This Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade recipe is a gluten-free, unique and beautiful recipe for a casual or fancy dinner party, and is easy enough for a busy weeknight meal. 
Who doesn't love a crispy, juicy breaded piece of chicken!? A rhetorical question -- I want to think you all love it.
With two gluten-free eaters in my house, I'm always looking for new and creative ways to make a "crust" without bread.
I have two super delicious, favorite recipes -- this Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade recipe, and also, my Quinoa Crusted "Fried" Chicken.
What's in Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade?
- chicken
- spinach
- Gruyère
- hazelnut meal/flour
- smoked paprika
- olive oil
- egg
- salt, pepper
I used Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Hazelnut Meal to form the crust, and it adds the most wonderful, buttery, nutty flavor imaginable!
Try it, and you'll see what I mean.
What is hazelnut meal/flour?
- Hazelnut meal/flour is ground whole raw hazelnuts. It's paleo and gluten-free-friendly.
Whether it for a dinner party or for a weeknight dinner, I hope you enjoy this Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade recipe as much as my family and I do.
This is not a sponsored post. Bob’s Red Mill sent me hazelnut meal for recipe testing, and as always, I only cook with products I love and all opinions are my own.
Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 (approximately 6 to 8-ounce) chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1 handful fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and dried (amounts may vary - see recipe instructions)
- ½ cup Gruyère cheese, grated
- 1 cup finely ground Hazelnut Meal/Flour
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil for the pan
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Trim any excess fat off of the chicken breasts and place them on a large plate. Set aside.
- Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a flat, dry surface and place two of the chicken breasts, smooth side up, on top. Then add another large piece of plastic wrap on top of the chicken. Use the smooth side of a meat mallet, or the bottom of a small sauté pan to pound the chicken until it's evenly flattened, about ¼ to ½-inch thick. Repeat this with the remaining two chicken breasts.
- Turn the chicken breasts over, so the rough side is up, and they are laying vertically in front of you, and season the surface of each one with salt and pepper.
- In a single layer, cover the surface with spinach leaves, and gently press them down. (Amounts will vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts and how thinly you've pounded them.)
- Now add about 2 tablespoons of the Gruyère evenly over the spinach.
- Beginning with the end closest to you, roll the chicken tightly, and evenly, away from you. Then place the roll on a new, clean piece of plastic wrap and wrap it very tightly. Repeat this with the remaining three chicken breasts, and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour.
- While the chicken is refrigerating, mix the hazelnut meal, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl.
- Lightly beat the egg in another shallow bowl.
- Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over medium-high heat.
- Unwrap each chicken roll and carefully dip it in the blended egg, being sure it's evenly coated. Then gently press it into the hazelnut meal mixture, on all sides. Do this a couple of times so that you have a nice thick layer which uses about ¼ of the mixture for each roll.
- Once the pan is very hot, add the well-coated chicken rolls. You should hear a sizzling sound when they hit the pan -- if you don't it's not hot enough yet. Brown the bottom and top very well, about 2 minutes each. Then turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook until the chicken cooked through, about 15 minutes. (It's easiest to use kitchen tongs to turn the chicken.)
- Let them sit for about 5 minutes and then serve. (For a pretty presentation, slice them and serve over sautéed spinach with roasted hazelnuts.)
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sue/the view from great island
I adore Bob's Red Mill and I love EVERY ingredient you've put in this chicken recipe!
valentina
Thank you so much, Sue! 🙂
David
Hazelnut and Gruyère combined must be almost addictive... and it is great to have something different to do with chicken breasts!
valentina
David, hazelnut and Gruyère is right up there with hazelnut and chocolate. 🙂
David
Agreed. I don't have blood pumping form my heart... it's Nutella.
valentina
You must be very sweet. 😉
David
I never reported back, but I made this and we loved it! xo
valentina
This makes me very happy! Thank you! 🙂
Laura @ Family Spice
Oooh, this sounds amazing! You know how to take a chicken to a whole new level!
sippitysup
There's that word again, Gruyère! Oh and there's that tummy rumble again too. GREG
valentina
It's my favorite cheese!
Deepa Vijay
Hi! Want to make this recipe tomorrow for our anniversary. However we don't get hazelnut flour and gruyere cheese here. Can I use almond meal and cheddar/ mozarella cheese instead?
valentina
Hi there. Thanks for writing in. Yes, I think this would work well! I would go for the mozzarella or maybe Swiss. Enjoy and Happy Anniversary to you and yours. 🙂 ~Valentina
plasterers bristol
Sounds lovely. Thanks for posting up this recipe.
Simon
valentina
Thank you, Simon. Hope you give it a go. 🙂
Jane
Oh man, that looks AMAZING!!! Pinning this for later inspiration - thank you!
Jane x
valentina
Thanks so much, Jane! 🙂
Pretty
I love the sound of this hazelnut crust, I am going to try it with some of my veggie recipes.
valentina
That's a great idea! Enjoy!
Sarah
Hazelnut crusted....why have I never thought of doing this!? Genius, it sounds amazing! Can't wait to try!
valentina
Thank you, Sarah. Hope you love it!
Brandi Crawford
This looks amazing. I must try that hazelnut flour!
valentina
Thank you, Brandi! 🙂
Marie
Your chicken looks beautiful. I've never thought to use a hazelnut crust. It's fantastic. You can't go wrong with Gruyère either. It's my fav!
valentina
Right!? LOVE Gruyère! Thanks so much!
Dannii
What a great way to get crispy chicken. I am going to have to try this.
valentina
Hope you do and love it!
Danielle Wolter
I love crispy juicy chicken too! Gruyere is such a great cheese, and I really want to try this hazelnut coating - sounds delish!
valentina
Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy!
Chantal
You had me at hazelnut! Plus I love everything from Bob's Red Mill
valentina
Me too! Thanks!
Ellen
Hazelnuts are my favorite and I'd never think to use hazelnuts with chicken. Definitely trying this recipe!
valentina
Hope love it! 🙂
Nancy
Oh, this soooo has my name on it! I love hazelnuts... hazelnuts and gruyere? Oh my!! I haven't made chicken roulades in ages!! What a fabulous reminder and going into the dinner rotation this week!
valentina
Yay! I hope you love this Nancy. Roulades are so fun! xo V
priya
Looks very scrumptious.
valentina
Thank you, Priya! Enjoy. 🙂 ~Valentina
2pots2cook
Love how you put together cheese and hazelnuts and meat. Tasty indeed ! Thank you for great idea and enjoy your day 🙂
valentina
Thanks so much, Davorka. I hope you have a lovely day too. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange
Looks like a showstopper and has all the ingredients I love! xo
valentina
Thanks so much, Kim! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
You had me at 'hazelnut crusted'. Talk about YUM!! This would be a perfect recipe for entertaining or even for a lovely date night home for hubby and I. Just a beautifully delish recipe :)! Love it!
valentina
Thanks! Hope you and you husband love! 🙂 ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
What a fun recipe! I love hazelnuts, but I've never experimented with hazelnut meal. I do love Bob's Red Mill, though, so I'll have to look for the hazelnut meal at the store next time. I've had pecan-crusted fish and chicken before (and it was awesome), so now I want to try hazelnuts!
valentina
ooooh, a pecan crusted anything sounds fantastic! that's up next for me. Thanks so much, David. 🙂 ~Valentina
Carrie
Hi … it doesn’t say what method to cook this…?stove? Skillet? Temp? Time? How?
valentina
Hi Carrie. I'm not sure where you're looking . . . Steps 9 through 11 in the instructions take you through how to cook the chicken. Please let me know if for some reason it's not showing up for you. Thanks. 🙂 ~Valentina