Baked Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil
Servings 4 servings
Calories 522kcal
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- 8 ounces goat cheese (Montrachet goat cheese with garlic and herbs recommended)
- 14 fresh basil leaves (2 per chicken breast plus more for garnish)
For the seasoning:
- 1 tsp kosher salt (1/4 tsp per chicken breast. Add more if needed)
- Freshly ground black pepper ( 2-3 turns per breast)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (good quality)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Arrange chicken breasts on an oven-proof baking dish or a baking pan. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers such that you have 2 sides attached. Slice the goat cheese into 8 thick pieces. Place 2 basil leaves, then two pieces of goat cheese under the skin of each chicken breast. Rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake the breasts for about 35-45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160F. You may want to finish by turning on the broiler for a couple of minutes to better brown and crisp up the skin. I usually turn on the broiler (on high) once the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 150F. Make sure to watch the chicken closely as the skin will brown fairly quickly. If that happens before the chicken is done, turn off the broiler and move the baking dish a couple of positions down.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the meat re-absorb some of the lost moisture before serving.
Notes
Note 1 - Finding Montrachet goat cheese with garlic and herbs can be challenging. Regular goat cheese works very well too. You can also substitute goat cheese for feta cheese or cream cheese. I tried both and they work very well.
Note 2 - The original recipe is ambiguous with regard to salt and pepper and recommends to "sprinkle generously with salt and pepper". The first time I made this recipe I ended up over-salting. I find that 1/4 tsp of kosher salt and 2-3 turns of black pepper per breast is sufficient. You may increase or decrease the amounts if needed.
Note 3 - The original recipe calls for one large basil leaf per breast. I doubled basil for more flavor.
Note 4 - Have leftovers? Shred the chicken meat, combine with a little bit of goat cheese you may have left over and a smidgen of mayonnaise and you've got yourself an awesome sandwich spread for next day's lunch.