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 this for my picky-eater husband and we both loved it! It’s easy, the flavors are perfect, and it’s filling. I made quinoa as well, but it was totally unnecessary. This recipe is fast to assemble and cooks up easily.
So glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment – it means so much to me!
Just made this – the sweet potatoes needed around 40 minutes and I’m not sure if my chicken breasts were too small but they were very dry after cooking the same amount of time. If I were to make again, I would put the potatoes in about 10 minutes before the chicken and perhaps make a bit of a sauce for them because of how dry they were. Flavours were great though!
Glad you enjoyed it! It’s hard because it all depends on the size of the chicken breasts as well as how large you cut your potatoes. In addition, oven temperatures can vary a bit! Thanks for leaving your feedback. :)
Making this tonight. So excited to try it. Made it pretty close to the recipe, but also added some crumbled gorgonzola to the gouda and apples for an extra strength in flavor. Excited to see how it turns out. :) Thank you for the recipe!!!
I hope you loved it! I bet it was great with gorgonzola!
It was so good! I cooked it in a dish by itself and made a tray of butternut squash fries to go with it. Will definitely make again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. :)
PS: I looooove butternut squash fries! Do you get the ones from Trader Joes? I roast them with cinnamon, salt, and a little cayenne – so good!
Actually, I cut up and made my own. I just like salt and a little pepper on them. I love their flavor (I am a big fan of everything squash tho). Planning to make this chicken again this week.
Perfect! So glad you like it enough to make it again!
Haven’t made the recipe yet but definitely want to try. If I can’t find Gouda, is there an acceptable replacement cheese?
Also, can I use rosemary instead of thyme? Not really a fan of thyme and have a rosemary plant in my garden that I hardly ever use so always looking for an excuse. Lol.
Cheddar would be good, or Muenster. Havarti might be yummy too! I think rosemary would be good on this — just in a small amount as it tends to overpower dishes. (I never use the rosemary in my garden, either!) I hope you love this recipe!
Trying it tonight and will let you know! I was able to find Gouda at a different store from my usual. $4.50 and I’m going to have to find recipes to use it all.
Maybe you’ll end up making this recipe multiple times. ;) Gouda is great on sandwiches too!
Probably! I wanna make it again but use more cheese. And I think you’re right, this would be good with bacon in it.
Did not make this recipe YET because I have to go,shopping for the ingredients. But I can’t wait to make it.. it sounds easy and delicious and that’s my kind of cooking. I will make one as is, and one w bacon or pancetta. I’m not crazy about apsweet potatoes but the color added to the plate. I’m thinking croasted carrots instead. Thanks for simple and elegant idea!
I hope you love it as much as we do! I think carrots would be fantastic! They’re so good roasted.
Absolutely delish! Made it just to the recipe.
Hi Kristine! So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
Is there another seaon I can use besides Thyme? I do not know what it is about Thyme that I dislike so much.
If you like sage, I think a touch of sage would be great with the apples and cheese! Or you can skip it and use more smoked paprika.
This was phenomenal! I marinated the chicken in oil and vinegar (I use Paul Newman’s dressing) and pounded them thin so I could roll the chicken. Boar’s Head smoked Gouda for the win along with Granny Smith apples. Other than that I didn’t add anything other than salt and pepper. The sweet potatoes were fantastic too! Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you liked it! Great idea to marinate the chicken. :)
I was super excited about this because I love Gouda . Made it as directed except used regular baking potatoes since we didn’t have any sweet potatoes. The regular potatoes tasted great too! The dinner was OK. I even told my husband I was surprised how plain it seemed even with the flavors of the Gouda and the thyme. It needed something else to jazz it up.
Hmm, maybe try the bacon next time if you feel like you need a little extra something. :)