“If you are afraid of butter, use cream.” -Julia Child
There is some serious alliteration happening for a seriously delicious meal. This chicken is stuffed with cheese aaaaand has a low carb crust you would swear is made from real breadcrumbs!
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
6 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (about 1.5 lbs)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
6 oz soft cheese like a meunster
2 eggs
1 cup almond flour
4 oz pork rinds, crushed
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 cup avocado oil
For the veggies:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
6 mushrooms, half sliced, half quartered
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Lay the chicken on a flat surface and cover with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken until it flattens and is all about the same thickness. Salt and pepper both sides.
I am using chicken thighs but you could definitely make this with chicken breasts. Just slice them in half and then pound them thin.
Place a grated soft cheese on one side of the chicken. This is a muenster which is so yummy. Brie would also be great or even cheddar or goat cheese. Whatever cheese you are feeling. Then fold the other side of the chicken over the cheese. Don’t worry if there is a little cheese falling out because we are going to be “breading” these pieces which will help seal up the sides.
Take three shallow dishes. In the first, place the almond flour. In the second, place the eggs and beat them. In the third, place the pork rinds, parm cheese and salt and pepper and stir together until mixed well.
Take one of your pices of cheese stuffed chicken and press it down into the almond flour, coating all around. Dip it into the egg so it is fully coated. Then, press it into the pork rind mixture, covering each and every part. Set aside and reapeat with each piece. Discard any unused crust ingredients.
Have a lined and lightly oiled sheet pan ready.
Heat one cup of avocado oil a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat. I like to use avocado oil for this step because it has a very high smoke point and has a neutral flavor. Carefully place the chicken in the pan with tongs. Do not overcrowd the pan, otherwise you will steam the chicken instead of frying it. You might have to do two batches. Fry 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Flip and repeat. We are finishing the chicken in the oven so you do not need to cook it through at this step.
Put the fried chicken on the sheet pan. Continue until all pieces are fried.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and, using tongs, very carefully flip each piece. Try not to disturb the coating. Bake another 15 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees.
While the chicken is in the oven, we can make the veggies.
For the veggies, I cut half of the mushrooms in quarters and sliced the rest to get different textures. Then, I sliced the zucchini and squash lengthwise and then into matchsticks.
Heat olive oil and butter in a nonstick skillet. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring frequently. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Then add the remaining veggies and cook another 3 minutes, stirring often. The should still be a little firm.
Turn the burner down to low and add the heavy cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about half. Add parsley.
When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven. Can you see all that cheesy goodness happening? A little of the cheese may have spilled out so if that happens to you it is very important to carefully pull the fallen cheese off the pan and eat it. After all, you are the cook and deserve a little treat!!
The chicken is going to have a super crispy coating and still be very tender inside with yummy melty cheesiness happening in the center. Oh boy.
Divide the creamy veggies on plates and top with the crispy chicken pieces. You will truly be amazed by this low carb crispy cheese stuffed chicken!
Crispy Cheese Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 6 chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 6 oz meunster cheese grated
- 1 cup almond flour
- 4 oz pork rinds crushed
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tsp pink salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup avocado oil
For the Veggies
- 1 zucchini cut into matchsticks
- 1 yellow squash cut into matchsticks
- 6 mushrooms half sliced half cut into quarters
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place chicken on a plat surface and top with a piece of pastic wrap. Pound to an even thickness with a rolling pin. Season all sides with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper. Add cheese to one half of each piece of chicken. Fold the other half over the cheese. Take three shallow dishes and fill one with almond flour and one with the beaten eggs. In the third dish, mix together the pork rinds, parm cheese, and remainder of salt and pepper. Discard all unused crust ingredients. Press each of the cheese stuffed chicken pieces into the flour, then dip into the beaten eggs and then the pork rind mixture. Coat well. Heat avocado oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat. Fry chicken pieces in batches, 3-5 min per side until golden brown. Place fried chicken on a lined, lightly oiled sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through. Remove from oven.
For the Veggies
- While the chicken is baking, heat butter and olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring constantly. Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes. Add zucchini and squash and cook 3 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook another few minutes until sauce thickens and reduces. Add parsely and stir. Serve chicken on top of the vegies and sauce and enjoy.
Notes
Macros
Number of servings 3
Amount per serving:
Calories 979
Total fat 68g
Carbohydrate 10g
Dietary fiber 2g
Net carbs 8g
Sugars 2g
Protein 83g
Potassium 408mg
Vitamin A 79%
Vitamin C 34%
Calcium 196%
Iron 22%
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