Last Updated April 19th, 2022 at 02:17 pm by Lisa
These stuffed chicken breasts can be made ahead, and it makes the best pan sauce. Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken will be a hit at family dinner with everyone, plus it's a low-carb recipe.
Years ago, I learned to make this recipe in cooking school. And over the years, I have made this amazing stuffed chicken countless times. An absolute favorite recipe with my friends and family.
Stuffed Chicken is a hit for family dinner entertaining, special occasion holidays, or romantic date night dinners...
For dinner, caramelize the stuffed chicken, drizzle with the easy pan sauce, and serve right away.
For entertaining, make the chicken and sauce, refrigerate, and finish in the oven right before your party. You will be a kitchen superstar, relax, and enjoy being with your guests.
Isn't this a gorgeous dish?
You Will LOVE Stuffed Chicken
- Perfect for a romantic date night dinner
- One pan (and a tiny bowl) to clean
- Make it ahead for entertaining
- Deep amazing delicious flavors
- People WILL ask for the recipe
- Inexpensive ingredients
- Looks gorgeous
And....this pan sauce, oh my it is just that good...
How to Clean and Slice Fresh Leeks
Clean and slicing leeks
- On a stable cutting board, trim the root end off and discard. Next, remove 5 inches of the top dark green leaves, leaving the lighter green leek leaves. (The dark part is tough but is great in chicken stocks and bone broths!)
- Then, from the root end slice up all the way through the leek but leave the top end connected, this is so you can soak and wash the dirt but not have leaves everywhere!
- Soak both ends of the leeks in a bowl of water, once most of the dirt is removed slice all the way through so you have two halves.
- Change the water in the bowl, rinse the leeks halves again. Keep washing and change the water several times as you fan the leaves open underwater to be sure they are clean. And keep changing the water until clear.
- Once clean, move to a cutting board. Now slice all the way through the leeks, and slice into thin strips for your recipe.
Make Gorgonzola Leek Stuffing
- Prep the thyme leaves.
- Prep the leeks.
- In an extra-large heavy skillet, melt butter, sea salt, and cracked pepper. Add the sliced leeks, and saute' over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes until soft and light brown.
- Add ¼ cup white wine, and cook 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Turn off heat, and transfer this mixture to a small mixing bowl, and cool. Once cool, add ½ cup gorgonzola cheese, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. Mix until combined, set aside.
Make Pockets, And Stuff Chicken
- On a cutting board, trim fat bits from the chicken.
- Use a small paring knife to cut a pocket into each chicken breast.
- Start at the thickest end, place your palm on top of the chicken, insert a paring knife, and carefully move the knife back and forth to open slicing slowly to form a pocket without piercing all the way through to the other side.
- Using a regular teaspoon, fill the pocket with about 2-3 tablespoons of the leek stuffing mixture. Insert 2 toothpicks to close up the pocket and keep it closed while cooking. Sprinkle the dry season mix on both sides of the stuffed breasts, set on a plate.
Season and Saute The Chicken Breasts
- Make chicken seasoning: In a small bowl mix salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the dry season mix on both sides of the stuffed breasts, set on a plate.
- Heat extra-large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, swirl around the pan to coat.
- Place stuffed chicken breasts in pan and brown 6 minutes per side, or until nice golden color. Use tongs to turn the chicken until golden brown on each side.
After the chicken is caramelized and brown, rest them on a plate. Next, you will make the easy pan sauce, which is worth every bit of time it takes to pull together.
Make the Pan Sauce
- Whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1 cup chicken stock, this will thicken the pan sauce. In the same extra-large pan you sauteed the chicken, add the chopped shallot, and stir for about 2 minutes until soft. Add 1 cup white wine, 1 cup chicken stock/cornstarch mixture, and fresh thyme leaves. Gently scrape brown bits from the pan using a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook the pan sauce for 5 minutes on medium heat until slightly thickened.
- Remove the toothpicks, place the breasts back in the pan, turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the chicken simmer in sauce on the stove for another 10 minutes until cooked through.
And there you have it, my friends. Yes, this recipe has a few steps. But, when you take a bite of this chicken for the first time, I bet you will make it again and again. Happy cooking!
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Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts approximately 32 oz package
gorgonzola leek stuffing
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 2 cups thinly sliced leeks 1 small leek
- ½ cup gorgonzola crumbled
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
chicken seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika smoked, not hot!
pan sauce
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves stems removed
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
extra thyme sprigs for garnish
Instructions
prep items
- Make chicken seasoning: In a small bowl mix salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
- Clean and finely slice the leeks: See my recipe post for more details, set aside.
- Chop the shallot finely, set aside.
- Remove the thyme leaves from stems, set aside.
prepare gorgonzola leek stuffing
- In an extra-large heavy skillet, melt butter, sea salt, and cracked pepper.
- Add the sliced leeks, and saute' over medium heat about 5-8 minutes until soft and light brown. Add ¼ cup white wine, and cook 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Turn off heat, and transfer this mixture to a small mixing bowl and cool. Once cool, add ½ cup gorgonzola cheese, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. Mix until combined, set aside.
Prepare chicken breasts
- On a cutting board, trim fat bits from chicken. Use a small paring knife to cut a pocket into each chicken breast. Start at the thickest end, place your palm on top of the chicken, insert a paring knife and carefully move knife back and forth to open slicing slowly to form a pocket without piercing all the way through to the other side.
- Using a regular teaspoon, fill the pocket with about 2-3 tablespoons of the leek stuffing mixture. Insert 2 toothpicks to close up the pocket and keep it closed while cooking. Sprinkle the dry season mix on both sides of the stuffed breasts, set on a plate.
Pan saute chicken
- Heat extra-large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, swirl around pan to coat.
- Place stuffed chicken breasts in pan and brown 6 minutes per side, or until nice golden color. Use tongs to turn the chicken until golden brown on each side.
- Remove the golden brown breasts from the pan and rest on a platter. Don't clean the pan yet!
Make pan sauce
- Whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1 cup chicken stock, this will thicken the pan sauce. In the same extra-large pan you sauteed the chicken, add the chopped shallot, and stir for about 2 minutes until soft. Add 1 cup white wine, 1 cup chicken stock/cornstarch mixture, and fresh thyme leaves. Gently scrape brown bits from the pan using a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook the pan sauce for 5 minutes on medium heat until slightly thickened.
- Place the breasts back in the pan, turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the chicken simmer in sauce on the stove for another 10 minutes until cooked through.
Serve chicken on warm dinner plates. Spoon sauce over the chicken, garnish with thyme sprigs.
Notes
Side Dish Pairings
Rice pilaf, fingerling potatoes, mashed potatoes, or grilled asparagus.Make-Ahead
- Brown the chicken, make the pan sauce, and cool the pan for 45 minutes on the counter. Then cover the pan with chicken breasts and sauce, place in the fridge until an hour before dinner.
- I used a small roasting pan with handles that fit into my fridge (my cooking pan wouldn't fit so check first). Pull out the roasting pan about 30 minutes before cooking, preheat oven to bake 375.
- Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Be sure there are no toothpicks. This will finish cooking the chicken and heat the sauce. Serve on warm plates, spoon sauce on chicken, and garnish with thyme sprigs. Enjoy!
What do you recommend as side dishes with the chicken breasts stuffed with gorgenzola and leeks? Would oven roasted root vegetables be too much competing flavor? Serve it over polenta?
Hello Linda, I have served this dish for company with a nice green salad, and roasted vegetables would be quite nice! You could serve it with rice or polenta, that would be delicious. Sometimes I serve this dish with garlic bread and even mashed potatoes would be a good side dish. Good luck, I LOVE this recipe, it is one I have made for years!
These are melt in your mouth good. I love that you can do most of the labor ahead and then just pop it in the oven the next day. Those are the best kinds of recipes short of having Lisa at your house to make it all. 🙂