Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini
This Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini is fancy enough for the adults, but still kid-friendly…and it’s delicious!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
Rollatini. It’s such a fun word to say! I walked around all day yesterday saying ‘rollatini.’ I’m pretty sure Laura was over it after the 2nd ‘rollatini,’ but I just couldn’t stop. It’s like bruschetta. It’s such a fun word that you just have to keep saying it…all day long. Rollatini.
Most summer nights, you can find me outside by the grill. But in the winter I need to mix it up a bit…and that’s where this Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini comes in. It’s baked in the oven, and it’s really not that difficult to prepare. Rollatini. (Can’t stop…won’t stop!) The key to a good chicken rollatini is making sure that the chicken is nice and thin. After all, once you add the toppings, you’ve gotta roll that bad boy up. And if the chicken is too thick, then you’re going to have bacon and jalapeno and spinach all over the place.
To ensure the chicken is thin enough, I first butterflied the chicken breasts. (Butterflied is a fancy way of saying slicing the chicken through the middle to create 2 thinner pieces…just make sure not to slice all the way through so that the 2 pieces are still connected.) And then I went an extra step and pounded the chicken thinner using a rolling pin and a piece of plastic wrap. (Even though you used plastic wrap, still make sure to disinfect that rolling pin once you’re done!) Rollatini. That might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn’t too bad. Then you can get all Van Gogh on that chicken and create your masterpiece!
Instead of frying up this Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini, I used a secret weapon. Panko-style breadcrumbs. More specifically, Italian Panko-style breadcrumbs. Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese in origin, and they are crispier than traditional breadcrumbs. Rollatini. But here’s the kicker…the loaves of bread for Panko breadcrumbs are baked via electricity. Not electricity as in an electric oven. Electricity as in electric current. The result is a fully-cooked, yet entirely crust-less loaf of bread. It’s a pretty fascinating process! (Unfortunately, it’s not as cool as just hooking up a car battery to a metal loaf pan…although that does sound like a fun experiment, right?)
This Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini is fancy enough to serve to company, but still totally kid-friendly at the same time. (I might reduce the jalapenos a bit for kids, but that’s up to you.) And all it requires is a little bit of advance prep work. In fact, you could totally stuff the chicken breasts in advance and just keep them in the fridge (covered) until dinnertime. Enjoy, my friends! Rollatini.
Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Rollatini
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon
- ½ cup Panko-style Italian breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 chicken breasts thinly sliced (see note)
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ⅓ cup baby spinach chopped
- ⅓ cup red onion chopped
- 1-2 jalapenos seeds removed and diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Lightly grease a standard sheet pan; set aside.
- Cook bacon according to package instructions. Once cooked, crumble and set aside.
- Using a shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and smoked paprika; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper; set aside.
- Lay 4 chicken breasts out on a large cutting board or plate. Sprinkle mozzarella and spinach evenly on top of chicken breasts. Divide the onions, jalapenos and cooked bacon evenly across chicken breasts.
- Roll each chicken breast up lengthwise and place seam-side down on cutting board.
- Carefully dip with chicken breast into olive oil mixture and then into breadcrumb mixture. Place seam-side down on sheet pan.
- Spray tops of chicken rollatini with baking spray or olive oil. Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and fully cooked.
Notes
I had no idea how Panko breadcrumbs are made. That is so cool and I’m tempted to try your car battery-loaf pan idea. (But don’t worry–I’m way too chicken to go through with it.) I’m loving the sound of this rollatini and I’ll probably drive Cookie crazy saying the word over and over again today. Although she’ll probably prefer that to the singing I usually drive her crazy with. Have a great weekend, David!
Haha! As much of a nerd as I am, even I don’t think I could go through with the car battery-loaf pan idea. Although it does sound like fun, doesn’t it?? Hope you didn’t have ‘rollatini’ stuck in your head all weekend! Thanks, Kelsie!!
Rollatini! Promise me this David, you’ll try the car battery experiment and blog about it. Rollatini. And hot d-bomb this recipe looks and sounds utterly mouthwatering! Rollatini. I’m Rollatini pinning this Rollatini for later!
*Dude, you’re right, Rollatini is a blast to say. One more Rollatini for good measure 🙂
Yeaeeahhhh…so that car battery thing. I’m thinking I might blow my eyebrows off if I actually tried that one. I mean it sounds cool and all, but…but…I kinda like my eyebrows. 🙂 Rollatini is not only fun to say, but it’s fun to eat, too! Thanks, Christina!
Rollatini. What a fancy word indeed! I don’t think I’ve ever heard it. And certainly, I’ve never tried this recipe (Although I’ve tried some similar ideas f.ex. with sun-dried tomato). Chicken, bacon, and, and lots of cheese – perfect combo. I bet you’ll be making this quite often this winter/spring as it’s so delicious. And as you’ve got lots of jalapenos in the fridge 🙂 Rollatini. Rollatini. Rollatini. Sorry – cannot stop now too:)
Well now you have heard ‘rollatini’! And don’t you want to go try making a rollatini yourself? It’s not that hard, and it’s pretty fun…plus, you can play around with the fillings to come up with some cool recipes! I like your idea of sun-dried tomatoes stuffed inside chicken. I’ll have to try that next time! Thanks, Ben!
Is Rollatini similar to a roulade? It’s such a fancy looking dish! I love the filling! I think a mushroom filling would be great too! Laura and Robbie are so lucky to have you! You are always making such amazing things!
You know, I guess rollatini is basically the same thing as a roulade…but it just sounds more fun, right? 🙂 It does indeed look fancy, but the best part is that it’s not hard to make at all. A mushroom filling in here would be fantastic. Perhaps with some smoked gouda cheese? Yum…thank for the idea! You are too kind, Deepika!
I’ve never heard of rollatini before, but now I’m going to have trouble getting it out of my head! This looks like a great combination of flavors. I especially love the jalapenos and bacon! 🙂 Enjoy the weekend!
I agree that rollatini is just such a fun word! And making a rollatini is a great way to mix up dinner to keep it interesting! There are so many fun options for what you stuff inside…although I gotta say that the jalapeno + bacon combo is pretty darned delicious! 🙂 Thanks, Kathy!
Hey David! Glad to see you’re still finding some awesome ways to go through your stash of jalpenos! 🙂
I agree though rollatini…roll-a-tini just kinda roll (a-tini) s off the tongue ahah! I love these kind of recipes, they are super fun to make and your right anything ‘stuffed’ just seems to do well with company but this recipe for sure seems simple enough for a weekend night too (but we still get to feel a little fancy!)
Thanks for sharing!
Yes! You remembered the stash of jalapenos! 🙂 That stash is getting smaller, but it still takes up way too much room in the freezer. It’s hard to go though a lot of chopped jalapenos at once…well, that is if you still want to have any taste buds left. Hah! You’re totally right about rollatini, too. It’s fancy and looks really cool, but you can totally pull it off for a weeknight meal. It sure beats the heck out of a ‘regular’ piece of chicken for dinner! Thanks, Matt!
I’m loving these jalepeno dishes, David! I absolutely love the flavor and heat of jalepenos. I love that this is fancy enough for company or a date night, but easy enough for a weeknight meal.
I totally agree with you about jalapenos, Marissa…they have so much flavor! And rollatini is totally a fancy enough meal to serve for company, but it’s easy enough to pull together on a random Tuesday night, too. Plus, the bacon + jalapeno filling here brings so much extra umph to this dish! Thanks so much, my friend!
I agree rollatini is a fun word to say. Now you have it stuck in my head. Love the ingredients in this chicken rollatini, sounds really tasty!!!
Haha! My apologies for getting rollatini stuck in your head, Dawn. I guess you’ll just have to go make a rollatini one night to help get it out of your head. 🙂 There’s so much flexibility with flavors here, but I gotta say that I do love the bacon + jalapeno combo here. Thanks so much for the comment, my friend!
“Rollatini” is indeed a fun word to say – but you know what’s more fun? Why – am glad you asked – it’s eating Rollatini!!! Especially when said Rollatini involved bacon and cheese and jalapeno!!! This concoction of yours is making me so hungry – gosh, think am heading to the store after I walk the dogs!
Haha! Eating rollatini sure is pretty fun, too…especially when you yell “ROLLATINI’S READY” when you serve it. 🙂 Thanks so much, Shashi!
I love a rollatini – also one of my favorite words. And I cant think of a better combo than bacon and jalapeño. (Stop making me hungry!). We eat so much chicken here that I’m always looking for something interesting to do with it! Thanks for the recipe!
I love the bacon + jalapeno combo…there’s just so much flavor going on with it! And I agree that a rollatini is a fun way to mix up chicken for dinner. Give this one a shot…and then make it again with different fillings inside. The sky’s the limit here, Laura! 🙂
I don’t know how I missed this delicious recipe. I’ve always wanted to make a stuffed chicken Rollatini, adding some of your freshly grown jalapeños and crispy bacon into the mix makes my mouth water, and I don’t even eat bacon.
Haha! Bacon tends to have that effect on people. 🙂 But here’s the thing about this rollatini, Mary…you can stuff it with whatever you’d like! Go with some spinach and smoked gouda instead. I promise that would be delicious! It’s a fun way to mix up chicken night. Hope your week is going well so far, my friend!
This sounds delicious! I never heard of that panko idea with the electricity. That’s weird. And also pretty cool. Leave it to the Japanese.
I know! What a strange idea of baking bread via electricity alone. Are you saying you’re willing to do the car battery trick now, Jeff? If so, please record it. 🙂
I almost forgot to tell you! I made this recipe last week! I adapted a couple things due to what I had on hand but it was freaking DELICIOUS people! This recipe will NOT disappoint!
No way! I love that you made this one. 🙂 I mean I totally understand adapting to what you have in the pantry…that’s what any good cook should do. But so glad you guys enjoyed this one! Rollatinis are fun to make…and fun to say. They sound a bit like martini, so I’m thinking a rollatini should always be served with a martini? Yes? Seriously, though, thanks for coming back and letting me know, Christina!