Balsamic Peach, Basil + Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast with an Arugula Salad

I’ve been seeing a lot of chefs whip up stuffed chicken breasts, and I wanted to give it a try and add my own summery spin. Many of the versions I’ve seen on the Internet incorporate a cheese and leafy green mixture inside of the chicken breast (most commonly: creamy spinach artichoke chicken breasts, which look delicious.) For my version, I wanted to add a bright pop of flavor, along with a cheese and leafy green. To achieve my dream stuffed chicken, I mixed together arugula, basil, goat cheese and some beautiful balsamic peaches!

Ok, please don’t let the idea of chicken being stuffed with fruit scare you! We eat orange chicken all the time… we also eat tomatoes with chicken all the time… so peaches aren’t that different. If I *must* persuade you to try this peachy chicken, here is why: these peaches are cooked with some balsamic vinegar to bring a savory, acidic punch to their tartness and sweetness. They really remind me of a slightly fruitier and more tart version of a tomato. I promise that you will love them.

Another thing I want to note is that you don’t have to brine the chicken, but I do recommend doing it for the juiciest outcome. We are finishing these chicken breasts in the oven and that can lead to a dry, tough chicken, if it’s not brined beforehand. You only have to brine these for a minimum of 20 minutes, and during this time, you can prep your ingredients, make your peaches and combine filling.

“How do you brine chicken“ you ask? Well!!! Let me tell you!!! For two chicken breasts, bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add 5 tbsp of salt. If you are using a really large bowl and need more water to fully cover the chicken, just add 1 tbsp of salt per 1 cup of water and follow the same instructions. Bring the water to a boil or heat it up until its really hot, then mix in the salt until it’s dissolved. Remove the water from the heat and transfer it to a chilled bowl. Add a bunch of ice cubes into the water and let it cool to at least room temp, or cooler. Once it’s cooled, place the chicken into the mixture and let it brine for up to an hour. It’s really that easy. If you don’t have ice on hand, you can dissolve 5 tbsp of salt into 2 cups of hot or boiling water, then just add 3 cups of cold water to neutralize the temperature afterwards. I’ve never tried this method, but I am pretty sure it will work just the same. Just make sure the salt is fully dissolved and that the water is NOT hot at all when you put the chicken breasts into it. Also make sure the chicken breasts are fully coated in the water when they are brining.

Now let’s make some stuffed chicken!!! I always find video to be the most helpful when teaching any kind of cooking, so feel free to watch my tutorial below before you read the recipe and get started!