Involtini di Pollo, also known as Chicken Involtini, is one of our favourite healthy Italian entrees.
Our homemade Involtini di Pollo recipe is quick and easy to make, ready to serve in under an hour!
Slice through a plump & moist oozing cheese-stuffed Chicken Involtini featuring flavourful garlic, red wine, sage, pine nuts and prosciutto.
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What Is Involtini di Pollo?
Involtini translates to “rolled” in Italian. They’re little bites of food with an outer layer wrapped around a filling.
If you’re researching Italian involtini recipes you’ll find plenty of options featuring chicken, turkey, veal, beef, lamb and fresh fish.
The meat or seafood used in involtini recipes is sliced thin then rolled around fillings like cheese, nuts, herbs, antipasto and vegetables before being sautéed in a pan or grilled on the barbecue.
You’ll also find many involtini recipes for vegetarians and vegans, delicious savoury packages wrapped in roasted zucchini or eggplant.
Involtini di Pollo is the most famous rolled Italian entree. We’ve developed a recipe that pays homage to classic, traditional and authentic Chicken Involtini recipes stuffed with bocconcini, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.
We’ve also included a list of suggestions for alternative stuffings and creative sauces. Once you’ve mastered our Involtini di Pollo recipe you’ll see how easy it is to adjust the stuffing and sauce ingredients to reflect what’s fresh and in season at your local farmers market.
Travel to Italy by Cooking Involtini di Pollo at Home
I love traveling to Europe!
During my first visit to the continent I traveled for 5 months by train and plane. I had the opportunity to eat my way through Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland,Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey and Italy.
What I love most about traveling to Italy is the opportunity to sample unique dishes in each region and city. The dishes in Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, Volterra, Saturnia, Pitigliano, Sorano, Montalcino, Siena) are unique from what you’d find in Venice, Modena, Milan, Rome, and Amalfi Coast.
If you’re visiting Tuscany on a romantic honeymoon you’ll likely find Involtini di Pollo at restaurants, from large cities to small towns.
Once back home from an Italian holiday you’ll have a newfound appreciation for the flavours of Tuscany and can impress friends and family by making our easy Chicken Involtini.
Where To Eat Involtini di Pollo
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Italian restaurant that serves traditional Chicken Involtini.
Haven’t traveled to Italy before? It may be helpful to first sample Involtini di Pollo at a local Italian restaurant to better understand how the dish is served. You can also assess the ideal size and variety of ingredients used in the stuffing and sauce before trying to make Involtini di Pollo at home from scratch.
In Toronto, popular Italian restaurants in Yorkville, King West and Ossington that may serve Involtini di Pollo include Bar Vendetta, Buca, Superpoint, Amano, Fabbrica, Oretta, FIGO, Nodo, Locale Mercatto, The Good Son, Taverna Mercatto, Ascari Enoteca, Il Fornello or Gusto 101.
My Family Loves Chicken Involtini
I love cooking Chicken Involtini for my family during the colder months of the year, especially during Autumn around Thanksgiving.
We traditionally stuff our Italian stuffed chicken with bocconcini, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. We top them with butter-fried crispy sage that we gather from our herb garden in the Fall. The following day, we enjoy leftovers for lunch or dinner alongside a fresh and healthy soup or salad
During October in Ontario we’d often visit popular Fall Fairs in Norfolk County, Niagara and Prince Edward County to go on fun rides, run through corn mazes and purchase fresh local fruits and vegetables at the peak of harvest season.
Chicken, garlic, fresh cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, sage and pine nuts are available in abundance year round in Canada but we especially love to serve this easy Italian entree after the colours of the trees have transformed in the Fall.
Chicken Involtini Health Benefits
Our Chicken Involtini recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Chicken is high in protein and provides B vitamins such as niacin, which helps your body access the energy in foods.
A small amount of sage packs 10% of your daily vitamin K requirements. It also features small amounts of magnesium, zinc, copper and vitamins A, C and E.
Rich in a group of phytochemicals called carotenoids, tomatoes may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and provide protection against cancer. Tomatoes are also a good source of immune-boosting vitamin C.
Consuming dairy products (such as milk and cheese) provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Dairy foods provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Pine nuts contain bone-strengthening vitamin K and antioxidant vitamin E. They are extremely rich in manganese, which is needed for many of the chemical processes in your body.
Chicken Involtini Stuffing Suggestions
Once you’ve mastered our Involtini di Pollo step by step cooking method, get creative with your stuffing ingredients. Here are some of our favourite flavour combinations, which should always be developed around the cheese you’re using.
- Bocconcini: pair fresh mozzarella with chewy sun-dried tomatoes and crunchy pine nuts.
- Asiago: stuff with shredded asiago, salty pancetta and grilled zucchini.
- Ricotta: slather fresh ricotta cheese, sautéed spinach and buttery mushrooms.
- Fontina: layer slices of mild fontina with aged bresaola and aromatic pesto
- Gorgonzola: crumble blue cheese over fresh fig slices and roasted chopped hazelnuts
Involtini di Pollo Sauce Ideas
If you’re a purist we suggest serving Involtini di Pollo simply cooked in extra virgin olive oil. You can also add dynamic flavour to the dish by tossing the Italian chicken rolls in a variety of finger-licking-good sauces.
- Olive Oil & Garlic: simply sauté garlic with high quality olive oil, fresh oregano and cracked black pepper and salt.
- Red Wine: Our recipe features a red wine reduction, which pairs nicely with sweet sun-dried tomatoes.
- Chicken Stock: Once the chicken has finished cooking remove from the pan and add chicken stock instead of red wine. Add a knob of butter, a little lemon zest and a dusting of flour and whisk as you would a turkey gravy until luscious.
- Pomodoro: serve the chicken parcels over a fresh tomato sauce sprinkled with basil.
- Creamy Cheese Sauce: if you’re feeling truly decadent, prepare a mornay cheese sauce and drizzle over the Chicken Involtini.
Involtini di Pollo Tips
This healthy Italian main courrse is quick and easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips to ensure your first batch are beautiful!
- Use a large cast iron dutch oven with a high rim to reduce splatter when cooking.
- We suggest using a high quality rubber spatula so you can easily stir and scrape down the side of the pot and sip to check if the sauce needs to be seasoned before serving.
- Many traditional Involtini di Pollo recipes instruct you to pierce the parcels with toothpicks to keep them from falling apart.
- We’ve used chicken in this recipe but you could substitute for veal, beef or pork loin.
- If you’re living a dairy free lifestyle, feel free to substitue the butter for olive oil and omit the cheese.
- Once you’ve perfected our Involtini di Pollo recipe feel free to get creative by stuffing with other cheeses like gruyere, aged cheddar, piave stravecchio, ossau-iraty brebis, manchego or Beemster XO.
What To Serve with Involtini di Pollo
There’s nothing more comforting on a cold day then cozying up to a plate of succulent Chicken Involtini.
If you’re hosting a large dinner party you might want to serve our Involtini di Pollo as an appetizer. Slice them, stab them with toothpicks and pass them around the room as a tasty amuse bouche!
We love serving this Italian entree with Instant Pot Short Rib Ragu, Cheesy Polenta, Gruyere Grilled Cheese, Old School Cheese and Onion Pie, Tartiflette Reblochon, Ricotta Gnocchi, Creamy Warm Orzo Lemon Salad and Homemade Pici Cacio e Pepe Pasta.
After dinner why not dazzle your guests with one of our popular desserts such as Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips, Dark Chocolate Lindt Lindor Cookies, Maraschino Cherry Cupcakes Recipe or Cinnamon Babka For Chocolate Lovers.
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Storing Chicken Involtini
If you have leftover Involtini di Pollo you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. To reheat simply zap it in the microwave or bake in the oven at 350 F.
We love doubling our recipe so we can store leftovers in the freezer and save time on cooking in the kitchen. We suggest storing leftovers in Pyrex freezer safe containers that have a snug lid.
Be sure to let the chicken reach room temperature before storing it in the freezer. If you add a hot container to a cold freezer it will significantly reduce the interior temperature and potentially spoil your food.
Involtini di Pollo Video
Involtini di Pollo
Equipment
- Non-stick skillet
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Meat Mallet or Rolling Pin
- Plastic Wrap
- French knife
- Wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
- 8 Fresh sage leaves
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts sliced in half and pounded thin
- 1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes in oil thinly sliced
- 1 cup Bocconcini sliced
- 1/4 cup Pine nuts
- 10 Prosciutto slices
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup Red wine
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a non-stick skillet melt butter and fry fresh sage until crisp and aromatic, 1-2 minutes. Remove crispy sage and let cool on a paper towel.
- To make chicken involtini lay thinly sliced chicken breasts on your kitchen counter. Cover a chicken breast in plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until thickness is 1/4 inch.
- You are now going to fill the Involtini di Pollo. In the middle of each chicken slice, add a heap of sliced sun-dried tomatoes, bocconcini cheese and pine nuts.
- Roll the chicken over the filling until if forms a tight bundle.
- Once you have created all of your chicken involtini, lay them at the top of a large slice of prosciutto and roll it around the chicken.
- Add olive oil to the buttery non-stick skillet and brown the Involtini di Pollo on all sides 5-7 minutes.
- Once browned on both sides add chicken involtini to a casserole dish and bake at 350 F oven for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the wine and whole garlic cloves to the greasy skillet and reduce on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove chicken bundles from the oven and serve topped with crispy sage and drizzle with red wine reduction. Serve alongside creamy polenta, gnocchi and a crunchy radicchio salad.
Nutrition
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