When you breed chickens for eating, you´re going to have to deal with the chicken, the whole chicken, and nothing but the chicken.
Most of our Fat Boys end up being cut up into individual portions with the skin off – they´re easier to store in the freezer that way and you don´t have to pluck them. Chicken Breast has always been my least favourite part…typically it can be a little dry and bland. Now that we get to eat our own chickens, I can at least say that the breasts are neither dry nor bland and taste great just done on the griddle with olive oil and salt and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Some of our chickens are real monsters though – and with no artificial feed. Just corn, wheat and a long-ish life (at least in terms of chickens for eating) pecking around our olives. One chicken breast can weigh about 500g and is plenty to feed two. Sometimes it´s nice to jazz it up a little, and this is a firm favourite.
- One monster chicken breast or two regular
- Two tablespoons of cream cheese mixed with one crushed clove of garlic, a sprinkle of salt and a tablespoon of your favourite herb finely chopped (I like basil or chives with this)
- About four tablespoons of tomato sauce (i.e. made from fresh or tinned tomatoes)
- Grated cheese
- Seasoning
- Olive oil
Split the chicken breast in two without cutting all the way through. Fill with the cream cheese and close. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over, massaging it in all over.
Put into a baking dish and pour over the tomato sauce. Bake on medium for about 30 minutes. Check that it is done by piercing it – if the juices run clear, you´re done. If not, cook for a further 10 mins, check and repeat if necessary. When cooked, grate cheese over the top, pop it under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and serve.
This is a great prepare ahead dish (up to the stage before you start to cook) and if the breast is large, serve cut into slices with a little extra tomato sauce on the side for your loved ones who prefer things saucy!
Chica Andaluza 
I love the idea of the cream cheese and the tomato and herb flavours mixed with the chicken. How wonderful to have your own chickens to use like this, although we can and often do buy excellent chicken breasts in our local shop too.
I think in France (Italy, Spain…) we have more opportunities to buy good, locally reared meat. I know that our local butcher sells good stuff too…we´re lucky to find food that tastes of what it should! We are lucky though to have our own chickens for eating, it´s a privilege.
That sounds delicious – I’ll need a whole one 😉
Coming right up!
You are so kind!
This dish really does sound wonderful, Tanya! Cream cheese, herbs, and garlic? How could this not be good! Having cleaned many — and I do mean many — chickens and pheasants, I can so appreciate your discarding the skin along with the feathers. As tasty as the skin might be, after you’ve plucked the 2nd or 3rd chicken, the skin suddenly loses its appeal. When I was cleaning those chickens, one of the womenfolk would stand behind me, telling me to be careful. The objective was to remove as many egg yolks as possible without breaking any. Those yolks were to be used in the next batch of pasta and I knew I “had arrived” when I was able to remove them without breaking a one. Thank you, Tanya, for reacquainting me with this long-forgotten memory. 🙂
You are clearly an expert as yes, I recollect having done this too! Our home reared ones are usually cockerels (so no eggs) but sometimes the “sexing” doesn´t work and we end up with a few hens in there with the boys. Poor things, they have to go first as the alternative for them would be a month or so of far too much attention from 20 randy cockerels 😦
That sounds like a vast improvement for the flavor of store-bought chicken breasts! Or those dry, flavorless things they try to pass-off as porkchops these days…Thanks, Tanya!
The difference is so noticeable (your grandmother would agree!)…
500g – now that is a serious breast! This sounds and look scrumptious Tanya. Lovely flavours.
🙂 Mandy
They´re super sized…without the hormones!
Really, what could be better than this? It’s beautiful, easy and all my favorites…chicken, herby cheese, garlic and tomato. Perfect.
All good flavours going on in there!
Wow! This sounds divine! What a perfectly lovely meal. My family would love this. It’s so funny, I too have a stuffed chicken breast on the menu tonight. Thanks for sharing Chica!
Look forward to hearing how your meal WENT!
It’s a simple apple and brie stuffed chicken. My family’s not so keen on the brie. I think they’d rather eat your chicken recipe, which I’m making this week as well. Just looking at the picture made me hungry 🙂
Looks amazing – I don’t think Keith and Steve (our bantam hens) would give us much of a meal!!
Neither would most of our laying hens … they just give us eggs and a good giggle!
Creative use of cream cheese, though I might feel inclined to toss in some red pepper flakes to the tomato sauce to spice things up a bit. 😉
I love the way you´re going with this. Actually, I always stick a few dried chilis into my tomato sauce, just never thought to mention it!
What a nice mix of cream cheese and herbs stuffed in a chicken breast with sauce and cheese… T and I would love this dish, will wait a week or so after having had several nights of chicken. Tonya I love your blog and your words!
You are so kind RaeDi! It´s a simple but tasty dish, but you can only eat so much chicken in a week! Take care of yourself…
Lovely! I usually stuff mine with homemade pesto, I don’t know why I never thought about doing the same with cream cheese… I love cream cheese! I’ll need to buy some chicken soon, I feel… 🙂
Pesto sounds wonderful too!
I love how your chickens roam around pecking at the bottom of the olive trees. It sounds like a lovely life for a chicken. I can’t believe how big some of them great – they must be almost the size of turkeys! Great dish – plenty of flavours there.
Some of them do get enormous – it´s a special breed for eating, so no hormones or chemicals, just plenty of food and a happy little life for them!
Those are some big breasts! 🙂 Creamy filling with herbs baked in tomato sauce just sounds so delicious!! I’m sure having raised your own chickens they are so much better tasting than what I get. And I like that it can be prepped ahead of time; I’m always looking for dishes like this!
Whoppers! You do certainly notice the difference in the taste, but we know we´re lucky and that no everyone has access to this. Preparing them ahead is a bonus 🙂
This looks incredible!!
It´s very easy and so good!
I bet this ends up being beautifully succulent – all those juices… yummy 😀 It looks wonderful, especially the cheese on top – just the perfect finishing touch!
Very juicy and full of flavour – especially as chicken breasts can be dry sometimes.
What a scrumptious dish Tanya! Love the stuffing, love the sauce! And I think I’d
r e a l l y love chickens that had been feasting on olives their whole (relatively) long lives! Sounds like perfection to me. Beautiful Tanya!
Thanks Spree – we do have happy little chickens, it does make a difference!
Yum Yum Yum Yum!!
This is so simple yet … YUM! Bookmarking this to try it next time I want to eat chicken breast. 🙂 It looks so delicious, too… Can almost taste it in my mouth…
Hope you enjoy it if you make it!
Divine!! I had to read the title twice to see if I had read correctly, and was very happy to see that indeed it was “Cream Cheese Stuffing”. I loooove chicken and cream cheese, but never would have thought to put them together. This one’s going in my bookmarks! 😉
This, and the rainbow cake.
What a feast it will be! Such an easy dish too (especially when you have your oven)!
Perfect timing cos I have just taken chicken breasts out of the freezer for tomorrow night. Shall whip this up with little folk to help. Yum
Oh they´ll have fun spreading and sprinkling the ingredients!
This looks so creamy! Love it together with that tomato sauce.
It´s a delicious combination Raymund!
I love this kind of recipe, I can keep it tucked in my mind for those days when I wander the grocery store in a daze with no idea what to cook!! It will be loved by my family because of the two melting cheeses.. xo Smidge
I know what you mean – some days you don´t feel inspired but you don´t just want plain old grilled chicken breasts (although they do have their moment!)
I think we eat more chicken than any other protein. I’m sure your free range chickens are so good.
I think that´s the case for a lot of people and the taste is particularly noticeable on the rare occasions we order it when we´re out!
Cream cheese garlic and herbs, wow!
I can only imagine how good thise will taste and smell!
It was a good dish, very juicy and tasty!
The tender chicken meat with cream cheese spread amazing ,,, i like this
whether the menu is yours ???
i fuckin’ like cheese 😀 i must try it!
hmmm,… just imagine it, because I cant cook it,.. 🙂
I bet you could!
I like this, tomato sauce..