness.

  4. Sprinkle one side of chicken with salt and pepper.

  5. Spread cheese mixture on the unseasoned side of the chicken.

  6. Roll up the chicken.

Bake and finish

  1. Place seam-side down in a greased 13x9-inch (or smaller) baking dish.

  2. Pour sauce over the chicken.

  3. Bake in a 425°F oven for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.

  4. Heat broiler.

  5. Sprinkle chicken with cheese.

  6. Place under broiler until cheese is melted.

  7. Remove and serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

551Calories
51 gProtein
30 gFat
15 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Ricotta Cheese1/2 cup (124g) part-skim174
Chicken100g cooked165
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cream cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together137 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Mozzarella cheese + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,577 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Ricotta cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together371 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ricotta cheese
Adds creamy moisture to the filling so it stays soft after baking.
Cream cheese
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the filling.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts into a stretchy layer that binds the filling and browns under the broiler.
Chicken breast
Provides the lean protein that is rolled around the filling and cooked through.
Italian tomato sauce
Keeps the chicken moist in the oven and adds acidity and savory flavor.

The step that matters

Pound chicken to ¼ inch thickness. Even thickness lets the rolled chicken cook through at the same rate, so the center reaches a safe temperature without drying out the thinner outer edges.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, chicken, pepper, sauce):

  1. Tomatothe original
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Spinachfits less well
  4. Onionfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, chicken, pepper, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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