Chicken Kiev – Spend With Pennies

Chicken Kiev is a famous main dish that seems fancy but it’s actually easy to prepare!

Tender chicken breasts are stuffed with a flavorful herb butter and rolled in a bread crumb crust. They’re crispy on the outside and juicy and buttery inside.  

This dish is best prepared ahead (as the butter needs some time to chill), so it’s perfect to impress your guests or to bake for an easy weeknight meal!

This recipe has been sponsored by Challenge Butter.

Crispy Chicken Kiev

We love chicken dinners from a garlic butter roast chicken to the most juicy oven baked thighs. This version tops our list for the great buttery flavor.

• Skip the deep fryer, we think Chicken Kiev is better when homemade dipped in bread crumbs (or Panko) and panfried in a large skillet before baking.
• Tucking a savory herb butter made with Challenge butter inside a chicken breast half not only keeps the meat tender and adds lots of flavor, but it creates its own sauce as you cut it open!
• For make-ahead prep, assemble Chicken Kiev portions and freeze them. Bake from frozen for a quick meal any day of the week!
• Serve it with cozy favorites like Duchess Potatoes, Easy Hasselback Potatoes, or a creamy Spinach Gratin.

Ingredients

Choose skinless boneless chicken breasts for this recipe so they cook quickly and evenly. They’re easy to create a pocket and fill with garlic herb butter.

Challenge Butter creates the magic. Since the butter is the main flavor in this dish you’ll want to use a really great salted butter. Challenge butter is made the old-fashioned way and uses fresh milk and cream from happy cows. With no added hormones or additives and a great buttery flavor, it’s the perfect base for the herb butter in this recipe (and for garlic butter for adding to all of your recipes!).

Use fresh parsley and tarragon (or dried if you prefer). Pair it with a smidge of garlic and some colorful chives to create a richly flavored sauce. You can add a pinch of lemon juice, or even fresh thyme leaves if you’d like.

Tips for Chicken Kiev

• Use a small paring knife to cut a pocket in the chicken. Make sure you don’t cut all of the way through. You want the pocket to hold all of that buttery goodness inside.
• Chill the butter before adding to the chicken; this makes it easy to work with.
• Use both the flour and egg wash (and feel free to do a double dip if you’d like!).
• Be sure to chill the chicken after breading. This helps reduce the chances of the butter leaking out.
• Cook until the chicken reaches 165°F.

How to Make Chicken Kiev

1. Combine Challenge salted butter with herbs and pat into a square. Chill per the recipe below.
2. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast and stuff with the chilled butter mixture.
3. Coat the chicken in breadcrumbs and chill for 1 hour (or overnight if you’d like).
4. Cook until golden and cooked through.

How to Cook Chicken Kiev from Frozen

In the oven – Remove plastic wrap. Bake frozen chicken Kiev in the center of an oven at 400°F for approximately 35 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165°F.

Freezing and Leftovers

Freeze before baking for up to 3 months. Do not brown the chicken ahead of time. To bake directly from frozen, skip the browning step and spray the chicken with cooking spray. Bake 35-40 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.

Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat portions by heating in the air fryer or heat in the microwave and then pan fry in a little bit of butter until crisp and heated through.

More Chicken Breast Favorites

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