Healthy Chicken Rollatini Recipe

Every Sunday for the past two years, Emma asks the same question: "Can we make the rolled-up chicken tonight?" This chicken rollatini recipe has become our family's comfort food ritual, born from a determination to master what seemed like an impossible restaurant technique. After watching countless YouTube videos and ruining more chicken breasts than I care to admit, I finally figured out the three simple tricks that transform ordinary ingredients into something that makes our dinner guests think I attended culinary school.

Plated chicken rollatini with melted mozzarella and herbs spilling out, garnished with fresh rosemary and served in a rich sauce.

Why You'll Love This Chicken Rollatini

This dish solves the weeknight dinner dilemma perfectly. When you need something that feels special but doesn't require hours of prep work, chicken rollatini delivers. I can have these assembled and in the oven within thirty minutes, yet they look like something from an upscale restaurant. The filling stays put during cooking, which took me forever to figure out, and the chicken comes out juicy every single time once you know the temperature trick.

What really hooks people is the surprise factor. From the outside, it just looks like breaded chicken, but that first slice reveals the creamy, herb-filled center that makes everyone lean forward and ask how you did it. Emma's friends always get quiet when I serve this - not because they don't like it, but because they're too busy eating to talk. The leftovers reheat beautifully too, which matters when you're packing school lunches or need a quick dinner the next night.

Jump to:

Why You'll Love This Chicken Rollatini
Ingredients for Chicken Rollatini
How To Make Chicken Rollatini Step By Step
Storing Your Chicken Rollatini
Chicken Rollatini Variations
Equipment For Chicken Rollatini
Smart Swaps for Chicken Rollatini
The Flavor My Mom Never Shared (Until Now)
Top Tip
What to Serve With Chicken Rollatini
FAQ
Restaurant-Quality Results at Home!
Related
Pairing
Chicken Rollatini

Ingredients for Chicken Rollatini

For the Chicken:

Boneless chicken breasts
Italian breadcrumbs
All-purpose flour
Large eggs
Olive oil

For the Filling:

Salt and pepper
Fresh ricotta cheese
Baby spinach
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Garlic

See recipe card for quantities.

Overhead view of ingredients for stuffed chicken: fresh spinach leaves, garlic, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, seasonings, and breadcrumb-coated chicken breasts with basil garnish.

How To Make Chicken Rollatini Step By Step

Prep Work:

Set up three dishes with flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs
Heat oven to 375°F
Mix ricotta filling in bowl
Squeeze water out of spinach with paper towels

Wooden table setup with bowls of flour, ricotta mixture with an egg, sautéed spinach, whole eggs, and more flour for breading.

Flatten the Chicken:

Put chicken between plastic wrap
Pound to quarter-inch thick
Stop before you make holes
Peel off plastic

Prep bowls on a marble surface showing flour, a beaten egg mixture with spinach, raw chicken layered with spinach and cheese, and a dish of parmesan.

Roll Them Up:

Spread filling on each breast, leave edges clear
Roll from short end to short end
Stick toothpicks through every few inches
Press seams closed

Ingredients on a table—bowls of spinach, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, and a plate with breadcrumb-coated chicken rolls stuffed with cheese and spinach.

Cook:

Bake 20-25 minutes until cooked through
Roll each piece in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs
Brown in hot oil, about 2 minutes per side
Stick the whole pan in oven

Baked chicken breasts stuffed with ricotta and spinach, topped with golden breadcrumbs, arranged on a white plate.

Storing Your Chicken Rollatini

Fridge Storage (3-4 days):

Let them cool down first
Cover with foil or plastic wrap
Reheat at 325°F for 15-20 minutes
Add a little chicken broth if they look dry

Freezer Storage (2-3 months):

Cool them completely
Wrap each roll in plastic wrap
Put wrapped rolls in freezer bags
Write the date on the bag

Make-Ahead Tips:

Add 5-10 minutes to baking time if they're cold
You can roll them up to 24 hours before cooking
Keep covered in the fridge

Chicken Rollatini Variations

Ham and Swiss Style:

Cream cheese instead of ricotta
Thin ham slices
Swiss cheese
No spinach needed

Mediterranean Version:

Sun-dried tomatoes replace spinach
Feta mixed with ricotta
Chopped kalamata olives
Fresh oregano

Mushroom Lovers:

Sauté mushrooms until all water cooks out
Mix into ricotta filling
Extra garlic
Gruyere cheese

Bacon Ranch:

Crispy bacon crumbles
Ranch powder mixed into ricotta
Cheddar cheese
Skip the herbs

Equipment For Chicken Rollatini

Oven-safe skillet
Meat mallet
Plastic wrap
Toothpicks
9x13 baking dish

Smart Swaps for Chicken Rollatini

Cheese Changes:

Ricotta → Greek yogurt (drain it overnight)
Mozzarella → provolone or fontina
Parmesan → pecorino romano
Fresh cheese → pre-shredded (it works fine)

Filling Swaps:

Spinach → sun-dried tomatoes or roasted peppers
Fresh herbs → dried (use half the amount)
Baby spinach → frozen spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)

Coating Options:

Italian breadcrumbs → plain breadcrumbs plus herbs
Store breadcrumbs → homemade from stale bread
Breadcrumbs → crushed crackers

Meat Changes:

Chicken → pork tenderloin sliced thin
Chicken breasts → chicken thighs (they're more forgiving)
Thick breasts → thin-sliced cutlets from the store

The Flavor My Mom Never Shared (Until Now)

My mom made chicken rollatini every Christmas Eve for twenty years, but hers always tasted different from mine - richer, with this depth I couldn't place. She'd just smile when I asked about her secret and say "practice makes perfect." Last year, when she was teaching Emma how to roll the chicken, she finally told me. She adds a tablespoon of cream cheese to her ricotta filling - not much, just enough to make it creamier and give it a slight tang that balances the herbs.

The other thing she kept quiet about was her breading method. Instead of just rolling the chicken in breadcrumbs, she presses them hard into the surface with her palms, then lets them sit for 10 minutes before cooking. "Gives the coating time to stick," she explained while Emma watched. Those extra few minutes mean the difference between breadcrumbs that fall off and a coating that stays put through the whole cooking process. Now when I make them her way, Emma always says, "These taste like Grandma's!" Sometimes the best tricks are right there waiting for someone to share them.

Top Tip

The biggest mistake people make is using wet ingredients. Drain your ricotta in a fine mesh strainer for 30 minutes, squeeze spinach dry with paper towels, and pat sun-dried tomatoes dry. Wet filling always leaks out, no matter how well you roll the chicken. Also, pound the chicken to an even quarter-inch thickness - uneven spots cook at different rates and thick areas won't roll properly. Use about 3 tablespoons of filling per breast - more than that squeezes out during rolling, less and you won't taste it.

After coating with breadcrumbs, let the rolls sit for 10 minutes before cooking so the coating sticks instead of falling off in the pan. Once they're cooked, give them 5 minutes to cool before cutting or the hot filling will run out everywhere. Use a meat thermometer and cook to 165°F internal temperature - overcooked chicken gets dry and tough. These small steps make the difference between rolls that hold together and ones that fall apart in the pan.

What to Serve With Chicken Rollatini

This dish is pretty rich, so you want sides that won't make everyone feel stuffed. Simple starches work best - buttered egg noodles, plain white rice, garlic mashed potatoes, or roasted baby potatoes. I usually go with egg noodles because they soak up any extra sauce that leaks out during cooking. For vegetables, stick with lighter stuff like steamed broccoli with lemon, green beans with almonds, a simple salad with vinaigrette, or roasted asparagus. Emma always wants broccoli because he can use the little trees to "clean his plate" after eating the chicken.

Don't go overboard with heavy or creamy sides since the rollatini already has plenty of richness from the cheese filling and breaded coating. Garlic bread is fine if you're not doing potatoes, but don't pile on too many rich things. I made that mistake once and served it with alfredo pasta - nobody could finish their plates because it was just too much. The chicken should be the main event, with everything else just filling out the plate without competing for attention.

FAQ

What to put in rolled chicken?

The usual filling is ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, and herbs, but you can stuff Chicken Rollatini with lots of things. Ham and Swiss works, or cream cheese with sun-dried tomatoes. Just don't use wet ingredients or the filling leaks out during cooking.

What to eat with Chicken Rollatini?

Simple sides work best since the Chicken Rollatini is already rich. Egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes for starch, plus steamed vegetables or a light salad. Don't do heavy cream sauces - the rollatini has enough richness already.

What is the best liquid to bread Chicken Rollatini with?

Beaten eggs work best for getting breadcrumbs to stick. Some people add a tablespoon of water or milk to the eggs, but plain beaten eggs do the job. Buttermilk makes the coating extra crispy if you have it.

What is the best cheese to put in chicken?

Ricotta makes the creamiest base, mozzarella adds stretch and mild flavor, and Parmesan brings sharpness. For something different, try goat cheese for tang or fontina for richness. Just drain any fresh cheeses well before using them.

Restaurant-Quality Results at Home!

Now you have all the secrets to make chicken rollatini that rivals any Italian restaurant - from proper butterflying technique to my mom's hidden cream cheese trick. This dish proves that impressive doesn't have to mean complicated, and with a little practice, you'll be rolling these like a pro. Emma still gets excited every time I pull the golden rolls out of the oven, and honestly, so do I.

Craving more comfort food classics? Try our Best Homemade Pot Roast Recipe that melts in your mouth after slow cooking all day. For something quicker, our Easy Reuben Sandwich Recipe delivers that balance of corned beef, sauerkraut, and melted Swiss. Or make our Delicious Cabbage Rolls Recipe when you want another stuffed dish that feeds a crowd and tastes even better the next day.

Share your rollatini success! We love seeing your creative filling combinations and hearing about which tricks worked best in your kitchen.