Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, High-Protein
This unique dish is one of my absolute favorite ways to eat chicken – the combo of sweet and spicy is delicious on top of a crispy, yet juicy chicken roll up. My family has been making apricot chicken roll ups for decades and it was always a highly-requested dish growing up. As an adult, I have given this family-favorite a facelift with a few simple changes such as pre-toasting the breadcrumbs (serious gamechanger!) and some other healthy substitutions.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Kitchen Gadgets I recommend for this recipe:
Nutri-Bullet – The blender I use to make the sauce. I highly recommend this blender as it is high speed and will blend pretty much anything. It also is very convenient size and is great for quick sauces and on-the-go smoothies!
Amazon Fresh Delivery / Whole Foods Delivery services to purchase the ingredients. Fast, inexpensive, and easy! Groceries delivered to your door with no extra charge! All of the items I purchased were purchased through Amazon Fresh Delivery
Ingredients:
- 1 lb thinly-sliced chicken breasts
- 1 cup gluten-free or regular panko bread crumbs
- Olive oil spray
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- 3/4 tsp basil, divided into fourths
- 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided into fourths
- 3/4 tsp black pepper, divided into fourths
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tsp unsweetened plain almond milk
- 3 tbsp grass-fed butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup dried apricots, divided into 1 cup and 1/4 cup
- 2 1/2 tsp creamy horseradish, divided into 2 tsp and 1/2 tsp (adjust to taste based off of spice preference, use less if using raw horseradish instead of creamy horseradish)
- 1/3 cup, plus 2 tsp apricot preserves – low-sugar, just fruit
- 1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce
- 1 can apricots (preferred, but many grocery stores no longer carry) or peaches, drained and rinsed. (I made this batch with peaches and adjusted the recipe so you cannot taste the difference)
- Other: toothpicks to secure roll ups, Nutri-Bullet
Recipe:
- Turn oven to 300 degrees. Spread 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Lightly coat with olive oil spray and sprinkle sea salt and pepper on top. Bake for 3-5 minutes until golden brown, watch closely so they do not burn. Remove from oven and pour into a bowl. Stir in 1/4 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Turn oven to 400 degrees.
- In a separate bowl, make the flour dredge by combining 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder, 2 tbsp almond flour, 1/4 sea salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp basil.
- Using a third bowl, make the egg wash by whisking together one egg, 2 tbsp almond milk, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- In a separate small dish using a fork, smash together 3 tbsp softened butter, 1/4 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp horseradish, and 2 tsp apricot preserves.
- Lay chicken breasts cut side up, season each one lightly with remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and black pepper. Spread the butter compound onto the cut side of the chicken breasts. Evenly sprinkle 1 cup of sliced dried apricots on top of the butter mixture, putting about 2 tbsp onto each chicken breast.
- Roll chicken breasts starting with the smaller side and allowing the larger side to fold under the chicken breast as the bottom ‘seam’. Insert one toothpick across the bottom of the roll up to hold into place during baking.
- Set up dredging station with the three dredges: flour mixture, egg wash, and breadcrumbs. Start by dipping chicken into flour mixture, then the egg wash, and finally the breadcrumbs. Be sure to fully cover all sides of the chicken in each of the dredges.
- Coat baking dish with olive oil. Place chicken roll ups into pan and place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Use meat thermometer to begin checking the chicken around 20 minutes, checking every 5 minutes until the largest one reaches 165 degrees.
- While the chicken is in the oven, begin working on the sauce. Using a Nutri-Bullet , blend 1 can of apricots or peaches, 1/3 cup apricot preserves, 1/2 cup chili sauce, 2 tsp horseradish, and 1/4 cup dried apricots. Blend until smooth and then pour into a small saucepan. Heat sauce over low heat 10 minutes prior to serving.
- Remove toothpicks from chicken roll ups before serving. Pour sauce over top of the chicken roll ups and serve with farro, brown rice, or quinoa! This recipe also goes great with my garlic lemon green beans!
**This post contains affiliate links
**This post contains affiliate links
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