Creamy Gouda cheese and sweet apples make these stuffed chicken breasts a winning recipe! Pair with roasted sweet potatoes for a sheet pan supper that will make everyone happy.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: It’s delicious, and clean up is easy!
How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven, sharp knife, mixing bowl
Servings: 4
Sweet apple pairs perfectly with creamy Gouda cheese, stuffed into a tender chicken breast. Sweet potatoes not only add a great pop of color, but thanks to the smoked paprika, they impart a fantastic smoky element that gives depth to the entire meal.
About these Apple Gouda Stuffed Chicken Breasts
This recipe combines two of my favorite things: stuffed chicken + sheet pan dinner.
Stuffed chicken, first. EASY. Looks fancy. Win win. Everyone thinks you’ve created this show-stopping chicken recipe. And you were able to do it with very little effort. What could be better?
Next, sheet pan dinner. My favorite kind of dinner. One pan dirty, one oven temperature, but a complete meal. Check out lots more sheet pan dinner recipes, if you like sheet pan dinners as much as I do.
How to stuff Chicken Breasts
Begin with boneless skinless chicken breasts. Use the sharpest knife you have to slice each piece horizontally, but not all the way through, and open the chicken like a book. This is also called butterflying. Take a look at the photos below for a visual demonstration.
Arrange sliced apples on one half, then Gouda cheese, and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Close the chicken by carefully folding the unstuffed half over the stuffed half. I usually do this whole process right on the sheet pan so you don’t have to transfer the stuffed breast, decreasing the risk of anything falling out.
I like to throw together a quick tossed salad to serve on the side for crisp, fresh green elements.
Enjoy!
PS: Next time, should we add bacon? I think so.
Stuffed chicken tends to be less dry because the stuffing keeps it flavorful and moist. Cook chicken in a fairly hot oven (425°F) until it’s just done. Use an instant read thermometer; for chicken, the internal temp should be 165°F.
I love these butterflied stuffed chicken breasts because both the stuffing and the chicken cook quickly. You won’t have any contamination issues that may occur when you stuff a whole chicken with warm stuffing.
Because the stuffing is enfolded into the chicken breast, there’s no need for toothpicks. If you happen to use too much stuffing, a toothpick will secure the chicken while it bakes but by the time the chicken is cooked, the toothpick can be removed and the chicken will stay together.
Stuff the chicken breasts and store in a covered container in the fridge up to a day ahead. Dice the sweet potatoes, cover with water, and store in the fridge up to a day. Drain well, pat dry, and continue with recipe as directed.
More Stuffed Chicken Recipes
Apple Gouda Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
For Chicken:
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (approximately 10 oz. each)
- 2 ounces Gouda cheese, very thinly sliced
- ½ large apple, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (reserve a few sprigs for garnish)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For Sweet Potatoes:
- 2 large large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a large sheet pan or shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Split each chicken breast across but not through and open like a book (be careful, you can easily cut yourself doing this!). This is also known as butterflying. Refer to the post for photos.
- On one side of the chicken, arrange 7 to 8 thin apple slices followed by 4 to 5 slices of cheese. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon fresh thyme. Fold over and drizzle with ½ teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Repeat with second chicken breast.
- Place the chicken breasts on sheet pan and top with another sprig of fresh thyme, if desired.
- In a bowl, mix diced sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves and sea salt until evenly coated. Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer around chicken breasts.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, and stir sweet potatoes.
- Continue to bake until the juices run clear from chicken and internal temperature of chicken registers at 165°F, about 10 additional minutes. Sweet potatoes should be fork tender.
- Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully cut each chicken breast in half vertically to make 4 servings. Serve with sweet potatoes on the side.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I made it tonight. Mind you, we are having a problem with our oven so it’s not to accurate temperature wise. Mom liked hers with the apple. We used chicken breasts that had a small bone on the bottom but I did manage to butterfly them and if I do say so myself, they looked really nice when I was done. We did the bacon but it didn’t cook all the way, Next time we will cook the bacon before hand. The chicken was good but it was a little dry. It’s probably due to our oven not being the right temperature.
We didn’t have any non stick cooking spray so I poured veg oil all over the cookie sheet so nothing would stick but the potatoes still stuck. We used all Yukon Gold potatoes and mom liked how crispy they got. They were very good. We had roasted baby carrots with the potatoes but for some reason they didn’t cook all the way. Probably our oven again.
Mom says she is going to call our appliance repair man to have the oven fixed so I will make this one again when the oven is correct. Thanks for the great recipe!
I am not a fan of apples but mom is. However, I am a huge fan of gouda (I love the smoky gouda) and bacon. Mom’s will have apple, mine will have cheese and bacon. Mom loves sweet potatoes, I don’t. On the sheet pan we can have one side sweet potatoes, one side Yukon Gold. My mouth is watering already! Oh wait! If I added a ham slice to mine along with the cheese and bacon that would kick mine up a notch, wouldn’t it? Okay, I know what were having for supper either tonight or tomorrow. Thank you for this really yummy recipe. Wait, I just thought of something else. We could have green beans along with the potatoes too! Okay, I need to go eat breakfast soon because I am making myself so hungry! Yeah, for one pan suppers!
Sounds like a great plan! I hope you loved it!
The flavors in this recipe sound amazing!!
This looks amazing!!!
LOVE the pairing of Gouda with apples! Perfect with chicken! Cannot wait to give it a try.
Hi Rachel:
I love your recipe for Apple Gouda Stuffed Chicken! I’m putting together a recipe roundup and would like to feature your recipe link with the image. We will not repost the recipe and will also link the image to your site as well. Please let me know if this is ok- thanks! Scott
Sure thing :)
My new go-to meal. Everyone loves it! I roasted Yukon and sweet potatoes for those picky eaters. I have several breasts stuffed and in the freezer ready to go. Thanks for an easy yummy recipe.
So smart to freeze a couple! Thank you for coming back with your feedback. So glad you liked them!
could you do this in a crockpot? how would you modify?
I’ve never cooked this in the crockpot and frankly, I don’t think it would turn out too well. Luckily it cooks very quickly in the oven — it’s quite easy to make!
Making this tonight! I can’t wait to try it! Someone gave us a huge box of apples so I’m finding lots of apple recipies! YUM!
I hope you loved it!
Ok, I’m trying this tonight. Should I add the bacon to the chicken or the sweet potatoes?
People have had great luck adding it to the chicken!